The present invention is concerned with a mixture of salts that can be used as an additive for food, as a pre¬ servative, as fruit salts, as baking powder, or as a pre- paration maintaining health.

It is well known that to-day, man obtains an excess of calcium an especially of sodium but too little potassium and magnesium from food. This causes conditions of excess or deficiency, of even diseases, such as stroke, hyper- tension, cardiac arrhythmias, and even sudden deaths of cardiac origin- Diuretic drugs are widely used for the treatment of hypertension. They decrease the body-burden of sodium by increasing its excretion into the urine. They, however, increase also the excretion of potassium, magnesium and hydrogen ions. The diazide diuretics, which are the most widely used, decrease simultaneously the excretion of calcium. This, especially together with the unbalanced supply of sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium, often causes deficiency of potassium or magnesium, deficiency of hydrogen ions, i.e. alkalosis, and excessive and harmful increase of calcium.

The alkalosis is especially harmful because it further decreases the already too small concentrations of potass- ium and magnesium in plasma and other extracellular fluids. The decrease in the concentrations of potassium, magnesium, and hydrogen ions and the increase in the concentration of calcium in plasma and other extracellular fluids further increase the occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias, and the risk of myocardial damage, e.g., heart infarcts.

Administration of potassium alone has, however, not proved efficient, e.g., for the prevention of cardiac arrhythmia, especially if the patient also suffers from magnesium deficiency at the same time. The administration of potassium alone has been even found to increase the de¬ ficiency of magnesium with its harmful effects. Adminis¬ tration of magnesium alone may, on the other hand, cause

even detrimental reduction in the potassium concentration outside the cells when the scdium-pctassium-ATPase, acti¬ vated by the increased magnesium, transfers potassium into the cells. Moreover, an abundant supply of sodium in- creases the excretion of potassium and magnesium into the urine.

Even potassium and magnesium together may be ineffec¬ tive in preventing cardiac arrhythmias and damage of the cardiac muscle if the patient suffers from alkalosis at the same time. The alkalosis may become even worse, be- cause many physiologically usable potassium or magnesium salts have an alkalizing effect.

An increase in the concentration of hydrogen ions alone causes a detrimentally extensive reduction in the quantities of potassium and magnesium inside the cells un¬ less a sufficient quantity of potassium and magnesium is available to the extracellular space from the alimentary tract.

It is known to try to correct the excessive supply of sodium by using mixtures of salts in which sodium has been partly or wholly replaced by other substances, which tend to mimic the taste of the sodium salt. Potassium or cal¬ ciums salts have been generally used as the substituting substances. The use of calcium salts is not, however, reasonable, as it further increases the already too high body-burden of calcium. Potassium salts alone, on the other hand, have often been found to exert a bitter and unpleasant aftertaste .

In the Patent Publication PI 60,107 (corresponds to the Patent Publication GB 2,015,863). a mixture of salts is suggested that contains 0 to 65 per cent by weight of sodium chloride, 20 to -i0 per cent by weight of potassium chloride, and ^~ to 20 per cent by weight of magnesium chloride or sulphate. By using this mixture instead of the normal table salt, it is possible to reduce the supply of sodium and to increase the supply of potassium and mag¬ nesium. However, this composition of salts is not satis-

factory, because the quite crucial role of the hydrogen ions in the potassium and magnesium metabolism has not been recognized. Besides, in the salt composition of FI 60,107 it is necessary to use magnesium sulphate or chloride hydrate. This is because most of the other mag¬ nesium salts are not soluble enough in water. Magnesium chloride is extremely hygroscopic, and magnesium sulphate easily liberates its crystal water in warm conditions. That is why the mixture easily gets moist and cloggy. The object of the invention has been to create a salt composition, which, in a natural way, prevents the draw¬ backs of the unbalanced supply of sodium, calcium, potass¬ ium, and ^' magnesium and the harms of certain ciuretic ^' drugs, but the taste and physical properties of which, on the other hand, are accepted by man.

Now, a mixture ^' of physiologically usable compounds has been discovered, which contains both magnesium, potassium, sodium, and hydrogen ions as dissociable cations. The quantity of magnesium ions is 1 to 80 % , that of potassium ions 2 to 90 % , that of sodium ions 0 to 80 ^ and that of hydrogen ions 0.5 to 80 % of the overall molar quantity of the said ions. By means of the use of the mixture of salts thus discovered instead of table salt or known salt compositions, it is possible to prevent drawbacks result- ing within the electrolyte balance of the body from unbal¬ anced food, from separate dosage of the substances and from the medical treatment with diuretics and, moreover, to increase the concentration of hydrogen ions in the body in alkalosis. It has also been found that the invented composition has additionally some quite unexpected properties.

When the so called spontaneously hypertensive rats are fed on dry food containing 8 % sodium chloride, the blood pressure of the rats increases strongly, and the rats die early of stroke apolexy. When the same amount of the now invented mixture is used instead of sodium chloride, the blood pressure also increases, but not as much as when

sodium chloride is used. The rats, however, totally un¬ expectedly remain healthier and live even longer than the rats with lower pressure which are fed on food of low salt content. The reactions of the spontaneously hypertensive rats have proved to be good models also in the research of hypertension in man. Therefore it is to be expected that the mixture will produce the sane effects also in man.

The preservative properties of the now invented mix¬ ture of salts have proved to be better than those of other mixtures containing potassium and magnesium. It is also possible to reduce the overall salt quantity required for the preservation, because the reduced pH further improves the preservation quality.

In the now invented salt compositions it is also poss- ible to use magnesium compounds, such as magnesium oxide or carbonate, which are soluble only in acidic medium. Thus it is possible to avoid the use of magnesium sulphate or chloride, and to make compositions usable also in warm and humid climatic conditions. It has also been noticed that acids and acidic salts intensify the salty taste of the mixture. This also re¬ duces the requirement of using sodium.

Because of their better healthy the now invented salt compositions are also more acceptable than the common table salt or salt mixtures in the delivery of trace el¬ ements, such as iodine, fluorine, copper, selenium, chromium, zinc, iron, etc. or vitamines to whole groups of populations. The solubility of many trace element com¬ pounds will be increased, which will also increase their biological availability.

In the mixture, usable magnesium compounds are in par¬ ticular magnesium sulphate, magnesium oxide, and magnesium carbonate, but also many other compounds are possible. Suitable potassium compounds are, e.g., potassium carbo- nate, potassium bitartrate, potassium-sodium tartrate, as well as, in particular, potassium chloride and potassium bicarbonate. Sodium compounds that may ce concerned are,

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e.g., sodium glutamate, sodium citrate, as well as, in particular, sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate. As compounds that deliver hydrogen ions, it is possible to use in particular lysine hydrochloride, tartaric acid, and citric acid. Further compounds that may be concerned are, among others, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, ascorbic acid, and glutamic acid hydrochloride, as well as some other acidic amino acids and their salts.

The mixture in accordance with the invention can be used as a food additive replacing sodium chloride as table salt, as a preservative, as fruit salts, as baking powder, or as a preparation maintaining health.

In an appropriate preparation of table salt, the quantity of magnesium ions is 1 to 30 % (in particular 2 to 15 )5), that of potassium ions 10 to 80 % (in particular 15 to 40 % ) , that of sodium ions 15 to 90 % (in particular 50 to 80 % ) ₃ and that of hydrogen ions 0.5 to 20 % (in particular 1 to 5 % ) . Two of the preferred rations are given in Examples 1 and 2. In particular as a preservative, it is possible to use a mixture which contains 2 to 20 % of magnesium ions, 15 to 40 % of potassium ions, 40 to 70 % of sodium ions, and 5 to 20 % of hydrogen ions. One of the preferred com¬ positions will be given in Example ^~ . In particular a fruit salts preparation contains 3 to 80 % of magnesium ions, 4 to 90 % of potassium ions, 0 to 80 % of sodium ions, and 2 to 80 % of hydrogen ions. The mixture includes some fruit acid of agreeable taste, e.g. 2 to 75 % of the overall molar quantity of the above cat- ions, and preferably also bicarbonate ions, whereat the solution becomes a bubbling drink of fresh taste. A typi¬ cal fruit salts preparation will be described in Example 4.

A baking powder in accordance with the invention contains 4 to 80 % of magnesium ions, 4 to 80 % of potass- ium ions, 5 to 90 % of sodium ions, and 0.5 to 40 % of hydrogen ions. Moreover, the mixture must include bi¬ carbonate icns, from which the carbon dioxide is liberated

and raises the dough. Example ^~ describes a preferred mixture of baking powder.

A preparation maintaining the health and inhibiting a disturbance of the electrolyte balance contains 2 to 90 % of magnesium ions, 2 to 90 of potassium ions, 0 to 70 % of sodium ions, and 1.5 to 80 % of hydrogen ions. The examples 6 and 7 describe some preferred mixtures.

Exaπ-Ole 1 Table salt preparation

MgSO • 7H ₂ 0 12 g KC1 28 g NaCl 58 g Lysine HC1 2 g (Mole ratio Mg:K:Na:H is about 3:26:69:1)

Example 2 Table salt preparation

M C0 ₅ 1 ε

MgO 2 g

KC1 25 g

NaCl 60 g

Tartaric acid 10 g

Lysine ^• • HC1 2 g

(Mole ratio Mg:K: :Na:H is about 4:21:66:9)

Example 3 Preservative salt

MgCl ₂ ^• 6H ₂ 0 9 g

KC1 21 g

NaCl 50 g

Benzoic acid 20 g

(Mole ratio Mg:K: ;Na:H is about 4:24:58:1

Example 4 Fruit salts

MgO 2 g

KHC0 ₃ 20 g

NaHCO, 20 g

Na ₂ CC 3 g !.a-tartrate -^ n

Citric acid 27 g

Tartaric acid 27 g (Mole ratio Mg:K:Na:H is about 4:16:21:60)

Example 5 Baking powder

MgO 20 g

KHCO, 60 g

NaHCO-, 10 g

Lysine ^• HC1 10 g

(Mole ratio Mg:K:Na:H is about 39:47:9:4)

Example 6 Mixture that maintai capsules

MgO 28.5 g

KC1 52.7 g

NH^Cl 18.8 g

(Mole ratio Mg:K:H is 40:40:20)

Example 7 Mixture that maintains health, for effer¬ vescent tablets or dore powders

MgO 9 g KC1 8 g KHCO. 16 g

Citric acid 67 g

(Mole ratio Mg:K:H is about 28:33:39)