Effect of magnesium supplementation on liver enzymes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Several studies have explored the effect of magnesium supplementation on metabolic and cardiovascular parameters, showing benefits in reducing inflammatory markers and lipid parameters. However, the evidence from clinical trials about its direct impact on liver function is limited. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of clinical trials to evaluate the effect of magnesium supplementation on liver enzymes in adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: The protocol was previously registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261334071). PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched for eligible studies. A restricted maximum likelihood model with Hartung-Knapp adjustment was used to estimate the pooled effect size. The impact of each study on the overall effect size was determined through the leave-one-out method. The meta-analysis of seven clinical trials demonstrated that magnesium supplementation significantly decrease alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (WMD: -4.76 U/L, 95% CI: -9.48, -0.04, p = 0.04, I2 = 86%) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (WMD: -6.28 U/L, 95% CI: -12.15, -0.41, p = 0.03, I2 = 97%). Otherwise, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) (WMD: 28.03 U/L, 95% CI: -613.29, 669.35, p = 0.67, I2 = 78%) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (WMD: 9.99 U/L, 95% CI: -5.78, 25.76, p = 0.07, I2 = 0%) were not affected after magnesium administration. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis was robust for ALT, AST, and ALP, except for GGT where the effect size was sensitive to one study. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present meta-analysis suggest that magnesium supplementation reduces ALT and AST levels in adults.