Clearing Aluminum

We have been looking at DMSA and EDTA for the elimination of lead (Pb) This post will weakly acknowledge a South Korean study, [1] Pb is not Al! While both are “basic metals”, they are different!

It is almost impossible to find good images of sub orbitals on the Internet. With the second row of the Periodic Table we have carbon and nitrogen with the p-sub orbitals. Moving down to the 3rd row we have 3p sub orbitals and aluminum and silicon. Going down to the 4th row we start filling up d and f sub shells that have overlapping energy levels of the 3rd orbital… We really need to note

Just because aluminum is a “basic metal” and shiny doesn’t mean we can use the same chelator that is successfully used for the transition metal mercury (Hg) and basic metal lead (Pb).

Plant based silica supplements

A plant based silica, orthosilicic acid (OSA), has been stabilized with vanillin.

These three silica supplements were found to be equally bioavailable as measured by Si in the urine [2]

• Silicium España Laboratorios (Vila-seca, Spain): a) G5 Siliplant, in liquid form of 60 mL, which contained 21.6 mg of OSA with a mixture of plant extracts (500 mg/L Equisetum arvense and 250 mg/L Rosmarinus officinalis) and without preservatives (batch number 15033); 32% absorption
• b) Orgono Powder, in powder form of 1.4 g, which contained 21.6 mg of OSA (providing a high amount of silicic acid in monomeric form at a concentration of 1.5% of elemental silicon and 5% of monomeric OSA) microencapsulated with maltodextrin and without preservatives (batch number OSP 1407); 27 % absorption
• c) G7 Aloe, in liquid form of 120 mL, which contained 21.6 mg of OSA with aloe vera (fresh aloe vera juice q.s. (quantum satis) 1 L Aloe barbadensis Miller), 100% organic pulp, 500 mg/L potassium sorbate and 350 mg/L citric acid) (batch number 14097). 35% absorption

Therefore, we can state that the relative absorption of OSA with maltodextrin (Orgono Powder) seems to be considerably higher than the relative absorption of choline-stabilized OSA, with a percentage of absorption of 16%, and is higher than magnesium trisilicate (4%) or colloidal Si (1%) 14. Moreover, a Si amino acid complex and powdered horsetail grass showed a percentage of absorption of 12% over a 10-h urine collection period 25, while the percentage of absorption of a vanillin-OSA complex was 21% over 6 h 16, which was also lower than that of OSA with maltodextrin. Our results suggest that the preparation of OSA with maltodextrin could be an efficient method to maintain high OSA solubility by avoiding the polymerization of OSA into oligomers, polymers or even colloids, thus allowing us to obtain a Si product with high bioavailability.

OSA with vanillin

Polymethylsiloxane polyhydrate is an OSA polymer sold under the brand name Enterosgel®. From the looks of the image on Wikipedia, Enterosgel subunits have one methyl group and one hydroxyl.

Here’s another structure that makes me doubt that anyone really knows what the structures are.

Monomethylsilanetriol is a similar compound marketed by a called Living Silica. The monomethyl part of the name suggests one methyl group and one hydryoxyl group in the repeating subunits of the polymer. Living Silica does not tell us how many subunits are in their polymer. The triol suggests that the end unit is nothing but hydroxyl groups.

Living Silica’s collagen boster is a “bioavailable ” horsetail extract preserved by rosemary leaves. LIVING SILICA® Plant-Based Collagen Booster (previously known as “G5 Siliplant”) main component is silica. Which is then purified and stabilized by an organic compound in order to enhance absorption and convert to LIVING SILICA® . LIVING SILICA® is fully assimilable by the body’s cells, and provides safe, natural silica in liquid form. This type of silica is readily and easily absorbed.  We are not told what the organic compound is. Is it vanillin?

The Jugdaohsingh paper [4]sort of brings up an important philosophical point of seeding crystals.

If the sugar solution starts out too dilute, the crystals on the string will dissolve and the child will have to wait for the water to evaporate enough for the sugar to come out of solution. Philosophically, this might be what we are dealing with.

Phenolic Compounds as stabilizers [5]

We need to establish some definitions. orthosilicic acid is the monomer. It is silicon the atom with four hydroxyl groups attached to it. MMST is OSA with one of those -OH groups replaced with a methyl group. OSA can undergo a process called condensation, which is essentially a form of polymerization that involved successive removal of hydroxyl groups to form H₂O water.

The authors hypothesized that organosiliceous are less likely to polymerize than OSA because the organic molecules provide bulk and making it more difficult for OSA monomers to approach each other. The authors gave some examples of bulky agents that will not work for anything that can be consumed as food.

The number of free hydroxyl group on the Si atom affects the solubility and the biological activity. This seems to be implying that Si still does its thing if one of the =OH groups is replaced with something else. Note that R-=something else in chemistry lingo. The authors liked bulky phenolic groups with -OH groups to make them more hydrophilic and soluble. Hydrogen bonds will (weakly) link the hydroxyls groups of silanols (from OSA or MMST) with hydroxyl or carbonyl groups of phenolic compounds without any reaction process. Note: These are NOT covalent bonds but merely hydrogen bonds.

The synthesis of the different complexes follows the same procedure, detailed here for the MMST-FB complex and schematically illustrated in Figure 3. In the present inquisition, 410 gm of 1-(4
hydroxyphenyl)-3-butanone is dissolved at 40°C in 467 gm of ethanol
40%. 290 ml of water is added, and the pH is first adjusted to 4.8 with
85% phosphoric acid. 2890 gm of potassium methylsiliconate is added.
The synthesis process allows the complete hydrolysis of the precursor
and liberation of free hydroxyls groups. Hydrolysis is immediately
followed by the formation of the stable, bioavailable Silicon complexes.
The final pH of the solution is controlled and adjusted a second time to
a value of 4.8. Silicon content is 0.3 wt/v 0/0 and the ratio between Si
and stabilizing agent percentage (wt/v%) is 0.37. The dissolution step
occurs so that the ratio between the final volume of solution and the
precursor volume is 225.

Analysis concerning bioavailability and stability were carried out with complexes with 1-(4 hydroxyphenyl)-3-butanone as stabilizing agents (MMST-FB). MMST-FB shown a good bioavailability as 58% of the ingested dose was excreted in urine of healthy volunteers 4 hours after ingestion (dosage by ICP-MS). Previous report from this group on OSA and vanillin indicated 21% of the dose in the urine. Differences were attributed to OSA vs MMST. NMR analyses indeed highlighted the presence of the monomeric form of Silicon only, maintaining its very good bioavailability for months. Such kind of complexes was also shown to
interact with lipid bilayers, because the phenolic moiety has greater affinity for specific lipid, leading to insertion into the bilayer and spatial segregation of lipids.

Introducing aquaporins

This section has been moved to the aquaporin post.

Living Silica (Ravin Jugdaohsingh) Product facts

Monomethylsilanetriol has the highest absorption value as per exhaustive clinical trials conducted by an independent research project in the UK the world reowned silica expert, Ravin Jugdaohsingh. It is safe, non-toxic and without restrictions in terms of consumption with other products including prescription pharmaceuticals.

Monomethylsilanetriol is a molecular bonding of silicon and carbon molecules with water and not a colloidal suspension of silica within a liquid or gel. The only true organic, living silica on the market. This important absorbable organic-type silica, monomethylsilanetriol, CH3 (Si OH)3, is the best silica carrier, and also a molecule enhancer.

They have been conducting clinical trials in the best traditions of science and although testimonials are appreciated it is the hard science which tells us how capable it is. It is not catchphrase marketing, 50 years of research ensures the superiority of monomethylsilanetriol.

• . Aqueous Al (III) and silica, in their monomeric hydrated forms, have low affinity for each other (log K_eff 4.7 at pH 7.2, 25°C) and therefore their interactions are of negligible importance in natural waters .
• For these species to first ‘engage’ it has been shown that Al(III) needs to undergo hydrolytic polymerisation, forming aqueous Al poly oxohydroxides, which have sufficient affinity for effective binding of monosilicic acid (Si(OH)₄).
• In vivo this is most unlikely however as metal ions, such as Al(III), are carefully chaperoned by chelators such as citrate and transferrin, to prevent polyoxohydroxy formation.
• Hence, as an ‘alternative’ mechanism for in vivo aluminosilicate formation we (RJ & JJP) previously reported on an aqueous silica polymer with very high affinity for monomeric Al(III) (log K_eff 11.7 ± 0.03 at pH 7.2, 25°C). This high-aluminium-affinity silica polymer (HSP), originally termed ‘oligomeric silica’, is transiently stable at Si concentrations below the solubility limit of amorphous silica (<< 2 mM; at 25°C) and its metastability is greatly increased by binding Al(III) ions.
• HSP and its aquo-complex with aluminum are resistant to degradation in the gastrointestinal tract leading to marked inhibition of aluminum absorption
• “Monomethylsilanetriol has the highest absorption value as per exhaustive clinical trials conducted by an independent research project in the UK the world reowned silica expert, Ravin Jugdaohsingh. It is safe, non-toxic and without restrictions in terms of consumption with other products including prescription pharmaceuticals.
• Monomethylsilanetriol is a molecular bonding of silicon and carbon molecules with water and not a colloidal suspension of silica within a liquid or gel. The only true organic, living silica on the market. This important absorbable organic-type silica, monomethylsilanetriol, CH3 (Si OH)3, is the best silica carrier, and also a molecule enhancer.
• They have been conducting clinical trials in the best traditions of science and although testimonials are appreciated it is the hard science which tells us how capable it is. It is not catchphrase marketing, 50 years of research ensures the superiority of monomethylsilanetriol.”

The other two may just be stabilized by titrating to a low pH. Carole Perry’s group out of Trent University in Notingham, UK proposed a more detailed mechanism by which polymerization is initiated by one of the -OH groups losing a H⁺ at high pH.

Measuring Al and Si in plasma samples

There is a clinical Atomic Absorption Laboratory at Loma Linda University.

References

1. Lee BK, Schwartz BS, Stewart W, Ahn KD. Provocative chelation with DMSA and EDTA: evidence for differential access to lead storage sites. Occup Environ Med. 1995 Jan;52(1):13-9 free PDFBoqué N, Valls RM, Pedret A, Puiggrós F, Arola L, Solà R. Relative absorption of silicon from different formulations of dietary supplements: a pilot randomized, double-blind, crossover post-prandial study. Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 13;11(1):16479 free article
2. Marcowycz A, Housez B, Maudet C, Cazaubiel M, Rinaldi G, Croizet K. Digestive absorption of silicon, supplemented as orthosilicic acid-vanillin complex. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 Aug;59(8):1584-9. PubMed not free
3. Tobback P, Smeraldi C, Gott D. Safety of orthosilicic acid-vanillin complex (OSA-VC) as a novel food ingredient to be used in food supplements as a source of silicon and bioavailability of silicon from the source. EFSA J. 2018 Jan 5;16(1):e05086.PMC free article
4. Jugdaohsingh R, Brown A, Dietzel M, Powell JJ. High-aluminum-affinity silica is a nanoparticle that seeds secondary aluminosilicate formation. PLoS One. 2013 Dec 13;8(12):e84397. PMC free article
5. Fastre, M. L. et al. “Use of Phenolic Compounds as Stabilizing Agents for Silicon-Based Molecules.” Chemical Science 9 (2018): 1-3.
6. Jugdaohsingh et al. The silicon supplement ‘Monomethylsilanetriol’ is safe and increases the body pool of silicon in healthy Pre-menopausal women Nutrition & Metabolism 2013, 10:37
7. Belton DJ, Deschaume O, Perry CC. An overview of the fundamentals of the chemistry of silica with relevance to biosilicification and technological advances. FEBS J. 2012 May;279(10):1710-20. PMC free article