Cell viability of human fibroblasts cultured with various ratios of calcium and magnesium and effects of deep seawater supplementation

It has been discussed that the increase in the intake ratio of calcium and magnesium (Ca/Mg ratio) increases the risk of the ischemic heart disease. Though there are some reports on Ca/Mg ratio concerning the ischemic heart disease in animal experiments, there are few reports of experiments on cultured cells. Therefore, we investigated the influence of various ratios of Ca/Mg on the cell viability of cultured fibroblasts at various passage numbers. As a result, cell viability of cultured fibroblasts at passage number 14 or more significantly decreased with rises in Ca/Mg ratios. Furthermore, it was shown that this phenomenon was related to Ca/Mg ratios and not to rising Ca concentrations used in this report. Additionally, it was shown that the supplementation of DSW collected from Izu-Akazawa, Japan which did not change the Ca/Mg ratio, to cells in a state of decreased cell viability due to the increased Ca/Mg ratios showed an inhibition against decreasing their cell viability. Considering these results, it is suggested that the application of DSW will be a promising approach on health maintenance because the Ca/Mg ratio has been an increasing trend along with the diversification of the Japanese diet.