Potassium silicate is a mineral compound containing potassium and silicon. Both these minerals help keep your body functioning normally and you can take them individually as dietary supplements. Potassium silicate appears as an ingredient in some dietary supplements, but is more commonly used in agriculture production as a natural pesticide and soil amendment. The cosmetic industry uses potassium silicate as a stabilizing ingredient to preserve product quality.
Potassium
Your cells, tissues and organs cannot function properly without potassium. This macromineral helps build muscle and helps with numerous functions in the body, including protein and carbohydrate metabolism. You can get dietary potassium from many foods, including meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy products and nuts. The recommended dietary intake for potassium for adults 19 and older is 4.7 grams per day.
Silicon
Silicon, the third most abundant trace mineral in American diets, is positively associated with bone health but science knows relatively little about its other functions in the human body, according to a study from the University of California Los Angeles published in the October 2010 issue of "Nutrition Journal." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides no recommended dietary intake for silicon, but vegetarian foods including beer, bananas and mineral water, provide rich sources of this important mineral.
Generally Regarded as Safe
Potassium silicate appears on the USDA’s Generally Regarded as Safe list. This means the USDA approves of potassium silicate as a food ingredient at approved levels. The USDA reports no cases of significant tissue accumulation, disease, or toxicity caused by potassium silicate and no evidence to suspect using potassium silicate as directed causes a hazard to the public.
Exemption from Tolerance
The U.S. Government electronic code of federal regulations lists potassium silicate as having an “exemption from tolerance” status. This means food producers can use it as a pesticide or on raw agricultural goods at approved levels and it will not present a hazard to public health.
Irritation
You can find potassium silicate as an ingredient in some detergents. It causes negligible to severe skin irritation, depending on the concentration applied and the species of animal tested, according to a safety assessment by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel published in a 2005 issue of the "International Journal of Toxicology." Additionally, potassium silicate was not irritating in two eye irritation studies performed on rabbits.
References
- PubMed.gov: Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Potassium Silicate, Sodium Metasilicate, and Sodium Silicate
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Premarket Notification for a New Dietary Ingredient -- Arginine Silicate lnositol Complex
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Potassium Silicate
- GPO Access: Tolerances and Exemptions for Pesticide Chemical Residues in Food
- PubMed.gov: Absorption of Silicon From Artesian Aquifer Water and its Impact on Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women: A 12-Week Pilot Study
- MedlinePlus: Potassium in Diet
- University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program: Potassium Silicate for Use in Crop Production
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