AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

It has long been known that silica is present in all vegetable and animal tissues. Most of it appears to be in a soluble form which is readily absorbed by the gut and excreted in the urine. A considerable fraction is also present in the skin, hair and other tissues. But the state of its occurrence is not known. The observation from spectroscopic analyses performed in our laboratory a few years ago, that silica is invariably present in the hard tissues and tends to be much higher in certain organs, prompted the present study, with a view to establishing whether there is a functional metabolism of silicon, or whether its presence is merely accidental. [...]