Drinking and bottled water as a natural source of the lithium trace element

Research conducted over the past 40 years has pointed to the potential roles of lithium as an essential micronutrient. One criterion for the essentiality of a micronutrient is its constant presence in drinking water from natural sources. The lithium content in the aquatic environment varies significantly depending on the geographic area. Lithium is present in varying concentrations in the aquatic environment: from 0.07 to 40 µg/L in fresh water and from 170 to 190 µg/L in seawater. In groundwater, the concentration of Li ion is usually higher than in surface water and ranges from 0.05 to 150 µg/L. A meta-analysis of one hundred fifty seven reports showed that the average Li concentration in various drinking water samples was 5.4 µg/L. An analysis of lithium content in 18 brands of bottled natural mineral water showed two groups of waters: with a low Li content (up to 11 µg Li/l) and with a high Li content (more than 100 µg/l). Numerous clinical and epidemiological studies have confirmed higher lithium levels in public drinking water to be associated with lower suicide rates and aggressive crime. The concentration of lithium in drinking water is the main factor that significantly affects its daily consumption and the implementation of the biological effects of lithium ions. In Russia, most of the studied drinking water sources contain very small amounts of lithium (from 3 to 160 µg/L). Therefore, if it is necessary to replenish the lithium deficiency, Russians can use special medicinal table bottled water or vitamin and mineral complexes based on non-toxic lithium salts with organic anions.

Contribution.
The authors contributed equally to this article.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: May 9, 2025 / Accepted: March 24, 2026 / Published: May 18, 2026

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