Effects of high magnesium intake on central catecholamines in spontaneously hypertensive rat.

: Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) received a highly magnesium enriched diet during the development of hypertension, which caused plasma Mg concentrations to be markedly increased. Arterial blood pressure was reduced in supplemented animals. Levels of noradrenaline, 3-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid in cortex, hypothalamus, striatum and brain stem remained unchanged. Dopamine levels in the cortex, hypothalamus and striatum were also unchanged. Dopamine levels in brain stem increased. However the correlation between treatment with magnesium, dopamine-related variables in the brain and decrease in blood pressure in SHR remains hypothetical.