Abstract
We explored the effects of silicon-containing water (BT) intake on gastrointestinal function and gut microbiota. BT was obtained by pressuring tap water through silicon minerals (mullite, Al6Si2O13) column. BT decreased H2O2 chemiluminescence counts, indicating its antioxidant activity. Four weeks of BT drinking increased H2O2 scavenging activity and glutathione peroxidase activity of plasma. BT drinking did not affect the body weight but significantly reduced the weight of feces and gastrointestinal motility. BT drinking significantly suppressed pylorus ligation enhanced gastric juice secretion, gastric reactive oxygen species amount, erythrocyte extravasation, IL-1β production by infiltrating leukocyte, and lipid peroxidation within gastric mucosa. Data from 16S rRNA sequencing revealed BT drinking significantly increased beneficial flora including Ruminococcaceae UCG-005, Prevotellaceae NK3B31, Weissella paramesenteroides, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus murinus and decreased harmful flora including Mucispirillum, Rodentibacter, and Staphylococcus aureus. This study pioneerly provided scientific evidences for the potential effects of water-soluble forms of silicon intake on antioxidant activity, gastrointestinal function, and gut microbiota modulation.
Highlights
Silicon is an essential micronutrient and is the third most abundant trace element in the human body
Our data showed that 0.5BT (120026 ± 40147 vs. 416237 ± 131295, P = 0.0237), 1BT (59131 ± 24395 vs. 416237 ± 131295, P = 0.0079), 2BT (49762 ± 7524 vs. 416237 ± 131295, P = 0.0067), and 5BT (47075 ± 7890 vs. 416237 ± 131295, P = 0.0064) significantly reduced H2O2-induced chemiluminescent counts, which demonstrated BT possessed H2O2 scavenging activity as compared with RO water (Fig 2A and 2B)
Our result demonstrated that 5 BT drinking (63.62 ± 6.189 vs. 49.05 ± 1.266, P = 0.0412) significantly increased Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity of plasma, as compared with tap water drinking group (Fig 2E)
Summary
Silicon is an essential micronutrient and is the third most abundant trace element in the human body. The major food sources of silicon are cereals, oats, barley, white wheat flour, polished rice, mineral water, and beer. Animal source foods such as meat and dairy products contain lower level of silicon. Silicon is naturally present in food as several forms of silicate, including silicon dioxide (SiO2), free ortho-silicic acid (H4SiO4), or silicic acids bounded to certain nutrients [1]. Mounting evidences indicate that silicon possesses pharmacological effects and plays an essential role in health including bone mineralization, collagen synthesis, aging of skin, integrity of hair and nails, atherosclerosis, and other disorders [2].
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