Nutrition/Health Session
Pavel Dostalek, Department of Fermentation Chemistry and Bioengineering, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Prague 6, Czech Republic
Co-author(s): Rudolf Cejnar, Department of Fermentation Chemistry and Bioengineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, Czech Republic; Oto Mestek, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
ABSTRACT: Silicon is an important essential trace element. The recommended daily intake is about 10–25 mg/L. Silicon deficiency is mostly associated with losses of connective tissue components, such as glycosaminoglycanes, collagen, and elastin. The most readily absorbable form of silicon is orthosilicic acid. Foods derived from plants rather than animals provide the highest sources of dietary silicon, because certain plants, especially cereals, are silicon accumulators. In particular, high levels of bioavailable silicon are found in beer, which is made from barley malt, from which orthosilicic acid is released into the beer. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used for determination of silicon in lager beers from the Czech market and in brewing semiproducts. The goal was to establish silicon concentrations in Czech lager beers and to find out which individual processes are the most significant in terms of silicon concentration in beer. Silicon concentration in Czech lager beers ranged from 16.3 to 113.0 mg/L, and it was shown that the concentration depends primarily on two factors. First, the silicon content of beer rises with the original wort concentration, and second, during decoction mashing silicon is leached much more than in the case of infusion mashing.
Pavel Dostálek was born in 1963. He studied as a graduate engineer at the Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology of the Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Czech Republic (1985). He holds a Ph.D. degree in fermentation chemistry and technology from the same institute (1991). In 1987 he was an assistant scientist in food technology. In 1990 he became an assistant professor for brewing science, and in 1993 he stayed at the Dublin City University. In 1996 he finished post-graduate courses on food technology at Hebrew University, Agricultural Faculty, Rehovot, Israel, and in 1997 became a lecturer in the Department of Fermentation Chemistry and Bioengineering, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague. He has been an associate professor in biotechnology since 2007.
