In addition, shale, clays and soils are used as food detoxifiers. This is practiced mostly during times of famine to detoxify toxic food items from plant origin before consumption. Clay is used in this regard because of its cation exchange capacity so that potentially harmful chemicals get adsorbed into the clay structure making the food item harmless. This is practiced by some African tribes who use clay to detoxify wild yam, Dioscorea dumentorum, during famine. The use of clays and soil to detoxify wild plant foodstuffs is not restricted to Africans alone, the Aymara and Quechua people who live on the Andes of Bolivia and Peru consume wild potatoes by dipping them in clay slurry. The clay slurry effectively removes potentially toxic glycoalkaloids and, thus, renders it harmless to the natives.<ref name=Setal2013 /> | In addition, shale, clays and soils are used as food detoxifiers. This is practiced mostly during times of famine to detoxify toxic food items from plant origin before consumption. Clay is used in this regard because of its cation exchange capacity so that potentially harmful chemicals get adsorbed into the clay structure making the food item harmless. This is practiced by some African tribes who use clay to detoxify wild yam, Dioscorea dumentorum, during famine. The use of clays and soil to detoxify wild plant foodstuffs is not restricted to Africans alone, the Aymara and Quechua people who live on the Andes of Bolivia and Peru consume wild potatoes by dipping them in clay slurry. The clay slurry effectively removes potentially toxic glycoalkaloids and, thus, renders it harmless to the natives.<ref name=Setal2013 /> |