Epsom salts

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Epsom salts

Epsom salts common name for magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, MgSO ₄ ·7H ₂ O, a water-soluble bitter-tasting compound that occurs as white or colorless needle-shaped crystals. It was first prepared from the waters of mineral springs at Epsom, England; it also occurs as the mineral epsomite. Epsom salts is used medicinally as a purgative; it is also used in leather tanning, mordant dyeing, and as a filler in cotton goods and paper.

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Epsom salts

A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition | 2005 | | Â© A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Epsom salts Magnesium sulphate, originally found in a mineral spring in Epsom, Surrey, England; acts as a purgative because the osmotic pressure of the solution causes it to retain water in the intestine and so increase the bulk and moisture content of the faeces.

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DAVID A. BENDER. "Epsom salts." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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DAVID A. BENDER. "Epsom salts." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved November 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-Epsomsalts.html

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Epsom salts

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Ep·som salts • pl. n. crystals of hydrated magnesium sulfate, MgSO₄.7H₂O, used as a purgative or for other medicinal use.

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