Multi-Biomedical Effect of The Shell Calcite _Exploration of Multi-Functional Calcium

Abstract

This study explores the biological effects of calcite prepared from the shell of the bivalve Corbicula japonica, whose meat has traditionally been used in Japan as a folk medicine for liver disorders. The work was prompted by a fishery company seeking a use for discarded shells and by a village legend that a priest had cured liver disease with fired shell powder. Shell calcite powder was prepared by heating at 105 to 900 C for two hours, milled, sieved and analysed by X-ray diffraction, with the shells of two other shellfish used as references. The material was tested for anti-hepatitis potency in the LEC rat model, followed by a case study in six human volunteers whose liver function and lipid, cholesterol, glucose and uric acid values were examined, and a clinical report of a 74-year-old man with fatty liver. The calcite contained no carbohydrate, protein or lipid, and heavy metals were present only at trace, safe levels. All volunteers responded positively with no adverse effects: liver function markers improved, and uric acid, glucose, lipid and cholesterol levels decreased. In the patient, the liver was found to be normal on echo examination after calcite ingestion, and a glucose-lowering effect was also confirmed in a diabetes mouse model. The authors conclude that the shell calcite appears to have multiple bioactivities.

Abstract prepared by the editorial office from the full text of the article; the authors did not supply one.