Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Government Funding Lapse
Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.

magnesium citrate

The citrate salt of the element magnesium with cathartic activity. The cathartic action of magnesium cations appears to result, in part, from osmotically mediated water retention, which subsequently stimulates peristalsis. In addition, magnesium ions may also stimulate the activity of nitric oxide (NO) synthase and increase the biosynthesis of the phospholipid proinflammatory mediator platelet activating factor (PAF) in the gut. NO may stimulate intestinal secretion via prostglandin- and cyclic GMP-dependent mechanisms while PAF produces significant stimulation of colonic secretion and gastrointestinal motility.
Check for active clinical trials using this agentView this agent in the NCI Thesaurus
Synonym:citrate of magnesia
US brand name:Citroma
Foreign brand name:Citramag
Search NCI's Drug Dictionary
Please enter up to 30 characters for your search