Instrumental multiparametric study of the maturing of therapeutic muds of some italian spas

Thermal mud maturation: organic matter and biological activity

“…The GC-MS analysis highlighted the same lipid components in both extracts together with longer chain fatty acids, such as C20 (1.2%), C22 (0.8%) and C24 (0.5%), and sterolic substances such as cholesterol (1.5%) and b-sitosterol (0.9%). The role of organic matter associated with the clay matrices used in pelotherapy is well known [11], and the lipids produced by micro-organisms have significant anti-inflammatory activity [15,18]. The presence of linoleic acid is interesting, as it is part of a group of essential fatty acids that have important therapeutic and cosmetic properties.…”

“…During the last few years, some scientific studies have focused on characterization of the muds and evaluation of the maturation process. These investigations have looked at the changes in the physico-chemical properties of thermal mud induced by maturation, using various instrumental techniques [4,8,[11][12][13]; the microflora has been examined [14][15][16][17] and the organic matter determined, particularly the lipid fraction [15,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…The maturation procedure in spas is based on extremely complex processes involving not only the ‘virgin’ clay/mineral water interactions but also biological and biochemical processes related to the growth of micro‐organisms and microalgae, depending on the habitats in the open‐air tanks where the clay is left to mature, although it becomes enriched in organic compounds .…”

Assessment of three Spanish clays for their use in pelotherapy

“…Furthermore, some properties of peloids prepared with clays, different types of water and different maturation conditions have been studied Curini et al, 1990;Fernández-González et al, 2013;Gámiz et al, 2009;Quintela et al, 2010;Sánchez et al, 2002;Tateo et al, 2010;Veniale et al, 2004). However, these studies include only some of the properties important in pelotherapy while others do not consider the modifications to these properties which occur during preparation of the clay-water mixture prior to maturation.…”

Caracterização de peloides naturais e do processo de maturação para produção de peloides artificiais

“…(CASÁS et al, 2011(CASÁS et al, , 2013LEGIDO et al, 2007;ZÁRATE et al, 2010). Além disso, algumas propriedades de peloides preparados com argilas, diferentes tipos de água e diferentes condições de maturação também foram estudadas (CARRETERO et al, 2007;CURINI et al, 1990;FERNÁNDEZ-GONZÁLEZ et al, 2013;GÁMIZ et al, 2009;QUINTELA et al, 2010;SÁNCHEZ et a., 2002;TATEO et al, 2010;VENIALE et al, 2004).…”