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Manganese Sulfate

Evidence Level
Limited
2 Clinical Trials
4 Documented Benefits
2/5 Evidence Score

Manganese sulfate (MnSO4·H2O) is an inexpensive, water-soluble manganese salt with a high elemental content of roughly 32% manganese. It is widely used in food fortification, animal feed, agricultural products, and low-cost multivitamins because it delivers more elemental manganese per milligram than organic salts. Manganese is an essential trace mineral and enzyme cofactor for antioxidant defense, bone-matrix formation, and metabolism. Sulfate is a commodity form; the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements notes there are no human data comparing the bioavailability of different supplemental manganese forms. Two points matter more than the form. Manganese deficiency is essentially unknown in people eating an ordinary mixed diet, so most people have no reason to supplement it at all, and chronic excess manganese is neurotoxic and can produce manganism, a Parkinson-like movement disorder. No human trial has tested manganese sulfate itself for any health outcome.

Studied Dose Adult AI 1.8–2.3 mg/day elemental manganese; UL 11 mg/day. Used in fortification and feed; cheap multivitamins may supply 1–5 mg elemental Mn as sulfate. These are dietary reference intakes, not tested supplement doses. No human trial has established an effective dose of manganese sulfate for any outcome. Reviewers have also derived a lowest observed adverse effect level of roughly 4.2 mg/day for a 70 kg adult from studies of manganese in drinking water, which sits below the 11 mg/day upper limit, so the safety margin above requirement may be narrower than the upper limit alone suggests.
Active Compound Manganese(II) sulfate monohydrate, MnSO4·H2O — soluble inorganic salt providing approximately 32% elemental manganese by weight

Benefits

High-elemental, low-cost manganese source

Manganese sulfate carries roughly 32% elemental manganese, among the highest of the common nutritional salts, although manganese carbonate is higher still. This efficiency makes it the workhorse form for food fortification and economical supplements. Elemental percentage describes what is in the tablet rather than what reaches the body. Absorption of manganese is low and is regulated by body manganese status whatever the salt, and no human study has compared manganese sulfate with any other supplemental form.

Supported by Trial 1

Supports antioxidant defense

Manganese is essential for manganese superoxide dismutase, the mitochondrial enzyme that neutralizes superoxide radicals produced during energy metabolism. Adequate manganese status from any soluble source helps maintain this antioxidant protection. The one human supplementation study to look at this measured lymphocyte manganese superoxide dismutase activity in 47 women over 124 days and found it rose from baseline with 15 mg of supplemental manganese a day. That study set out to validate a marker of manganese status rather than to show a health benefit, the dose used is above today's 11 mg upper limit, and the report does not establish that manganese sulfate was the form used.

Supported by Trial 1, Trial 2

Helps maintain bone and connective tissue

Manganese is a cofactor for the enzymes that build glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans in cartilage and bone matrix. Ensuring adequate manganese intake supports normal bone formation and connective-tissue maintenance. The single bone trial that included manganese gave it inside a four-mineral combination with calcium, zinc and copper, and the arm that received the trace minerals without calcium did not differ significantly from placebo, so manganese cannot be credited on its own.

Supported by Trial 2

Supports normal metabolic function

Through its role in pyruvate carboxylase and other enzymes, manganese participates in carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. Maintaining adequate intake supports the body's normal handling of macronutrients and energy production. This is enzyme biochemistry rather than a tested effect. No trial has tested supplemental manganese on its own for blood sugar, blood lipids or body composition in people, and the one trial that gave manganese for a metabolic outcome combined it with three other active ingredients. The observational studies relating manganese intake from food to metabolic outcomes also disagree with each other, one Chinese survey finding higher intake linked to lower metabolic syndrome risk in men but higher risk in women.

Supported by Trial 1

Mechanism of action

1

Rapid dissolution to Mn2+

As a soluble inorganic salt, manganese sulfate dissociates completely in the gut to release Mn2+ ions, which are taken up by intestinal divalent metal transporters. Net absorption remains low and is regulated by body manganese status regardless of the high elemental content. Most of what is absorbed is removed by the liver before it reaches the general circulation and is excreted in bile, which is why liver disease is the setting in which manganese accumulates most readily. Infants are a second concern, because they absorb a larger share of what they swallow and their capacity to excrete manganese is still maturing.

2

MnSOD antioxidant catalysis

Manganese in the mitochondrial superoxide dismutase active site converts superoxide radicals to hydrogen peroxide and oxygen, protecting the mitochondrial respiratory chain and DNA from oxidative injury during normal metabolism.

3

Enzyme cofactor for matrix synthesis

Manganese-activated glycosyltransferases catalyze assembly of the long sugar chains in proteoglycans that give cartilage compressive resistance and contribute to bone organic matrix, linking manganese status to connective-tissue quality.

Clinical trials

1
Manganese form bioavailability — authoritative position
PubMed

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements Manganese Health Professional Fact Sheet reviewing supplemental manganese absorption and forms.

Evidence review (humans).

The fact sheet states no data are available on the relative bioavailability of different forms of supplemental manganese. Although manganese sulfate has a high elemental percentage and dissolves readily, there is no human trial showing it is absorbed better or worse than gluconate, citrate, or chelated forms. The only direct comparisons of manganese sulfate with other manganese sources come from poultry feeding studies, and those disagree with each other. Some found no significant difference between the sulfate and a manganese proteinate chelate or a tribasic manganese chloride, while others found the proteinate modestly more available. Those are chickens rather than people, and the spread of results is a reason to treat any claim that one manganese form clearly outperforms another as unproven.

2
Trace minerals plus calcium and bone density
PubMed

Two-year double-blind placebo-controlled trial of calcium citrate malate at 1000 mg elemental calcium a day, with or without a trace-mineral mix of 15 mg zinc, 5 mg manganese and 2.5 mg copper, in healthy older postmenopausal women of mean age 66.

59 postmenopausal women.

The trial had four arms: placebo, trace minerals alone, calcium alone, and calcium plus trace minerals. Spinal bone density fell significantly from baseline only in the placebo group, and the only significant difference between groups was placebo versus calcium plus trace minerals. The trace minerals alone, which is the arm closest to taking a manganese supplement without calcium, did not differ significantly from placebo. Critical caveat: results reflect a multi-mineral combination, not manganese sulfate alone, and the manganese contribution cannot be separated from calcium, zinc, and copper. No form-specific manganese sulfate trial exists.

Side effects and drug interactions

Common Potential side effects

Generally well tolerated when total manganese intake stays within the 11 mg/day upper limit.
Chronic excess manganese is neurotoxic and can cause manganism, a Parkinson-like disorder. The concern is not confined to inhaled industrial dust. A study of Bangladeshi schoolchildren drinking well water high in manganese linked higher exposure to poorer teacher-rated classroom behaviour, with a dose-response pattern, although that study was cross sectional and cannot prove cause.
Iron deficiency increases manganese absorption and the risk of accumulation at a given dose.
Chronic liver disease impairs manganese excretion, raising susceptibility to its neurotoxicity. Infants and young children are also more vulnerable, because they absorb a larger fraction of the manganese they swallow and their capacity to excrete it is still developing, so manganese supplements are not appropriate for them without medical advice.
Concentrated sulfate salt may cause stomach upset if taken on an empty stomach at high doses. Acute poisoning is a hazard of the bulk chemical rather than of finished supplements. A batch of Epsom salts sold for a liver cleansing diet was accidentally made up with manganese sulfate instead of magnesium sulfate, and caused severe multi-organ failure and one death. Nothing in that case applies to milligram amounts in a multivitamin, but it is a reason to take manganese only from properly labelled finished products rather than loose powder.

Important Drug interactions

Oral iron competes with manganese for intestinal absorption, reducing manganese uptake.
Magnesium and calcium-based antacids can lower manganese absorption; separate doses.
Stacking several manganese-containing products risks exceeding the 11 mg/day UL.
Tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics can bind divalent minerals; separate administration.

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Frequently asked questions about Manganese Sulfate

What is manganese sulfate?

Manganese sulfate is an inexpensive inorganic manganese salt used in some supplements and fortified foods. It supplies manganese, and despite common marketing claims there are no human data showing it is absorbed less well than chelated forms such as manganese bisglycinate. The only head to head comparisons are in farm animals, and those disagree with each other, so neither form has been shown to be better for people.

What is manganese sulfate used for?

It provides the trace amount of manganese needed for bone, antioxidant enzymes, and nutrient metabolism. It is a common, economical form in multivitamins.

How much manganese sulfate should I take?

The daily requirement is only about 1.8 to 2.3 mg, usually met by diet. Supplements add a few milligrams. Keep total manganese under 11 mg per day, as excess can affect the nervous system.

Is manganese sulfate safe?

At normal supplemental amounts it is generally safe. High intakes, especially from non-food sources, can accumulate and affect the brain, so avoid excess. Most people do not need to supplement manganese at all, because true dietary deficiency is essentially unknown in people eating an ordinary mixed diet. People with liver disease, and infants and young children, clear manganese poorly and should not take manganese supplements without medical advice.

What is the recommended dosage of Manganese Sulfate?

The clinically studied dose is Adult AI 1.8–2.3 mg/day elemental manganese; UL 11 mg/day. Used in fortification and feed; cheap multivitamins may supply 1–5 mg elemental Mn as sulfate. These are dietary reference intakes, not tested supplement doses. Always follow the product label and check with a healthcare provider for personal advice.

Is Manganese Sulfate safe, and does it have side effects?

For most healthy adults, Manganese Sulfate is well tolerated at studied doses. Reported effects can include: Generally well tolerated when total manganese intake stays within the 11 mg/day upper limit. Chronic excess manganese is neurotoxic and can cause manganism, a Parkinson-like disorder. The concern is not confined to inhaled industrial dust. It may also interact with some medications. Manganese Sulfate is not right for everyone, so check with a healthcare provider first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a medical condition, or take prescription medication.

Does Manganese Sulfate interact with any medications?

Possible interactions include: Oral iron competes with manganese for intestinal absorption, reducing manganese uptake. Magnesium and calcium-based antacids can lower manganese absorption; separate doses. If you take prescription medication, check with a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

How strong is the scientific evidence for Manganese Sulfate?

NutraSmarts rates the evidence for Manganese Sulfate as Limited (2 out of 5). It is backed by 2 clinical trials and 13 cited references summarized on this page. A higher rating reflects more, larger, and better-designed human studies.

References(13 citations)

Evidence ratings on NutraSmarts are based on the totality of human clinical research, with emphasis on randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews. The references below directly support claims made throughout this page.

  1. Finley JW, Davis CD. Manganese deficiency and toxicity: are high or low dietary amounts of manganese cause for concern? Biofactors. 1999;10(1):15-24. doi: 10.1002/biof.5520100102.PubMedUsed to support: Review of manganese intake from the North American food supply, concluding that manganese deficiency is essentially absent in free-living populations, that iron deficiency increases manganese absorption, and that because manganese is cleared in bile, impaired liver function raises the body burden. It is a paper about deficiency and toxicity rather than about any benefit of supplementation, and it does not test manganese sulfate.
  2. Strause L, Saltman P, Smith KT, Bracker M, Andon MB. Spinal bone loss in postmenopausal women supplemented with calcium and trace minerals. J Nutr. 1994;124(7):1060-4. doi: 10.1093/jn/124.7.1060.PubMedUsed to support: Two-year trial in 59 older postmenopausal women in which 1000 mg of calcium a day plus 15 mg zinc, 5 mg manganese and 2.5 mg copper was the only group to differ significantly from placebo on spinal bone density. The trace minerals given without calcium did not differ significantly from placebo, so the manganese contribution cannot be separated out, and the trial did not use manganese sulfate.
  3. Barceloux DG Manganese. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1999;37(2):293-307..PubMedUsed to support: Toxicology review of manganese covering intake, absorption, excretion and poisoning. Food supplies roughly 2 to 9 mg of manganese a day, homeostatic mechanisms limit how much the gut absorbs, elimination is mainly through bile, and no case of human manganese deficiency has been identified, while high exposure produces manganism, a Parkinson-like syndrome first described in the 1800s after exposure to high concentrations of manganese oxides. A narrative review rather than a trial, and much of the manganism evidence comes from inhaled industrial dust rather than swallowed supplements.
  4. Davis CD, Greger JL Longitudinal changes of manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase and other indexes of manganese and iron status in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992;55(3):747-52..PubMedUsed to support: Supplementation study in 47 women over 124 days comparing placebo, 60 mg iron, 15 mg manganese, or both. Manganese supplementation significantly raised lymphocyte manganese superoxide dismutase activity and serum manganese from baseline. This is the closest human support for the antioxidant claim on this page, but the study was designed to validate a marker of manganese status rather than to test a health outcome, the 15 mg daily dose is above the current 11 mg upper limit, and the report does not establish that manganese sulfate was the form used.
  5. Greger JL Dietary standards for manganese: overlap between nutritional and toxicological studies. J Nutr. 1998;128(2 Suppl):368S-371S..PubMedUsed to support: Review of manganese dietary standards noting that the body is protected against manganese toxicity mainly by low intestinal absorption and rapid removal by the liver, and that a lowest observed adverse effect level of about 0.06 mg per kilogram per day, roughly 4.2 mg a day for a 70 kg adult, has been derived for manganese in water. That figure sits below the 11 mg upper limit usually quoted for supplements, which is a reason to treat added manganese cautiously. A narrative review, not a trial, and the water figure is not directly interchangeable with intake from food or tablets.
  6. Baker DH, Halpin KM Efficacy of a manganese-protein chelate compared with that of manganese sulfate for chicks. Poult Sci. 1987;66(9):1561-3..PubMedUsed to support: Chick feeding study in which manganese bioavailability from a manganese proteinate chelate was not significantly different from manganese sulfate monohydrate, judged by bone manganese accumulation over 14 days. Evidence in poultry rather than people, and later poultry studies of the same comparison have reported the proteinate to be modestly more available, so the animal literature does not settle the question either. It is cited only because no human comparison of manganese salts exists.
  7. Conly AK, Poureslami R, Koutsos EA, et al. Tolerance and efficacy of tribasic manganese chloride in growing broiler chickens. Poult Sci. 2012;91(7):1633-40..PubMedUsed to support: Broiler chicken feeding trials comparing tribasic manganese chloride with manganese sulfate at graded intakes found no significant difference in calculated bioavailability between the two sources, although the chloride was better tolerated at very high intakes, and heart manganese superoxide dismutase activity, protein and gene expression were unaffected by how much manganese was fed. Poultry rather than people, but the flat antioxidant enzyme response is a caution against assuming that more manganese means more antioxidant defence once intake is already adequate.
  8. Saldanha MM, Araújo ICS, Triguineli MV, et al. Relative bioavailability of manganese in relation to proteinate and sulfate sources for broiler chickens from one to 20 d of age. Poult Sci. 2020;99(11):5647-5652..PubMedUsed to support: Broiler feeding study in 1,350 birds comparing manganese proteinate with manganese sulfate at five supplementation levels, which found the proteinate 5 to 28 per cent more bioavailable than the sulfate depending on the measure used, with no difference in growth performance. It is included as a counterweight to the poultry studies that found no difference between the forms, because the animal literature is inconsistent. Chickens rather than people, and no human study has compared manganese salts at all.
  9. Khan K, Factor-Litvak P, Wasserman GA, et al. Manganese exposure from drinking water and children's classroom behavior in Bangladesh. Environ Health Perspect. 2011;119(10):1501-6..PubMedUsed to support: Cross-sectional study of 201 Bangladeshi schoolchildren aged 8 to 11 in which higher manganese in tube well drinking water was associated with worse teacher-rated classroom behaviour scores, with a dose-response pattern, after adjustment for arsenic in the same water. Swallowed rather than inhaled manganese, which is the route relevant to a supplement, but it is observational, involves water concentrations unlike ordinary supplement intakes, and cannot establish cause.
  10. Sánchez B, Casalots-Casado J, Quintana S, et al. Fatal manganese intoxication due to an error in the elaboration of Epsom salts for a liver cleansing diet. Forensic Sci Int. 2012;223(1-3):e1-4..PubMedUsed to support: Case report of a 50-year-old man who died within 72 hours of shock and multi-organ failure after swallowing Epsom salts for a liver cleansing diet that a supplier had mistakenly prepared with hydrated manganese sulfate instead of magnesium sulfate; other people who took the same batch were treated with intensive care and chelation. It is the only published human report of manganese sulfate taken by mouth, and it describes an accidental massive poisoning rather than anything resembling a supplement dose, so it says nothing about milligram amounts in a multivitamin.
  11. Du S, Wu X, Han T, et al. Dietary manganese and type 2 diabetes mellitus: two prospective cohort studies in China. Diabetologia. 2018;61(9):1985-1995..PubMedUsed to support: Two Chinese prospective cohorts totalling more than 10,000 adults, followed for an average of about four and five years, in which higher manganese intake from food was associated with lower incidence of type 2 diabetes and lower HbA1c. Manganese came from ordinary diet rather than supplements, average intakes were around 4.6 mg a day, and an observational association of this kind cannot show that taking a manganese tablet would produce the same result.
  12. Zhou B, Su X, Su D, et al. Dietary intake of manganese and the risk of the metabolic syndrome in a Chinese population. Br J Nutr. 2016;116(5):853-63..PubMedUsed to support: Cross-sectional survey of 2,111 Chinese adults in which higher dietary manganese, mostly from rice, was associated with lower metabolic syndrome risk in men and higher risk in women, and with a greater likelihood of low HDL cholesterol in both sexes. The finding in women rested on a comparison of the highest and lowest intake groups and the overall trend across groups was not statistically significant. Dietary intake rather than supplementation, and the opposite directions by sex are the reason the metabolic claims sometimes made for manganese supplements cannot be treated as settled.
  13. Aschner JL, Aschner M Nutritional aspects of manganese homeostasis. Mol Aspects Med. 2005;26(4-5):353-62..PubMedUsed to support: Review of manganese nutrition and homeostasis concluding that tissue manganese is normally held stable by tight control of absorption and excretion, but that high oral, intravenous or airborne exposure can raise tissue levels and cause manganism, a condition resembling Parkinson's disease. Its particular focus is the risk to newborns fed intravenously, who receive manganese without the protection of the gut and liver, which is the basis for the caution about infants in the safety section. A narrative review rather than a trial, and its central concern is intravenous feeding rather than swallowed supplements.