Manganese

Manganese supplementation · Manganese Gluconate · Manganese Bisglycinate

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Bone health¹ Type 2 diabetes risk² Depression risk³ Lateral epicondylitis⁴	Chronic liver disease¹ Infant supplementation¹

Manganese is an essential trace element that serves as a cofactor for enzymes including manganese superoxide dismutase, arginase, and pyruvate carboxylase¹. Through these enzymes it participates in antioxidant defense and in glucose, cholesterol, and bone metabolism, so supplements are used for bone health, glucose metabolism, and tendon or joint injury¹. Users are mostly self-selected rather than deficient, since no known group is likely to have inadequate intake¹.

No trial has tested manganese alone for bone, and a calcium-plus-trace-mineral trial could not isolate its effect¹. In lateral epicondylitis, a 2025 randomized trial of exercise plus a supplement of hyaluronic acid, collagen, vitamin C, and manganese found early pain relief, without isolating manganese. More than 31,000 products list manganese, mostly as amino acid chelates, gluconate, or picolinate, with no bioavailability comparison available; see Form comparison¹.

The main caution is neurotoxicity, and people with chronic liver disease eliminate manganese poorly in bile, which raises susceptibility¹. Iron deficiency raises blood manganese⁵. US product labels warn people with liver disease to consult a health professional before use (2 of 30 labels)⁶.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

67 sources, 57 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources