The effects of Vitamin/mineral complex on a cellular level

Abstract

Background: Titanium preparation (TP) is a dietary supplement prescribed to a group of patients with ulcerative colitis in Denmark. Several patients have reported improvement, raising questions about its effectiveness and mechanism of action.

Introduction: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affecting the colon to varying degrees. While the prevalence of the disease has stabilized in high income countries, it is rising significantly in low-income regions. There is no definitive medical cure, so treatment aims to induce and maintain remission while avoiding surgical intervention. The effectiveness of the treatment varies greatly between individuals, consequently leading to a large portion of patients turning to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Among these, dietary supplements are the most commonly used form of oral CAM.

Methods: The cytotoxic effects of TP and its impact on cell viability on normal and cancer cells were assessed using MTS assay. Live Cell Imaging analysis was conducted on normal cells to investigate the effects of TP on proliferation after at least 64 hours. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory properties of the dietary supplement were investigated by treating stimulated macrophages with TP, measuring nitric oxide (NO) production.

Results: The MTS assay indicated that TP does not exhibit cytotoxic effects on normal cells from experiments conducted in this thesis. However, Live Cell Imaging revealed a concentration-dependent inhibition in cell proliferation in TP-treated normal cells. In stimulated macrophages, the highest TP concentration resulted in the lowest NO production compared to ascorbic acid and dexamethasone treatments.

Conclusion: The titanium preparation does not appear to exhibit cytotoxic effects at the tested concentrations on a cancer cell line and a healthy human cell line from the conducted assays. It seems to inhibit the proliferation of the normal cells compared to controls. Additionally, preliminary assays suggests that TP may have anti-inflammatory effects on stimulated macrophages, but further testing is needed to confirm the reliability of these finding. Overall, the limitations surrounding the limited knowledge about the TP must be emphasized, as they significantly impact the interpretation of the results.