The Contribution of Drinking Water to Dietary Reference Intakes of Calcium and Magnesium in Commercial Bottled Drinking Water in Tirana, Albania During 2019

Background and aim: Both calcium and magnesium are essential to human health. Inadequate intake of either nutrient can impair health. Recommended daily intakes of each element have been set at national and international levels. While the concentrations of calcium and magnesium in drinking-water vary markedly from one supply to another, mineral-rich drinking-waters may provide substantial contributions to total intakes of these nutrients in some populations or population subgroups. Hard water is a dietary source of calcium and sometimes magnesium, although the absolute and relative concentrations will vary greatly by source and the water consumption levels. Consumption of moderately hard water containing typical amounts of calciumand magnesium may provide an important incremental percentage of the daily dietary requirement. Materials and methods: Bottle water samples were collected over a 4-month period in 2019 in 
different markets in Tirana. The items analyzed for each water samples were: pH, conductivity, Total Hardness (TH), Calcium (Ca2+) and Magnesium (Mg2+). Results: Dietary reference intakes of Ca2+ and Mg2+ (DRIs) was evaluated based on the levels of these two elements. The DRI of Ca2+ varied from 0.66 - 22.49 % (average 8.29 %); the DRI of 
Mg2+ varied from 0.3- 15.33 % (average 4.27%) in all bottles analyzed. Conclusion: The scope of the study is to reveal the potential contribution of calcium and magnezium in drinking water to human nutrition based on the typical daily consumption of drinking water.