Abstract
Silver is ingested in India in the form of varak, Ayurvedic bhasm and water contained in silver utensils, but nobody knows their effects. We have examined the effect of interaction of silver ingested in the form of varak (leaf), bhasm (ash) and water (colloidal solution) on some essential elements (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe and Zn) in blood, liver, spleen and kidneys of chicks. The results showed significant rise of silver in all the tissues and significant fall in copper in the blood. The greatest rise was obtained in blood silver by silver sol while it had the lowest amount of silver. Iron significantly increased in tissues but somewhat decreased in blood. Zinc content increased in all the tissues by leaf and ash but decreased by sol. No consistent pattern was seen in case of other elements.
Key Words: Silver, Bhasm, Chicks, Zinc, Iron, Copper
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (53.6 KB).
References
- 1.Underwood E.J. Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition. New York: Academic Press; 1977. pp. 444–445. [Google Scholar]
- 2.Chopra R.N., Chopra I.C., Handa K.L., Kapur L.D. Chopra’s Indigenous Drugs of India. 2. Calcutta: Academic Publishers; 1982. pp. 454–455. [Google Scholar]
- 3.Nadkarni A.K. KM Nadkarni’s “Indian Materia Medica”. 3. Bombay: Popular Prakashan; 1986. pp. 14–15. [Google Scholar]
- 4.Jha C.B. A Textbook of Rasashastra. 2. Varanasi: Chaukhambha Surbharati Publishers; 1998. p. 318. [Google Scholar]
- 5.Schroeder H.A. The Trace Elements and Nutrition. London: Faber & Faber; 1976. p. 33. [Google Scholar]
- 6.Mills C.F. Interactions between elements in tissues: Studies in animal models. Fed Proc. 1981;40:2138–2142. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.North M.O. Commercial Chicken Production Manual. 3. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold; 1984. pp. 485–495. [Google Scholar]
- 8.Sharma D.C., Budania R., Shah M., Jain P. Hypolipidemic activity of silver preparations in chicks, Gallus serregineus. Ind J Exp Biol. 2004;42:504–507. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Hirasawa F., Sato M., Takizawa Y. Organ distribution of silver and the effect of silver on copper status in rats. Toxicol Lett. 1994;70:193–201. doi: 10.1016/0378-4274(94)90163-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Sharma D.C., Riyat M. Biochemistry for Dental Students. New Delhi: B. I. Publications Pvt. Ltd.; 2007. pp. 296–323. [Google Scholar]