Investigations on chemical composition and natural radioactivity levels from salt water and peloid used in pelotherapy from the Techirghiol Lake, Romania

Chemical composition and physicochemical properties of natural therapeutic mud of Kazakhstan salt lakes: a review

In recent years, interest in natural therapeutic mud has been growing all over the world. This natural product has a positive therapeutic effect on the skin and has fewer side effects on the human body. There are more than 40 thousand salt lakes in Kazakhstan. Most of them have natural mud sources, the potential of which has not yet been fully explored. The review presents an analysis of the available information on the physical and chemical properties of the main sources of natural mud from salt lakes in Kazakhstan and Kazakh sanatoriums that use natural mud in the treatment. All available publications, presenting the systematic studies, were used for data analysis. A comparative analysis of the mineralization of water, brine, and silt in one reservoir shows that the mineralization of water is not always the least. The available data indicate a point and partial nature of peloid studies, e.g., inorganic composition of natural muds from Western and Southern Kazakhstan is well described in the literature. In turn, there is a lack of these data from Northern and Eastern Kazakhstan. Studies of peloids in these regions seem to be a promising direction of the future research for both local and world scientists. What is more, there is also a big gap in the analysis of organic matter of muds from the Kazakh lakes. Comparing the state of the art, i.e., the studies from other parts of Asia and Europe, the identification of the organic part of muds is another desirable direction as a potential source of biologically active compounds of natural origin.

Can Spa Tourism Enhance Water Resources and Turn Them into a National Brand? A Theoretical Review about the Romanian Case

The present article includes descriptive research about how water resources in Romanian medical spas could be better promoted to increase their visibility. Romania is one of the European countries with impressive potential in terms of balneology, having a wide diversity of natural factors that allow treating several medical conditions in the same resort. In addition, one-third of the mineral and thermal water springs in Europe are present on the Romanian territory, making Romania one of the most important European destinations in terms of natural spa resources. The present research aims to illustrate how the Romanian medical spas communicate with tourists about the therapeutic water available in five medical spas: Băile Felix-1 Mai, Techirghiol, Băile Tușnad, Sovata and Covasna, having as its main objective to raise the awareness among the spas representatives regarding the necessity of water management implementation. The research is based on primary data obtained from the official websites of the resorts included in the study and in the published scholarly articles that approached the Romanian medical spas.

Peloids as Thermotherapeutic Agents

The use of peloids as heat-providing therapeutic systems dates back to antiquity. Such systems consist of a liquid phase and an organic or inorganic solid phase. The latter facilitates the handling, preparation and stability of the solid–liquid system, modifying its organoleptic and phy-sicochemical properties, and improves its efficacy and tolerance. Peloids enable the application of heat to very specific zones and the release of heat at a given rate. The aims of this work are to study 16 reference peloids used in medical spa centers as thermo-therapeutic agents as well as to propose nine raw materials as a solid phase for the preparation of peloids. The physical properties studied are the centesimal composition, the instrumental texture and the thermal parameters. In conclusion, the peloids of the medical spas studied are used as thermotherapeutic agents in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, especially in knee osteoarthritis and to a lesser extent in back pain and psoriatic arthropathy. The clinical experience in these centers shows that the main effects of the application of their peloids are the reduction of pain, an increase in the joint’s functional capacity and an improvement in the quality of life. As thermotherapeutic agents, all the peloids of the me-dical spas studied and the pastes (raw materials with distilled water) examined showed a heat flow rate of up to four times lower than that shown by the same amount of water. The raw materials studied can be used as solid phases for the preparation of peloids with mineral waters.

Chemical and mineralogical characteristics of peloids in Turkey

To investigate the physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics of peloids, which are being used traditionally and historically across Turkey, and evaluate their suitability and potential for use in peloidotherapy. Five peloid samples were gathered from their places of origin, namely Gölemezli, Dalyan, Köprüköy, Gökçeada, and Dikili. Mineral analysis and physical and chemical analyses including electrical conductivity, density, cations, anions, trace elements, organic matters, and water retention capacity at 105 °C were performed. The peloids contained a combination of clay minerals (mainly montmorillonite, kaolinite, and muscovite) and non-clay minerals (mainly quartz, calcite, dolomite, and albite) except for Gölemezli peloid, which was dominated by calcite. The other minerals (i.e., chloride-serpentine, sphalerite, pyrite, magnesium calcite, cristobalite) were also found in some peloids. Gölemezli, Dalyan, and Köprüköy peloids had high total organic matters, mainly humic substances. The water retention capacity was high in Dalyan, Köprüköy, and Dikili peloids. All peloids had a pH value slightly greater than 7 (range 7.93-8.69). Dalyan, Köprüköy, and Dikili peloids had a high water retention capacity. Dalyan and Gökçeada peloids had a high electrical conductivity, 22.040 and 9.020 μS/cm, respectively. The density of peloids was ranged between 1.240 (Gölemezli) and 1.450 (Gökçeada) g/cm³. Total mineralization of investigated peloids was greater than 1000 mg/L: Köprüköy, 2754.8 mg/L; Gölemezli, 3092.8 mg/L; Dikili, 4044.6 mg/L; Gökçeada, 6576.6 mg/L; and Dalyan, 11782.9 mg/L, mainly sodium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, sulfate, bicarbonate, and metasilicic acid. The levels of trace elements were low (≤ 2.0 mg/L) in all peloids. The peloids contained various amounts of clay minerals (mainly montmorillonite, kaolinite, and muscovite), non-clay minerals (mainly quartz, calcite, dolomite, and albite), organic matters (mainly humic acid), cations (mainly sodium, magnesium, and calcium), anions (mainly chloride, sulfate, and bicarbonate), and insoluble compounds (mainly metasilicic acid). The physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of peloids suggest their suitability and potential for use in peloidotherapeutic applications.

Mud therapy and rehabilitation - scientific relevance in the last six years (2015 – 2020) Systematic literature review and meta-analysis based on the PRISMA paradigm

Abstract Background. Balneotherapy is a stimulation - adaptation treatment method applied in the forms of bathing, drinking, and inhalation cures performed with natural therapeutic factors, a method which is acting in three main ways: thermally, mechanically, and chemically. Mud or peloids are natural therapeutic factors formed by natural processes under the influence of biological and geological phenomena, which in a finely dissolved state and mixed with water (mud) are used in medical practice in the form of baths or local procedures. Objective. This systematic review aims to rigorously select related articles and identify within their content, the main possible uses of therapeutic mud and physiological mechanisms, to see the main region of scientific interest for pelotherapy, and to discuss the value of mud therapy in rehabilitation medicine. Methods. The working method is based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched for open-access articles published in English, between January 2015 and December 2020, from the following databases: Cochrane, Elsevier, NCBI/PubMed, NCBI/PMC, PEDro, and ISI Web of Knowledge/Science (the latter was also used to identify ISI indexed articles). The contextually searched syntax used was ”Pelotherapy/Peloidotherapy/Mud-therapy/ /Fango-therapy AND Rehabilitation”. The selected articles were analyzed in detail regarding pathologies addressed by mud therapy and country scientific relevance for this therapeutic method. The meta-analysis proceeded was designated to estimate the prevalence of various pathologies in the use of mud therapy. Results. Our search identified, first, 394 articles. Based on the successive filtering stages and, respectively, on the classification criteria of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), we finally identified/retained and analyzed 68 articles. Although, in principle, a rigorous method – and we have followed the PRISMA type paradigm – there still might be some missing works of our related article selection. On the other hand, to augment/ consolidate our documentation base, we have used also 40 papers freely found in the literature, and even – aiming, too, at an as exhaustive knowledge underpinning as possible – derogatively, we have also considered some articles which, probably being very new, couldn't yet have reached the PEDro threshold score we have settled. Conclusions. This paper overviews the current state-of-the-art knowledge in the approach of peloidotherapy in rehabilitation, with a focal point on the therapeutic properties of peloids. Keywords: mud-therapy, pelotherapy, peloidotherapy, fango therapy, rehabilitation, balneotherapy, natural therapeutic factors,