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ABSTRACT
The eating of clay popularly known as Geophagia is a deliberate or conscious intake of earth or soil through the mouth into our body, especially by pregnant women. However, its potential effects on health, specifically on blood glucose levels and pancreatic function are not well understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of edible clay suspension (eko) on the fasting blood glucose and structure of the pancreas of female Wistar rats. Forty (40) healthy female Wistar rats weighing 150 to 250g were used for this study. The animals were sorted into four groups named group 1 to 4 and further subdivided into 2 subgroups tagged week 2 and week 4 with five rats each (n = 5). Group 1 was the control and orally received distilled water daily, while Groups 2–4 received various doses of edible clay suspension ranging from 400, 800 and 1600 mg/kg respectively, through the same route for 28 days. The fasting blood glucose level was recorded on the 1st, 14th and 28th days of treatment. Five rats were sacrificed from each subgroup of groups 1-4, on the 14th and 28th days of the experimental period. The pancreas was harvested from sacrificed rats, fixed in 10% formol saline and taken for histological evaluation. Results were presented as MEAN ± SEM in tables and figures. Values with P<0.05 were considered significant. Results revealed a significant increase in the fasting blood glucose levels of low dose animals compared with control at the 2nd week of post-ingestion, but no significant difference in the other doses. Also, there was no significant difference across all dosage groups at the 4th week of post-ingestion of treatment when compared with the control group. There were significant increases in fasting blood glucose levels on the 28th day of post-ingestion compared with the 1st and 14th day for the low and medium dose group, but no significant difference in the high dose group. The histology of the pancreas of animals treated with medium dose showed active stromal and interlobar congestion. However, no structural changes were observed in the animals treated with other doses. Thus, the administration of Edible clay (eko) may cause an increase in fasting blood glucose levels and could trigger inflammation in pancreatic tissues. Findings from this study will have an impact on the consumption of edible clay, especially by pregnant women.
