Overview

Magnesium hydroxide (mag-NEE-zee-um hye-DROK-side) is a white powder with no odor, found in nature as the mineral brucite. Perhaps the best known form of the compound is a milky liquid known as milk of magnesia, a product used to treat upset stomach and constipation. Milk of magnesia was invented in 1817 by the Irish pharmacist Sir James Murray (1788–1871). Murray built a plant to produce a mixture of magnesium hydroxide in water that he sold for the treatment of a variety of ailments, including heartburn, stomach acidity, bladder and bowel problems, and "female problems." He said that the liquid mixture was much more effective than powdery magnesium hydroxide which had previously been used for the same purposes.

Key Facts

Other Names:

Magnesium hydrate; milk of magnesia; magnesia magma

Formula:

Mg(OH)₂

Elements:

Magnesium, hydrogen, oxygen

Compound Type:

Inorganic base

State:

Solid

Molecular Weight:

58.33 g/mol

Melting Point: