Relative absorption of silicon from different formulations of dietary supplements: a pilot randomized, double-blind, crossover post-prandial study.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the relative absorption of a new powder presentation of silicon (Si) as orthosilicic acid with maltodextrin (Orgono Powder) compared to usual Si liquid presentations as orthosilicic acid with Equisetum arvense and Rosmarinus officinalis (G5 Siliplant) and orthosilicic acid with aloe vera (G7 Aloe). All dietary supplements were administered at the same Si oral dose (21.6 mg) in a randomized, double-blind, crossover post-prandial study conducted in 5 healthy men. Urine was collected at baseline and over the 6-h post-dose period in 2 separate 3-h collections for the analysis of Si concentration, which was conducted by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry as the gold standard method. No significant differences in total urinary Si excretion were found after the intake of these 3 dietary supplements; 34.6%, 32.4% and 27.2% of the ingested Si from G7 Aloe, G5 Siliplant and Orgono Powder, respectively, was excreted in urine over the 6-h follow-up period. The 3 different oral Si formulations tested, in powder and liquid presentations, provide highly bioavailable Si and present an equivalent relative absorption in healthy humans.

Non-invasive therapy to reduce the body burden of aluminium in Alzheimer's disease.

There are unexplained links between human exposure to aluminium and the incidence, progression and aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. The null hypothesis which underlies any link is that there would be no Alzheimer's disease in the effective absence of a body burden of aluminium. To test this the latter would have to be reduced to and retained at a level that was commensurate with an Alzheimer's disease-free population. In the absence of recent human interference in the biogeochemical cycle of aluminium the reaction of silicic acid with aluminium has acted as a geochemical control of the biological availability of aluminium. This same mechanism might now be applied to both the removal of aluminium from the body and the reduced entry of aluminium into the body while ensuring that essential metals, such as iron, are unaffected. Based upon the premise that urinary aluminium is the best non-invasive estimate of body burden of aluminium patients with Alzheimer's disease were asked to drink 1.5 L of a silicic acid-rich mineral water each day for five days and, by comparison of their urinary excretion of aluminium pre-and post this simple procedure, the influence upon their body burden of aluminium was determined. Drinking the mineral water increased significantly (P<0.001) their urinary excretion of silicic acid (34.3 +/- 15.2 to 55.7 +/- 14.2 micromol/mmol creatinine) and concomitantly reduced significantly P=0.037) their urinary excretion of aluminium (86.0 +/- 24.3 to 62.2 +/- 23.2 nmol/mmol creatinine). The latter was achieved without any significant (P>0.05) influence upon the urinary excretion of iron (20.7 +/- 9.5 to 21.7 +/- 13.8 nmol/mmol creatinine). The reduction in urinary aluminium supported the future longer-term use of silicic acid as non-invasive therapy for reducing the body burden of aluminium in Alzheimer's disease.

The silicon content of beer and its bioavailability in healthy volunteers.

Dietary Si, as soluble orthosilicic acid (OSA), may be important for the growth and development of bone and connective tissue. Beer appears to be a major contributor to Si intake, although the Si content of beer and its bioavailability in human subjects have not been well established. Here we investigated the Si content of different beers and then estimated Si absorption from beer in healthy volunteers. The Si content of seventy-six different beers was estimated using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and one of the beers, used in the ingestion study, was ultrafiltered to determine OSA content. Next, following the ingestion of 0.6 litres beer (22.5 mg Si; 4.6 % (v/v) ethanol), serum and urinary Si levels were measured in nine healthy volunteers over a 6 h period. A solution of OSA was similarly investigated as a positive control and water and 4.6 % ethanol as negative controls. The mean Si level of beer was 19.2 (sd 6.6) mg/l; the median Si level was 18.0 mg/l. There was no significant difference in the Si levels of the different beers by geographical origin or type of beer. Serum and urinary Si levels increased considerably following the ingestion of beer or a solution of OSA but not with the ingestion of either 4.6 % ethanol or water. The ultrafilterability of Si from beer (about 80 %) and its absorption in volunteers (about 55 %) was comparable with that of a solution of OSA suggesting that Si in beer is present chiefly in a monomeric form and is readily bioavailable.

Silicic acid: its gastrointestinal uptake and urinary excretion in man and effects on aluminium excretion.

Silicon (Si), as silicic acid, is suggested to be the natural antidote to aluminium (Al) toxicity, and was recently shown to promote the urinary excretion of Al from body stores. The metabolism of Si in man, however, remains poorly investigated. Here we report on the pharmacokinetics and metabolism of Si in healthy volunteers following ingestion of orthosilicic acid (27-55 mg/l Si) in water. We also investigated whether orthosilicic acid promotes the urinary excretion of endogenous Al. Minimum, median uptake of Si from the ingested dose was 50.3% (range: 21.9-74.7%, n = 8) based on urinary analysis following dosing. Significant correlations were observed between creatinine clearance and Si levels in serum or urine (r = 0.95 and 0.99, respectively). Renal clearance of Si was 82-96 ml/min suggesting high renal filterability. These results suggest that orthosilicic acid is readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract of man and then readily excreted in urine. There was no significant increase in Al excretion, over 32 h, following ingestion of the orthosilicic acid dose (P = 0.5; n = 5).

Kinetics of uptake and elimination of silicic acid by a human subject: a novel application of 32Si and accelerator mass spectrometry.

Silicon is possibly important in human physiology in protecting against the toxic effects of aluminium, but the kinetics of uptake and excretion of silicic acid, the bioavailable form, are not well characterised. We have used 32Si as a tracer in a human uptake experiment to determine a gastrointestinal uptake factor for silicic acid, and to elucidate the kinetics of renal elimination. Urine collections were made for extending intervals from 2 to 12 h over 2 days following ingestion by a single human subject of a neutral silicic acid solution containing tracer levels of 32Si (t1/2 approximately 150 y). Silicon was isolated as SiO2 and the 32Si content determined by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), using a gas-filled magnet technique to eliminate a prolific isobaric interference from 32S. Silicon uptake appears to have been essentially complete within 2 h of ingestion. Elimination occurred by two simultaneous first-order processes with half-lives of 2.7 and 11.3 h, representing around 90% and 10%, respectively, of the total output. The rapidly eliminated 32Si was probably retained in the extracellular fluid volume, whilst the slower component may represent intracellular uptake and release. Elimination of absorbed 32Si was essentially complete after 48 h and was equivalent to 36% of the ingested dose. This establishes only a lower limit for gastrointestinal absorption as, although there was no evidence for longer term retention of additional 32Si, the possibility could not be excluded by these results.

Biochemical studies in paraplegic renal stone patients. 2. Urinary excretion of citrate, inorganic pyrophosphate, silicate and urate.

The urinary excretions of citrate, inorganic orthophosphate and pyrophosphate, silicate and urate were measured in 17 paraplegic patients with renal calculous disease associated with urinary infection, in 16 paraplegics with no history of urinary calculus and in 14 healthy control subjects. The paraplegics excreted less citrate, orthophosphate and pyrophosphate than the control subjects. The stone-formers excreted more urate than the paraplegics without stone disease, but less than the control subjects. There were significant positive correlations between urinary orthophosphate and pyrophosphate and between urinary silicate and 24-h urine volume. The possible roles of increased urate and diminished excretion of citrate and inorganic pyrophosphate in the aetiology of renal calculosis in paraplegic patients deserve further investigation.

The structure of a new sialic acid-containing decasaccharide from the urine of a patient with mucolipidosis.

A new sialic acid-containing oligosaccharide has been isolated from urine of a patient with a type of mucolipidosis newly recognized by Orii et al. (1972). This compound was found to be composed of galactose (2 moles), mannose (3 moles), N-acetylglucosamine (3 moles) and sialic acid (2 moles). On the basis of the results of sequential glycosidase digestion, of methylation analysis, and of the Smith degradation, the structure of this oligosaccharide was elucidated as follows: NeuAcalpha2-6Galbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-2Manalpha1-3[NeuAcalpha2-6Galbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-2Manalpha1-6]Manbeta1-4GlcNAc. The increased excretion of this oligosaccharide may be caused by the impaired metabolism of glycoproteins having N-glycosidic linkage.

Retention and extra-articular spread of intra-articularly injected 90Y silicate.

A study was performed on the retention and distribution of intra-articularly injected colloidal 90Y silicate in 7 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (8 knees). In 5 knees retention was complete within the limits of measuring accuracy, and in the remaining 3, 82-84% was retained. No radioactivity was detected in the liver and heart areas or in the blood samples. The cumulative urine activity was less than 1.8%. In the inguinal lymph nodes, activity was detectable %0.5-2%) in only 3 cases. We conclude that 90Y silicate is a safe radioactive agent for the treatment of knee effusions, provided the limb is strictly immobilized after the injection.