“Nothing Boring About Boron” Sex Hormones, Bone Growth, Wound Healing, Anti-inflammatory, Anticancer, more...

Here it is. Just about everything you need to know about boron.

“Nothing Boring About Boron”:

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712861/

Direct quotes from the abstract (less than 50%):

Bone Growth and Maintenance

Scientists have known for many years that boron is essential for healthy bones. In 1985, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted an experiment in which postmenopausal women (n = 12) who had been put on a low-boron diet (0.25 mg/d for 119 d) were supplemented with 3 mg/d of boron during two 28-day trials. In one trial, magnesium intake was low; in the other, magnesium intake was adequate. With boron supplementation, the women’s daily urinary excretion of calcium was reduced by 44%. The reduction in calcium loss resulting from boron supplementation was 52 mg/d when the women were low in magnesium and 22 mg/d when magnesium levels were adequate.1

Wound Healing

Since 1990, boron has been shown to significantly improve wound healing. Application of a 3% boric acid solution to deep wounds reduced the time required in intensive care by two-thirds.

Regulation of Sex Hormones

Increased levels of sex steroids have been demonstrated in both men and women after boron supplementation.1,20 In 1987, Nielsen et al1 reported that dietary boron repletion in postmenopausal women (n = 13), who were previously on a low-boron diet, significantly increased their serum estradiol (E2) and testosterone levels, particularly for those women whose dietary intake of magnesium was low. In women on a low-magnesium diet, E2 almost doubled, increasing from an average of 21.1 pg/mL to 41.4 pg/mL.

After only 1 week of boron supplementation of 6 mg/d, a further study by Naghii et al20 of healthy males (n = 8) found (1) a significant increase in free testosterone, which rose from an average of 11.83 pg/mL to 15.18 pg/mL; and (2) significant decreases in E2, which dropped from 42.33 pg/mL to 25.81 pg/ml. (Note 28% increase in testosterone in a week)

Prevention of Vitamin-D Deficiency

Boron has been shown to increase serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25[OH]D3) in animal studies4,24 and of vitamin D–deficient individuals in human studies.25,26

Magnesium Absorption

Boron significantly improves magnesium absorption and deposition in bone, yet another beneficial effect of boron’s inhibition of 17β-estradiol degradation.

Anti-inflammatory Effects in Osteoarthritis

Epidemiological evidence, case reports, and controlled animal and human studies have provided evidence for the use of boron as a safe and effective treatment for osteoarthritis (OA).52-54 Examining the relationship between boron administration and OA prevalence around the world, researchers discovered that in areas where boron intake is greater than or equal to 1 mg/d, the estimated incidence of arthritis ranges from 20% to 70%. In contrast, in areas where boron intake is usually 3 to 10 mg/d, estimated incidence of arthritis ranges from 0% to 10%.

Anticancer Effects

An increasing number of papers have indicated that boron possesses anticarcinogenic properties. Boron-rich diets and regions where the soil and water are rich in boron correlate with lower risks of several types of cancer, including prostate, breast, cervical, and lung cancers. Boron-enriched diets have been found to result in significant decreases in risk for prostate and cervical cancer and to decrease risk of lung cancer in smoking women.

Americans’ daily dietary intake of boron was estimated to be approximately 1 mg/d in 1999.

In none of the numerous studies conducted to date, however, do boron’s beneficial effects appear at intakes of less than 3 mg/d.

In regard to surgery recovery time:

Abstract title: Treatment of deep wounds with loss of tissue. Value of a 3 percent boric acid solution.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2141160/

Application of a 3% boric acid solution to deep wounds reduced the time required in intensive care by two-thirds. 

FYI: The abstract says “Thus, the 3 percent boric acid solution may be considered an efficient alternative in the treatment of deep wounds with loss of substance, but it is delicate to handle because of toxicity.”

Toxicity?  The LDL50 (how much it takes to kill 50% of the test animals which are typically rodents) for boric acid is 3450 mg/kg. For comparison, the LD50 for aspirin is 200 mg/kg.