A material made from the vegetarian food tofu could help repair broken bones and teeth, UK scientists believe.

The de-fatted soybean curd would act like polyfiller to fill in defects.



It has the added advantage of encouraging new bone to grow as it biodegrades and releases natural anti-inflammatory agents.



Inventor Dr Matteo Santin of Brighton University has teamed up with experts from the University of Naples and WessexBio to develop the material.



Many existing materials used to fill bone are derived from animal sources, which the patient’s immune system can react to and reject as foreign material.



Dr Santin believes using the vegetable-based product should avoid this problem.



“The innovation is that it accelerates the growth of the patient’s own bone, rather than using an artificial substitute which the body could react against.



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