When looking through the historical aspects of manganese, I stumbled upon a couple of stories as to how the word manganese was first used. One author attributed its first use to Carl W. Scheele, in 1774, a Swedish chemist who first recognized manganese as an element. He stated that its name is a corrupted form of the Latin word for a type of magnetic stone, magnesia. Another author says that the name comes from the Greek word for magic because of its marked ability to create colored compounds. Well, regardless of where the term was first used, its importance in various forms of arthritis and connective tissue repair is undisputed.

Proteoglycans make up all connective tissues. They are made up of proteins and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), and make up about 10% of dry weight in articular cartilage and around 1% in bones, tendons, and ligaments. Some examples of glycosaminoglycans are chondroitin sulfates; found in cartilage, arterial walls, skin, and bone; and hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan), found in synovial fluid, cartilage, and fluid in our eyes. Because of the electro-negative charge of proteoglycans in cartilage, they have a tremendous affinity for water, which gives cartilage its shock-absorbing qualities.

There are fifteen types of collagen with type II being the most abundant in joint cartilage. Collagen is formed from procollagen chains of amino acids. Three procollagen chains wrap themselves in a triple helix, and make up the basic unit of collagen.

Manganese plays an essential role in both glycosaminoglycan and collagen production. Manganese is an essential trace element because of its role in activating glycosyltransferase enzymes. These enzymes activate glycosaminoglycan synthesis, proteoglycan synthesis, collagen synthesis, and glycoprotein synthesis^II. Additional enzymes known as sulfotransferases are responsible for attaching sulfate groups to GAGs, for example chondroitin sulfate. These sulfotransferases also require manganese.

while 55% is excreted in the faeces^III. The ESADDI (estimated safe and adequate daily dietary intakes) for manganese is 2.0 to 5.0 milligrams per day for adults. During a two-year period from 1982 to 1984, studies were done by the U.S. FDA to evaluate nutrient intakes for infants, children, teenagers, adults, and elderly males and females. This study showed that manganese levels for female teenagers (1.76), adults (2.05), and the elderly (2.12) were consistently low^IV. Another study of hospital diets found that manganese content ranged from less than 0.38 mgs/day to 1.78 mgs/day. Ironically this is when manganese is even more drastically needed^V. Other surveys have found higher levels of manganese in subject’s diets, but all of them have found manganese levels marginal or low in throughout the lifetime of women, especially during times of bone growth and bone loss.