The silicon supplement ‘Monomethylsilanetriol’ is safe and increases the body pool of silicon in healthy Pre-menopausal women

Abstract

BackgroundMonomethylsilanetriol (MMST) has been used for decades as an oral silicon supplement for bone and connective tissue health, although there are no formal data on its in vivo utilisation or safety following sustained dosing.MethodsTo investigate whether MMST contributes to the body pool of silicon and, secondly, to establish its safety following 4 weeks’ supplementation in humans, twenty-two healthy pre-menopausal women (22–38 years) were recruited and supplemented with MMST at the maximum daily recommended dose (10.5 mg Si/day) for 4 weeks in a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, cross-over design (i.e. 8 weeks in total). Fasting serum and urine samples were collected at baseline and at the end of the 4-week supplementation/placebo periods for analysis of total silicon by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, MMST by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and full serum biochemistry. Participants also reported on, by questionnaire, their health, well-being and quality of life at 0, 4 and 8 weeks.ResultsOverall, 4-weeks supplementation with MMST significantly increased total fasting Si concentrations in serum and urine (P ≤ 0.003; paired t-test). MMST was semi-quantifiable in serum and quantifiable in urine, but only accounted for ca. 50% and 10%, respectively, of the increased total-Si concentration. There were no reported adverse effects (i.e. changes to health and well-being) or serum biochemical changes with MMST versus placebo.ConclusionsOur data indicate that oral MMST is safe, is absorbed and undergoes sufficient metabolism in vivo to raise fasting serum silicon levels, consistent with other well absorbed forms of dietary silicon (e.g. orthosilicic acid). It thus appears to be a suitable silicon supplement.

Anti-Aging Effects of Monomethylsilanetriol and Maltodextrin-Stabilized Orthosilicic Acid on Nails, Skin and Hair

“…demonstrated that 90% of circulating orthosilicic acid was rapidly excreted without any form of cellular processing. Afterwards, Pruksa et al [26] reported that ingestion of a dose of soluble dietary silicon by healthy subjects resulted in the same amount being excreted within 24 h. In relation to MMST, it is kwon that there is a rapid majority urinary excretion, but the storage of minor part of Si occurs for an extended period-and then, there is the bioconversion (metabolism) of MMST to orthosilicic acid (dietary silicon) [17].…”

“…M-OSA and MMST did produce an increase in mean hair Si content, but for MMST this did not reach statistical significance. Jugdaohsingh et al [17] also studied the metabolism of MMST in a 4-week supplementation study, using the blood and urine as biological matrices. Their data showed We have chosen hair as the biological matrix because of its widespread applications in toxicological, clinical, environmental and forensic investigations [28].…”

“…In addition, the presence of the orthosilicic acid is known as the biological form of silicon in humans and animals and plays a major role in the release of silicon into living cells [2,4,[14][15][16]. Despite the fact that Si is mainly absorbed from our diet as orthosilicic acid, when present in higher concentrations (it is stable only in concentrations lower than 10 −4 M ∼ = 10 mg/L) and with no addition of stabilizers to prevent self-association, this form of silicon polymerizes and forms silica (SiO 2 ) which allows very limited bioavailability (absorption ranging from 1% to 20%) [17]. Therefore, only monomeric orthosilicic acid and its small oligomers are soluble and can efficiently cross the intestinal barrier providing greater bioavailability.…”

“…MMST is available as diluted solution and contain only unpolymerized forms of MMST (monomers and oligomers). MMST is an amphiphilic, and highly permeable organosilicon molecule [Si(OH) 3 CH 3 ] that shows stability even at concentrations above 20 mM at room temperature and possesses rapid/high absorption and no adverse effects have been reported [16,17]. After its intestinal absorption, MMST is converted into biologically active orthosilicic acid [17].…”

Safety of organic silicon (monomethylsilanetriol, MMST) as a novel food ingredient for use as a source of silicon in food supplements and bioavailability of orthosilicic acid from the source

“…The authors concluded this study indicated that silicon from MMST was very well absorbed; however, the Panel noted that the analytical method was not able to provide information on the form of silicon absorbed. Jugdaohsingh et al (2013) studied the metabolism and safety of the MMST in a 4-week human supplementation study. One objective of the study was to establish whether MMST could contribute to the body pool of silicon following sustained supplementation in humans.…”