Medicinal clay

German medicinal clay (Luvos Heilerde) consisting of loess, i.e., a mixture of sand, clay, and silt

The use of medicinal clay in folk medicine goes back to prehistoric times. Indigenous peoples around the world still use clay widely, which is related to geophagy. The first recorded use of medicinal clay goes back to ancient Mesopotamia.

A wide variety of clays are used for medicinal purposes—primarily for external applications, such as the clay baths in health spas (mud therapy). Among the clays most commonly used are kaolin and the smectite clays such as bentonite, montmorillonite, and Fuller's earth.

History

Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia

The first recorded use of medicinal clay is on Mesopotamian clay tablets around 2500 B.C. Also, ancient Egyptians used clay. The Pharaohs’ physicians used the material as anti-inflammatory agents and antiseptics. It was used as a preservative for making mummies and is also reported that Cleopatra used clays to preserve her complexion.[1]

The Ebers Papyrus of about 1550 BC (but containing the tradition going back many centuries earlier) is an important medical text from ancient Egypt. It describes the use of ochre for a wide variety of complaints, including for intestinal problems,[2] as well as for various eye complaints.[3]

Classical times

Lemnian clay

This was a clay used in Classical Antiquity. It was mined on the island of Lemnos. Its use continued until the 19th century, as it was still listed in an important pharmacopoeia in 1848[4] (the deposits may have been exhausted by then).

Pliny reports about the Lemnian earth:[5]

if rubbed under the eyes, it moderates pain and watering from the same, and prevents the flow from the lachrymal ducts. In cases of haemorrhage it should be administered with vinegar. It is used against complaints of the spleen and kidneys, copious menstruation, also against poisons, and wounds caused by serpents.

Lemnian clay was shaped into tablets, or little cakes, and then distinctive seals were stamped into them, giving rise to its name terra sigillata—Latin for 'sealed earth'. Dioscorides also commented upon the use of terra sigillata.[4]

Another physician famous in antiquity, Galen, recorded numerous cases of the internal and external uses of this clay in his treatise on clay therapy.

Galen... used as one of his means for curing injuries, festering wounds, and inflammations terra sigillata, a medicinal red clay compressed into round cakes and stamped with the image of the goddess Diana. This clay, which came from the island of Lemnos, was known throughout the classical world.[6]

Clay was prescribed by the Roman obstetrician, gynecologist, and pediatrician Soranus of Ephesus, who practiced medicine around 100-140 AD.[7]

Other clays used in classical times

The other types of clay that were famous in antiquity were as follows.

All the above seem to have been bentonitic clays.

Medieval times

In medieval Persia, Avicenna (980-1037 CE), the 'Prince of Doctors', wrote about clay therapy in his numerous treatises.

Ibn al-Baitar (1197–1248), a Muslim scholar born at Malaga, Spain, and author of a famous work on pharmacology, discusses eight kinds of medicinal earth.[8] The eight kinds are

  1. the terra sigillata,
  2. Egyptian earth,
  3. Samian earth,
  4. earth of Chios,
  5. Cimolean earth or pure clay (cimolite), soft earth, called al-hurr, green in color like verdigris, is smoked together with almond bark to serve as food when it will turn red and assume a good flavor; it is but rarely eaten without being smoked—also called 'Argentiera',
  6. earth of vines called ampelitis (Pliny XXXV, 56) or pharmakitis from Seleucia in Syria,
  7. Armenian earth (also known as the Armenian bole), salutary in cases of bubonic plague, being administered both externally and internally,
  8. earth of Nishapur.[9]

Renaissance period

A French naturalist Pierre Belon (1517–1564) was interested in investigating the mystery of the Lemnian clay. In 1543, he visited Constantinople where, after making enquiries, he encountered 18 types of different products marketed as Lemnian Earth (he was concerned about possible counterfeits).

He then made a special journey to Lemnos, where he continued his investigation, and tried to find the source of the clay. He discovered that it was extracted only once a year (on 6 August) under the supervision of Christian monks and Turkish officials.

Preparation of clay

Clay gathered from its original source deposit is refined and processed in various ways by manufacturers. This can include heating or baking the clay, since the raw clay tends to contain a variety of micro-organisms[10]

Too much processing, likewise, may reduce the clay's therapeutic potential. In particular, Mascolo et al. studied 'pharmaceutical grade clay' versus 'the natural and the commercial herbalist clay', and found an appreciable depletion of trace elements in the pharmaceutical grade clay.[11] On the other hand, certain clays are typically heated or cooked before use.[12]

Medicinal clay is typically available in health food stores as a dry powder, or in jars in its liquid hydrated state – which is convenient for internal use. For external use, the clay may be added to the bath, or prepared in wet packs or poultices for application to specific parts of the body.

Often, warm packs are prepared; the heat opens up the pores of the skin, and helps the interaction of the clay with the body.[13]

In the European health spas, the clay is prepared for use in a multitude of ways – depending on the traditions of a particular spa; typically it is mixed with peat and matured in special pools for a few months or even up to two years.

"The majority of spas … use artificial ponds where the natural ("virgin") clay is mixed with mineral, thermo-mineral, or sea water that issues in the vicinity of the spas or inside the spa buildings."[14]

Trace minerals

Clays contain large amounts of trace minerals. It is common to see as many as 75 different trace minerals in Montmorillonite clays.[15] Specific trace minerals that various clays possess vary very widely. Also, the amount of any particular trace mineral in any specific clay varies a lot among clays from different locations. For example, the amount of iron in various bentonite clays can vary from well below 1%, and up to 10%.

Uses

Skin conditions

Many types of skin conditions have been treated by the application of medicinal clay. Montmorillonite has shown its effectiveness in this area.[16][17][18][19] It has also been used as a base ingredient for tissue engineering.[20] Clay is used in many dermatological over-the-counter remedies, such as in acne treatments (this information may not be mentioned on the label specifically).

Internal use

There are many over the counter remedies for internal use that contained clay before discontinuation. Examples include Kaopectate (Upjohn), Rheaban (Leeming Div., Pfizer), and Diar-Aid (Thompson Medical Co.). The labels on all of these showed the active ingredient to be Attapulgite, each tablet containing 600 (or 750 mg) of this component along with inert materials or adjuvants.[21] However, since April 2003, attapulgite medication was discontinued due to lack of evidence according to the U.S. Foods and Drugs Administration.[22]

Numerous medicines also use Kaolinite clay, which has long been a traditional remedy to soothe an upset stomach. Also, Kaolin is or has been used as the active substance in liquid anti-diarrhea medicines such as Kaomagma. Such medicines were changed away from aluminium substances due to a scare over Alzheimer's disease, but have since changed back to compounds containing aluminum as they are most effective.

Heavy metal chelation

It has been used as a scientifically unsupported chelation treatment for heart disease and autism.[23][24]

Oyanedel-Craver and Smith have studied sorption of four heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Zn and Hg) to 3 kinds of bentonite clay. The overall conclusion of the study was that the organoclays studied have considerable capacity for heavy metal sorption.[25]

Aflatoxicosis

It has been found that prolonged exposure to bentonite in humans can actually have harmful effects.[26]

Use by the NASA space program

A mountain of clay — Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. The white bands represent pure bentonite clay.

The effects of weightlessness on human body were studied by NASA in the 1960s. Experiments demonstrated that weightlessness leads to a rapid bone depletion, so various remedies were sought to counter that. A number of pharmaceutical companies were asked to develop calcium supplements, but apparently none of them were as effective as clay. The special clay that was used in this case was Terramin, a reddish clay found in California. Dr. Benjamin Ershoff of the California Polytechnic Institute demonstrated that the consumption of clay counters the effects of weightlessness. He reported that "the calcium in clay ...is absorbed more efficiently ... [clay] contains some factor or factors other than calcium which promotes improved calcium utilization and/or bone formation." He added, "Little or no benefit was noted when calcium alone was added to the diet."[27]

Side effects of ingestion

Substances discontinued such as kaolin and attapulgite were formerly considered gastric demulcents and diarrhea medication, until official studies by the USFDA disproved these views. Clays are classified as excipients and their main side-effects are that of neutral excipients, which is to impair and slow down absorption of antibiotics, hormones and heart medication amongst others by coating the digestive tract [28] and this slowed down absorption can lead to increased toxicity of some medication (e.g. citrate salts) which can become toxic if not metabolized quickly enough, which is one contraindication of attapulgite.[29] Usual mild side-effects are nausea, slowed down absorption of nutrients from food (in excess dosage of medicinal clay) and constipation.

Common medicinal clays

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ ASU research
  2. ↑ PAPYRUS EBERS Archived 2005-02-26 at the Wayback Machine., 1937 translation.
  3. ↑ Recipes for Treating the Eyes: Papyrus Ebers Archived January 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. 1 2 Olle Selinus, B. J. Alloway, Essentials of medical geology: impacts of the natural environment on public health. Academic Press, 2005 ISBN 0-12-636341-2, p. 446
  5. ↑ Cited in Thompson CJS. The mystery and art of the apothecary, by C.J.S. thompson. London: John Lane; 1929. p. 44.
  6. ↑ Dr. H. Van Der Loos, The Miracles of Jesus, Leiden, the Netherlands, Brill, 1965. p. 82.
  7. ↑ Soranus' gynecology, Owsei Temkin (tr.), JHU Press, 1991 (reprint). pp. 239-240. ISBN 0-8018-4320-0
  8. ↑ L. Leclerc, "Traite des simples", II, 1881, pp. 421-427; for a general appreciation of this work see Baron Carra de Vaux, "Les Penseurs de L'islam", II, 1921, pp. 289-296 (original note in Laufer)
  9. ↑ Laufer, Berthold (1930). Geophagy (available online). Chicago: Field Museum Press.
  10. ↑ "Soil, including kaolinitic and montmorillonitic clays, contains considerable amounts of organic material, including many live microorganisms." from CDC.gov website Callahan GN. Eating dirt. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online] 2003 Aug. (accessed 16 June 2009)
  11. ↑ Mascolo, N.; Summa, V.; Tateo, F. (1999). "Characterization of toxic elements in clays for human healing use". Applied Clay Science. 15 (5–6): 491–500. doi:10.1016/S0169-1317(99)00037-X.
  12. ↑ An example of this is the medieval 'Argentiera' clay, mentioned in this article.
  13. ↑ "Hot application is recommended in geotherapy, pelotherapy or paramuds in beauty therapy..." Carretaro MI, Gomes CSF, Tateo F. "Clays and human health." In: Bergaya F, Theng BKG, Lagaly G, editors. Handbook of Clay Science, Developments in Clay Science. Vol. 1. Elsevier Ltd; Amsterdam: 2006. pp. 717–741. ISBN 0-08-044183-1 p. 723
  14. ↑ Carretaro MI, Gomes CSF, Tateo F. "Clays and human health." In: Bergaya F, Theng BKG, Lagaly G, editors. Handbook of Clay Science, Developments in Clay Science. Vol. 1. Elsevier Ltd; Amsterdam: 2006. pp. 717–741. ISBN 0-08-044183-1, ISBN 978-0-08-044183-2 p. 724
  15. ↑ US Patent 6962718 Table 1: Montmorillonite Components; Average Nutrient Content (accessed 29 Nov 09)
  16. ↑ Saary J, Qureshi R, Palda V, DeKoven J, Pratt M, Skotnicki-Grant S, Holness L (Nov 2005). "A systematic review of contact dermatitis treatment and prevention.". J Am Acad Dermatol. 53 (5): 845.
  17. ↑ Guin, J. D. (2001). "Treatment of toxicodendron dermatitis (poison ivy and poison oak)". Skin therapy letter. 6 (7): 3–5. PMID 11376396.
  18. ↑ Lee Y.-H.; Chen B.-Y.; Lin F.-H.; Lin K.-Y.; Lin K.-F. (2008). "Cytotoxic assessment of L-ascorbic acid/montmorillonite upon human dermal fibroblasts in vitro: MTT activity assay.". Biomedical Engineering - Applications, Basis and Communications. 20 (6): 337–343. doi:10.4015/s1016237208000957.
  19. ↑ Carretaro MI, Gomes CSF, Tateo F. "Clays and human health." In: Bergaya F, Theng BKG, Lagaly G, editors. Handbook of Clay Science, Developments in Clay Science. Vol. 1. Elsevier Ltd; Amsterdam: 2006. pp. 717–741. ISBN 0-08-044183-1 p. 722
  20. ↑ Zheng J.P.; Wang C.Z.; Wang X.X.; Wang H.Y.; Zhuang H.; Yao K.D. (2007). "Preparation of biomimetic three-dimensional gelatin/montmorillonite-chitosan scaffold for tissue engineering.". Reactive and Functional Polymers. 67 (9): 780–788. doi:10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2006.12.002.
  21. ↑ "U.S. Patent 5079201". Freepatentsonline.com. 1989-09-19. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  22. ↑ http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/03-9380.pdf
  23. ↑ "American Heart Association: Chelation Therapy". Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  24. ↑ Immunization Safety Review Committee, Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Institute of Medicine (2004). Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. ISBN 0-309-53275-2.
  25. ↑ Oyanedel-Craver VA, Smith JA (2006). "Effect of quaternary ammonium cation loading and pH on heavy metal sorption to Ca bentonite and two organobentonites". J Hazard Mater. 137: 1102–14. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.03.051.
  26. ↑ http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/ehc/ehc_231.pdf
  27. ↑ Ubick, Suzanne. "Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud". Magazine of the California Academy of Sciences. California Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  28. ↑ "Kaolin Information | Evidenced-Based Supplement Guide on MedicineNet.com - Are there any interactions with medications?". Medicinenet.com. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  29. ↑ "Attapulgite Tablet Facts and Comparisons at". Drugs.com. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  30. ↑ Bentonite Archived 2009-08-01 at the Wayback Machine. from oregonstate.edu website
  31. ↑ Calamine from www.drugs.com website
  32. ↑ Maxim LD, Niebo R, McConnell EE (2016). "Bentonite toxicology and epidemiology - a review". Inhal Toxicol. 28 (13): 591–617. PMID 27809675. doi:10.1080/08958378.2016.1240727.
  33. ↑ "Kaolin Information | Evidenced-Based Supplement Guide on MedicineNet.com - How does Kaolin work?". Medicinenet.com. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  34. ↑ Sebaceous gland

References

Further reading

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