ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Therapeutic Benefits of Consuming Clay, Between Arab-Islamic Medical Heritage and Modern Scientific Research

• In Event: Contested Theories of Body and Mind

English Abstract

Medicinal clays refer to various types of soils and clays with therapeutic benefits, often associated with geophagy. The use of clays in folk medicine dates back to ancient times.
In Islamic context, the use of clays to treat both physical and spiritual ailments has been mentioned in medical heritage.
Referring to a range of medieval medical sources, the attention given to the therapeutic benefits of clays among Muslim physicians was varying:
*/- Neither Al-Zahrawi nor Ibn Zuhr mentioned specific types of medicinal clays;
*/- Al-Razi, mentioned three main types of medicinal clay: continental clays, clays from bays and lakes near the sea, and clays from lakes containing springs;
*/- Ibn Sina, discussed various types of clays, focusing on their properties and therapeutic benefits. He mentioned the uses and medicinal benefits of each.
*/- Dawud al-Antaki mentioned three types of medicinal clays: clays used in topical medications; clays for internal medications; and clays for cosmetic purposes.
*/- Ibn al-Baytar, mentioned more than eight types of clays and soils. He described the uses and therapeutic benefits of each of them.
In this research, we will highlight the most important therapeutic benefits of edible clays and soils mentioned in Arab-Islamic medical sources, in light of modern scientific research, in order to determine the therapeutic benefits of clays and identify their mechanisms of action.

Author

• khallaf El Ghalbi, Moulay Ismail University