Silicon content in beers from Korean market and estimation of its alimentary uptake

Silicon content of Korean domestic beer was approximately 13.2 mg/l, which was 142% higher than 9.24 mg/l in imported beer. The contents of Ca and Mg were in the range of 31-33 mg/l and 39-41 mg/l, respectively, which were similar in Korean domestic and imported beers. Through beer ingestion, the men's average Si intake was approximately 24.3 mg/day, which was 195% higher than the women's average Si intake (12.4 mg/day). In addition, it was found that 20-29 aged men and women took approximately 33.7 and 25.1 mg/day of Si, respectively, which are higher Si intakes through beer ingestion as compared to other age ranges. As to people in other age-ranges, the women's Si intake through beer ingestion was half that of men's. Domestic beer-1 and beer-2 had 8.50 and 6.45 Si μg/won of Si content per unit price, respectively. Taken together with these results, it was estimated that the more expensive the price of beer, the lower the Si content per unit price. Therefore, it is supposed that the cheap Korean domestic beer is an effective supplier of Si, the beer being considered the major resource for Si intake by humans inKorea.