Physiological silicon incorporation into bone mineral requires orthosilicic acid metabolism to SiO ₄ ⁴⁻

Under physiological conditions, the predominant form of bioavailable silicon (Si) is orthosilicic acid (OSA). In this study, given Si's recognized positive effect on bone growth and integrity, we examined the chemical form and position of this natural Si source in the inorganic bone mineral hydroxyapatite (HA). X-ray diffraction (XRD) of rat tibia bone mineral showed that the mineral phase was similar to that of phase-pure HA. However,...