Geophagia, which involves ingestion of non-food lithospheric substances, is the major form of pica in many African cultures. A common lithospheric pica substance ingested in the Cape Three Point region of West Africa, particularly Ghana and Togo, is a white loamy clay soil. This clay soil is usually ingested by women of reproductive age. Some of the reasons assigned to clay geophagia include appealing flavour, to alleviate nausea during pregnancy, and for absorption of toxins in the gastrointestinal tract. Some speculation indicates that geophagia may be an attempt to replenish mineral nutrients in undernourished persons. The study of the acid extractable mineral contents of this white clay soil was done to provide information on the mineral contents that could potentially be absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. Results showed that the clay soil was very dry with mean moisture content of 0.19±0.01%. On dry weight basis, the geophagia clay soil contained (mg/100 g) aluminium, 1,239.6; iron, 962.9; lead, 2.4; magnesium, 64.3; and zinc, 54.6. The extractable mineral contents of this clay soil, on dry weight basis, were (mg/100 g): zinc, 1.40±0.05; iron, 14.19±0.13; magnesium, 23.83±0.31; and aluminium, 37.91±2.94. Compared to the total minerals contents of the clay soil, the acid extractable fractions represented 2.6% of zinc, 1.5% of iron, 36.4% of magnesium, and 3.2% of aluminium. Even though lead was not detected in the acid extracts, a small amount was detected in the dry clay soil. Arsenic was not detected in any clay sample or extracts. It was concluded that the main mineral nutrient potentially contributed by this clay pica substance was iron. The clay soil liberated a substantial amount of iron (14.2 mg/100g), which constituted 78.9% of the 18 mg/d iron RDA for women of reproductive age and 53.0% of the 27 mg/day iron RDA for pregnant women. The potentially undesirable effect of ingesting this clay soil is the high level of aluminium (37.9 mg/100g).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.