How crushed egg could help to repair bone damage?
Very Sooner, the English saying “walking on eggshells” may give on a new positive meaning and for this, we give thanks to researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. You seem to be confused about what we are saying about right? We are going to tell you how crushed egg could help to repair bone damage. In their new study, which they conducted both in vitro and in a rat model, they showed how crushed eggshells could be the way to go to repair bone damage.
Researchers have found an innovative way of using eggshells to support the growth of new bone. Egg shells are perhaps one of those items in our kitchen that are often discarded as waste items in kitchens around the world.
Once we break the egg to take the yolk out and use it as our food, the shells of the egg are usually thrown up in the trash. However, these often discarded pieces are made entirely of calcium carbonate, a substance that is critical to maintaining bone health.
For this reason, some people crush egg shells in a fine powder that they use as a natural calcium supplement for their bones.
However, this practice also involves some dangers. Eggs can sometimes be contaminated by a bacterium named Salmonella enteritidis, which, if taken in the body can cause a salmonella infection. For the most part, however, the health potential of eggshells has remained untapped until now.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell used finely shredded eggshells to create a biomaterial that helps bones regenerate after they have been damaged.
So far, they have performed experiments in the laboratory and in vivo, using a rat model, to test their new process. However, scientists believe that in the not too distant future, their biomaterial could be available for use in humans who receive treatment for bone damage.
Clinical potential of a kitchen waste material
The researchers’ innovative process requires the addition of finely shredded egg shells from chicken eggs to a hydrogel mixture. This allows them to form a structure in which new bone can be formed from bone cells.
Because eggshells are made of calcium, this allows the bone cells to transform into the bone and to harden faster. This could also accelerate healing in the context of a bone graft, which is a type of surgery in which specialists transplant new bone into the site of a damaged bone to allow it to heal.
Although the researchers tested the method in rats in the new study, they argue that it should also be safely applied to humans.
In the case of humans, health workers will collect bone cells from people who need this transplant to ensure that the resulting tissue is adequate and that the body does not reject it.
“This is the first study that uses shell particles in a hydrogel matrix for bone repair,” says Camci-Unal. He also explains that she and her team have already taken the next steps to bring their findings to the man. “We have already applied for a patent and are very excited about our results and expect the process to be adapted for use in many significant ways,” he adds.
She and her colleagues note that they could apply the same process, in theory, to cultivate other types of tissue, including cartilage, teeth and tendons. The researchers also explain that the use of eggshells to grow tissues for transplants would also encourage a more sustainable life, as it could help reduce waste.
In their article, the researchers write that: “The global waste of discarded eggshells is generally equivalent to millions of tons per year of domestic and commercial cooking. The innovative reuse of eggshells can directly affect the economy and the environment, time that provides better solutions for unmet clinical needs. “
