Short-term safety and efficacy of calcium montmorillonite clay (UPSN) in children. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Recently, an association between childhood growth stunting and aflatoxin (AF) exposure has been identified. In Ghana, homemade nutritional supplements often consist of AF-prone commodities. In this study, children were enrolled in a clinical intervention trial to determine the safety and efficacy of Uniform Particle Size NovaSil (UPSN), a refined calcium montmorillonite known to be safe in adults. Participants ingested 0.75 or 1.5 g UPSN or 1.5 g calcium carbonate placebo per day for 14 days. Hematological and serum biochemistry parameters in the UPSN groups were not significantly different from the placebo-controlled group. Importantly, there were no adverse events attributable to UPSN treatment. A significant reduction in urinary metabolite (AFM1) was observed in the high-dose group compared with placebo. Results indicate that UPSN is safe for children at doses up to 1.5 g/day for a period of 2 weeks and can reduce exposure to AFs, resulting in increased quality and efficacy of contaminated foods.

published proceedings

  • Am J Trop Med Hyg

altmetric score

  • 23.25

author list (cited authors)

  • Mitchell, N. J., Kumi, J., Aleser, M., Elmore, S. E., Rychlik, K. A., Zychowski, K. E., ... Ankrah, N.

citation count

  • 27

complete list of authors

  • Mitchell, Nicole J||Kumi, Justice||Aleser, Mildred||Elmore, Sarah E||Rychlik, Kristal A||Zychowski, Katherine E||Romoser, Amelia A||Phillips, Timothy D||Ankrah, Nii-Ayi

publication date

  • October 2014