Abstract
Silicon is one of the so-called “newer trace elements.” Although interest in the silicon content of animal tissues and the effects of siliceous substances upon animals was evident over half a century ago, emphasis has been placed until recently on the toxicity of silicon, mainly its involvement in silicosis (King and Belt, 1938). It is only within the last decade that silicon has been recognized as participating in the normal metabolism of higher animals and as an essential trace element. It has been shown that silicon is required for growth and skeletal development in the chick (Carlisle, 1972) and the rat (Schwarz and Milne, 1972), and for bone, cartilage, and connective tissue formation (Carlisle, 1976a, 1980a,b 1981), as will be discussed more fully below. A relationship between silicon and aging in certain tissues has also been reported, the silicon content of aorta and skin decreasing significantly with age; this occurs in several animal species (Carlisle, 1974) and also in humans (Loeper et al., 1978), where the decrease in the aorta has been associated with the development of atherosclerosis. The possible involvement of silicon in atherosclerosis has also been suggested by others (Schwarz, 1978). Moreover, a relationship between silicon, age, and endocrine balance has been reported, with the suggestion that the decline in hormonal activity may be responsible for the changes in silicon levels in senescence (Charnot and Pérés, 1971, 1978).
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Carlisle, E.M. (1981). Silicon in Bone Formation. In: Simpson, T.L., Volcani, B.E. (eds) Silicon and Siliceous Structures in Biological Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5944-2_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5944-2_4
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