EFFECT OF BORON SUPPLEMENTATION ON BLOOD AND URINARY CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, AND PHOSPHORUS, AND URINARY BORON IN ATHLETIC AND SEDENTARY WOMEN

It has been reported that boron may be beneficial for optimal calcium metabolism and, thus, optimal bone metabolism. Therefore, we designed a study to determine the effects of boron supplementation on blood and urinary minerals in athletic subjects and sedentary control subjects consuming self-selected typical Western diets. Serum phosphorus concen trations were lower in boron-supplemented subjects than in placebo-sup plemented subjects. Compared with all other subjects, serum magnesium concentrations were greatest in the sedentary control subjects supplem ented with boron and increased with time in all subjects. Exercise tra ining diminished changes in serum phosphorus concentrations caused by boron supplementation. Calcium excretion increased over time in all gr oups combined, and boron excretion increased over time in all boron-su pplemented subjects. The findings suggest that boron supplementation m odestly affected mineral status, and exercise modified the effects of boron supplementation on serum minerals.