An Environmentally Compatible and Less Costly (Greener) Microwave Digestion Method of Bone Samples Using Dilute Nitric Acid for Analysis by ICP-MS.

An environmentally compatible and less costly (greener) analytical method for the digestion of bone meal samples using microwave-assisted dilute nitric acid (HNO) was developed and optimized. The method, employing a mixture of 1 mL concentrated HNO and 4 mL of deionized water, offered a comparable performance to the conventional method using 5 mL of concentrated HNO. The accuracy of the method was validated by using certified reference material NIST 1486 (Bone Meal); percentage recoveries were within ±15% for all eight certified elements.

The Role of Dietary Magnesium in Cardiovascular Disease.

In the past 20 years, a large number of epidemiological studies, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses have found an inverse relationship between magnesium intake or serum magnesium and cardiovascular disease, indicating that low magnesium status is associated with hypertension, coronary artery calcification, stroke, ischemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and cardiac mortality. Controlled metabolic unit human depletion-repletion experiments found that a mild or moderate magnesium deficiency can cause physiological and metabolic changes that respond to magnesium supplementation, which indicates that these types of deficiencies or chronic latent magnesium deficiency are contributing factors to the occurrence and severity of cardiovascular disease. Mechanisms through which a mild or moderate magnesium deficiency can contribute to this risk include inflammatory stress, oxidative stress, dyslipidemia and deranged lipid metabolism, endothelial dysfunction, and dysregulation of cellular ion channels, transporters, and signaling.

Boric acid alleviates periodontal inflammation induced by IL-1β in human gingival fibroblasts.

Background: Boric acid (BA) has been found to have therapeutic effects on periodontal disease through beneficially affecting antibacterial, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory actions.

Methods: This study was conducted to determine the effect of BA on cell viability and on mRNA expressions of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and on oxidative stress enzymes induced by IL-1β (1 ng/mL) in Human Gingival Fibroblasts (HGF) cultured for 24 and 72 h in DMEM media. The BA concentrations added to the media were 0.

Boric Acid Reverses Nicotine-Induced Cytokine Expressions of Human Gingival Fibroblasts.

Nicotine, the major bioactive ingredient in tobacco, is a major risk factor for periodontal disease and destruction. Nicotine has been shown to stimulate the production of cytokines that are priming agents for inflammation that induces tissue destruction, such as IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8, by gingival keratinocytes and human gingival fibroblasts (HGF). Boron as boric acid has been found to decrease pro-inflammatory cytokines and increase anti-inflammatory cytokines in cells with inflammatory stress.

Nail Mineral Composition Changes Do Not Reflect Bone Mineral Changes Caused by Boron Supplementation.

Nails have been found to be a non-invasive and readily available tissue whose mineral content can change because of a change in dietary mineral intake. Thus, this study was undertaken to determine whether boron (B) supplementation would change the concentrations of some mineral elements in nails and whether these changes correlated with changes induced in bone. Female New Zealand White rabbits (aged 8 months, 2-2.

Borate and boric acid supplementation of drinking water alters teeth and bone mineral density and composition differently in rabbits fed a high protein and energy diet.

The reported beneficial effects of boron on mineralized tissues in animals and humans vary. Thus, a study was performed to assess whether the variability was the result of different forms of boron supplementation, method of supplementation, and increased adiposity of the rabbit experimental model. Thirty-one female New Zealand White rabbits, (aged 8 months, 2-2.

Voluntary running of defined distances alters bone microstructure in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet.

Obesity increases the risk for pathological conditions such as bone loss. On the other hand, physical exercise reduces body adiposity. To test the hypothesis that physical activity improves bone quality, we evaluated voluntary running of defined distances on trabecular and cortical microstructure in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD).

Boron as Boric Acid Induces mRNA Expression of the Differentiation Factor Tuftelin in Pre-Osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 Cells.

The effects of boron on the formation and maintenance of mineralized structures at the molecular level are still not clearly defined. Thus, a study was conducted using MC3T3-E1 cells to determine whether boron affected mRNA expressions of genes associated with bone/alveolar bone formation around the teethMC3T3-E1 (clone 4) cells were cultured in media treated with boric acid at concentrations of 0, 0.1, 10, 100, or 1000 ng/ml.

The Association Between Some Macro and Trace Elements in Saliva and Periodontal Status.

Changes in the macro and trace element composition of saliva might be indicative for pathological changes in periodontal tissues. However, there is a lack of evidence in the literature showing associations between mineral elements and periodontal status. The aim of this study was to determine whether such associations occur.

Dietary Selenium Supplementation Does Not Attenuate Mammary Tumorigenesis-Mediated Bone Loss in Male MMTV-PyMT Mice.

Bone wasting occurs during the progression of breast cancer and contributes to breast cancer mortality. We evaluated the effect of methylseleninic acid (MSeA), an anti-carcinogenic form of selenium, on bone microstructural changes in the presence of mammary tumors in a male breast cancer model of mouse mammary tumor virus-polyomavirus middle T-antigen (MMTV-PyMT). In this study, we performed microcomputed tomographic analysis of femurs and vertebrae collected from a study showing that dietary supplementation with MSeA reduces mammary tumorigenesis in male mice.

The Problematic Use of Dietary Reference Intakes to Assess Magnesium Status and Clinical Importance.

Determination of the public health concern about magnesium (Mg) in health and disease has been confounded by the lack of a practical measure of status. This has resulted in a lack of consistency in associating Mg deficiency with specific pathological conditions. Some attempts at associating Mg with a chronic disease have used the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) as a status assessment measure.

Effects of Nutritional Deficiency of Boron on the Bones of the Appendicular Skeleton of Mice.

Scientific evidence has shown the nutritional importance of boron (B) in the remodeling and repair of cancellous bone tissue. However, the effects of the nutritional deficiency of B on the cortical bone tissue of the appendicular skeleton have not yet been described. Thus, a study was performed to histomorphometrically evaluate the density of osteocyte lacunae of cortical bone of mouse femora under conditions of nutritional deficiency of B and to analyze the effects of the deficiency on the biomechanical properties of mouse tibiae.

Dietary Magnesium and Chronic Disease.

Although official magnesium (Mg) dietary reference intakes are open to question, a significant number of adults likely have intakes that are in the range of 50%-99% of the requirement. This moderate or marginal (subclinical) deficient Mg intake generally is asymptomatic. Animal studies, however, indicate that moderate or subclinical Mg deficiency primes phagocytic cells for the release of proinflammatory cytokines leading to chronic inflammatory and oxidative stress.

Magnesium deficiency and increased inflammation: current perspectives.

Animal studies have shown that magnesium deficiency induces an inflammatory response that results in leukocyte and macrophage activation, release of inflammatory cytokines and acute-phase proteins, and excessive production of free radicals. Animal and in vitro studies indicate that the primary mechanism through which magnesium deficiency has this effect is through increasing cellular Ca, which is the signal that results in the priming of cells to give the inflammatory response. Primary pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin (IL)-1; the messenger cytokine IL-6; cytokine responders E-selectin, intracellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1; and acute-phase reactants C-reactive protein and fibrinogen have been determined to associate magnesium deficiency with chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammatory stress).

Voluntary running of defined distances reduces body adiposity and its associated inflammation in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet.

This study investigated the effect of voluntary running of defined distances on body adiposity in male C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet. Mice were assigned to 6 groups and fed a standard AIN93G diet (sedentary) or a modified high-fat AIN93G diet (sedentary; unrestricted running; or 75%, 50%, or 25% of unrestricted running) for 12 weeks. The average running distance was 8.

Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 deficiency attenuates and high-fat diet exacerbates bone loss in mice with Lewis lung carcinoma.

Bone loss occurs in obesity and cancer-associated complications including wasting. This study determined whether a high-fat diet and a deficiency in monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) altered bone structural defects in male C57BL/6 mice with Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) metastases in lungs. Compared to non-tumor-bearing mice, LLC reduced bone volume fraction, connectivity density, trabecular number, trabecular thickness and bone mineral density and increased trabecular separation in femurs.

Perspective: The Case for an Evidence-Based Reference Interval for Serum Magnesium: The Time Has Come.

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee indicated that magnesium was a shortfall nutrient that was underconsumed relative to the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for many Americans. Approximately 50% of Americans consume less than the EAR for magnesium, and some age groups consume substantially less. A growing body of literature from animal, epidemiologic, and clinical studies has demonstrated a varied pathologic role for magnesium deficiency that includes electrolyte, neurologic, musculoskeletal, and inflammatory disorders; osteoporosis; hypertension; cardiovascular diseases; metabolic syndrome; and diabetes.

Guidance for the determination of status indicators and dietary requirements for magnesium.

Balance data obtained since 1997 indicate that the Estimated Average Requirement and Recommended Dietary Allowance for magnesium should be 175 and 250 mg/d, respectively, for 70 kg healthy individuals, and increase or decrease based on body weight. Urinary excretion data from balance studies indicate that 40 to 80 mg (1.65 to 3.