The medicines for treating osteoporosis currently in use have minor to severe side effects, and can be financially burdensome. Thus, there is a need for prevention and alternative supplement that is relatively inexpensive, and can be easily consumed daily as an alternative dietary therapy. In this study, bone marrow density of the spine and femur of osteoporosis patients were checked before and after consuming complex composed of calcium and magnesium, considered to be the core of bone mineral content. November 2017-November 2021, patients with T-score of less than -2.5 or -1.0 < T-score < -2.5 with history of fractures or recent fractures were enrolled. The data of 60 patients who orally administered Ionized Cal/MagTM Complex were reviewed retrospectively, and it was significantly confirmed that the average value of T-score was up-regulated by 0.5. Additionally, the cumulative dose was observed to have a positive effect, on the improvement of BMD in the 2nd Lumbar and Femur neck. It is expected that better results will be achieved if use of the supplement is continued.
For developing calcium supplement from the harmful marine organism starfish, the physiochemical property of the powdered starfish skeletal plate and the hydrolysis condition of the starfish digestive enzyme were studied. The optimal hydrolysis condition of the starfish digestive enzymes was at 55℃ for 12 h. The bulk densities of the powdered starfish skeletal plates of Asterias amurensis and Asterina pectinifera were 1.1±0.0 and 1.2±0.0 g/cm3, respectively. As for the median size, the values were 10.738 and 11.799 μm, respectively. According to the added concentration of sodium polyacrylate, the dispersibility rate of the powdered starfish skeletal plate was shown to be 6h at 0.0%, 3 days at 0.1%, 20 days at 0.2%, and until 30 days at 0.4%. The elementary composition of the powdered starfish skeletal plates from A. amurensis and A. pectinifera mainly consisted of calcium, and it formed 98.95 and 98.52% of the powdered starfish skeletal plates, respectively. The results of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that they were present in the form of CaCO3. Based on these results, it is suggested that starfish skeletal plate can be utilized as a functional material for a calcium supplement.