ReviewFrontiers in public health2022
Geophagia: Benefits and potential toxicity to human-A review.
Review in Frontiers in public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- β-Cyclodextrin Immobilized in Geophagic Clay Sheets for the Absorption of Dyes From Wastewater Using a Fixed-Bed Method.Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation · 2026Article
- Article
- Maternal geophagy in Ghana: a mini review of toxicological, microbial, nutritional, and radiological exposure pathways.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Geophagia in pregnancy and its association with nutritional status - A prospective cohort study in rural north-eastern Tanzania.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Article
- Health Education and Promotion Interventions to Mitigate Geophagic Practise: A Scoping Review.Public health reviews · 2025Review
- Geophagy: uses and perceptions of women of childbearing age in Tshwane District, Gauteng Province-a qualitative study.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- Health-Related Experiences of Geophagia Among Women of Reproductive Age in Tshwane District, Gauteng Province: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The dawn of ethnomicrobiology: an interdisciplinary research field on interactions between humans and microorganisms.Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine · 2024Review
- Mineral composition and heavy metal risk assesment of selected geophagic soils from Tanzania.Toxicology reports · 2024Article
- Conversations in the Gut: The Role of Quorum Sensing in Normobiosis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Iron deficiency and soil-transmitted helminth infection: classic and neglected connections.Parasitology research · 2022Review
- Current status of research and gaps in knowledge of geophagic practices in Africa.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Geophagy is the habit of consuming clay soil such as chalk or kaolin. Though it is globally practiced, the safety of those involved is yet to be fully established. It is thought to be highly prevalent in pregnant women because of its antinausea or therapeutic effects. This practice is also thought to be provoked by some nutritional needs, but in modern society its etiology is obscure. The mineralogical and chemical compositions of clay may vary from one region to another and even in all form of rocks clay constitutes. Published articles in geophagy indicate lack of adequate investigations into the toxicity of geophagy, though it is globally practiced and more prevalent in Africa (as a continent) or in Africans migrants. Some studies have helped to identify some minerals that are toxic to human if ingested. In most cases, the potential toxicity emphasized by these studies is based on the detection of the presence of these nuisance elements in the geophagic materials. Scientifically, a lot has been done in the light of detection of toxic matter, but more investigations on metabolic studies are still necessary. The variability of clay content with respect to source motivated this review on geophagy and its potential toxicity to human. This review is aimed at bringing out findings that would enable a better understanding of the toxicity potential of geophagy across context and taxa.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.