CLINICAL STUDIES ON CORAL CALCIUM

Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2004 Dec;42(6):532-7.

Marrow-derived osteoblasts seeded into porous natural coral to prefabricate a vascularised bone graft in the shape of a human mandibular ramus: experimental study in rabbits.

Chen F, Chen S, Tao K, Feng X, Liu Y, Lei D, Mao T.

Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Qin Du Hospital, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Kang Fu Road 7, Xi'an 710032, PR China. cflfx@163.net

To find out if it was possible to prefabricate bone graft in the shape of a human mandibular ramus that possessed a pedicle that carried blood. The pore size of the natural coral was about 200 microm with a porosity of about 36%. The natural coral was made into the shape of a human mandibular ramus. Marrow-derived osteoblasts were seeded into porous natural coral scaffolds in a density of 2 x 10(8)/mL in 300 microL cell suspension. After two days of in vitro incubation, five cell-coral complexes were implanted into cell donor rabbits under the inferior epigastric blood vessels to prefabricate a vascularised bone graft of specific shape. Two months later the bone formation was observed by gross inspection and histological examination. Two months after operation, a well-vascularised bone graft in the shape of the initial coral scaffold and with a blood-carrying pedicle had been regenerated successfully. Osteogenesis followed the pattern of endochondral bone formation. New bone could be seen on the surface and in the pores of coral on histological examination. We have shown that it is possible to fabricate vascularised bone graft in a predetermined shape using tissue engineering. This kind of bone graft may have future clinical application.

PMID: 15544883 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Nutrition Research, Vol, 20, No 11, 1557-1567, 2000

Effects of coral calcium as an inhibitory substance against colon cancer and its metastasis in the lungs.

Yuji Hirota, Ph. D and Takashi Sugisaki, Ph.D.

Medical Preventive Group Laboratory, MPG Co., Ltd.
2-41-18 Sumida, Sumida-ku, Japan 131.

Colon 26 cancer cells where injected into mice, then the researchers looked at the effects of coral calcium and calcium carbonate (control) against the metastasis of colon 26 cancer cells in the lungs. In conclusion, the higher the dose of coral calcium, the greater the activity of NK cells and the number of macrophages increased. At higher doses of coral calcium the metastasis of the cancer cells in the lungs were significantly inhibited.

J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1999 Oct;45(5):509-17.

Calcium absorption from the ingestion of coral-derived calcium by humans.

Ishitani K, Itakura E, Goto S, Esashi T.

Higashi Sapporo Hospital, Japan.

Recent dietary life involves frequent opportunities for the ingestion of purified, processed food products and preserved foods, and it has been pointed out that the current dietary mineral intake strongly tends toward nutritional imbalance. The Ryukyu Islands yield coral which contains calcium and magnesium in a content ratio of about 2 to 1, with their approximate contents of 20 and 10%, respectively. In this report, the calcium absorption from the ingestion of crackers into which the coral powder was incorporated (coral-added crackers) and that from ingestion of calcium carbonate-added crackers was comparatively assessed. Twelve healthy adult volunteers (6 men and 6 women) ingested coral-added crackers (calcium content: 525 mg) and calcium carbonate-added crackers (ditto) once each alternately on a cross-over design with a wash-out period of 3 d between the regimens. The study also included controls receiving neither cracker. The degree of intestinal absorption of calcium from coral-added crackers and that from calcium carbonate-added crackers was evaluated in terms of increment in urinary calcium excretion per dL of glomerular filtrate (GF) (difference between coral calcium and calcium carbonate) and increase in urinary calcium excretion per milligram creatinine (difference from control value). The increment in urinary calcium excretion per dL of GF during the latter half of the observation period after the ingestion of coral-added crackers was significantly greater than that during the latter half of the observation period after ingestion of calcium carbonate-added crackers (p = 0.039, paired t-test). A significant difference (from control value) in the increase of urinary calcium excretion per milligram creatinine was also observed (p = 0.0008). The present data, though from a relatively few study subjects, suggest that the calcium of coral origin is better absorbed from the intestine than calcium of calcium carbonate origin on the average.

PMID: 10683804 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

52nd Japanese Society of Nutrition and Food Science, April 16-18, 1998

Calcium-fortifying foods and influence of exercise on bone mineral density.

Futaba Nutrition School/ Kagawa Nutrition University.

A bone mineral density clinical study was conducted with 157 students in an age range of 19-28 years old. In conclusion, the experimental group who took natural coral tablets and exercise showed an increased in bone mineral density.

44^th The Japan Dietetics Society, October 16-17, 1997

Calcium absorbing rate of natural coral.

Dr. Kazuharu Suzuki, Dr. Ritsuko Masuyama, Dr. Masaaki Goto,

University of Okinawa and the University of Rukuyuka.

University of Okinawa and the University of Rukuyuka has shown in their clinical studies that calcium absorption of coral calcium was better absorbed in the bodies of the experimental animals (30 rats) than cow bone derivative calcium (hydroxy apatite) and milk associated calcium.

Coral calcium and the effect on blood calcium levels.

Mr. Kawamura and Taniuchi performed a 30-year study, which included over 20,000 cases in which they looked at the efficacy of more than 40 calcium supplements. The people who were taken ionized calcium majority of the time experienced adverse symptoms of hypercalcemia (high blood calcium levels). Furthermore, they concluded that many other calcium supplements may lead to high swings in blood calcium levels.

(from low blood calcium levels known as hypocalcemia to hypercalcemia). In conclusion both researchers found that people who took coral calcium did not suffer from large swings in their blood calcium levels.