Serum Lipid Profile and Electrolyte Concentration in Rats Administered Calabash Chalk

Introduction: Geophagia is the act of consumption of earth’s materials such as clay, soil or chalk-like stones. It is a common and sometimes compulsive practice among pregnant women in Eastern part of Nigeria. The study aims at investigating the effects of calabash chalk (geophagic clay) on serum lipid profile and electrolytes in rats in order to understand the possible effects of calabash chalk in human.

Place and Duration of Study: Research work was carried out in department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria; between March and August, 2015.

Methods: Processed calabash chalk (PCC) and unprocessed calabash chalk (UCC), weighing 400 g each was pulverized separately into powder and sieved. The sieved powder (200 g of UCC and PCC each) was mixed with 1 L of distilled water and stirred continuously to form a suspension, which was filtered. The filtrate was evaporated to obtain 20 g of processed and 15 g of unprocessed calabash chalk respectively. The required doses of 150, 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight were prepared using distilled water and administered to rats daily for twenty-eight days. Lipid profile and biochemical parameters were analyzed from blood collected from animals on 29th day.

Results: The results obtained, showed that both processed calabash chalk (PCC) and unprocessed calabash chalk (UCC) at all the doses, produced significant reduction on lipid profile. There was significant increase in bilirubin level at 500mg, while albumin and urea concentration were significant reduced at 150 mg/kg b.w when compared with the control.

Conclusion: In view of the above results, ingestion of calabash chalk could cause imbalance in lipid and electrolyte profile which may constitute a serious health risk especially among pregnant women.