Human Health Risks Associated with the Consumption of Wild Foods and Geophagic Material Along the Great Dyke and Surrounding Areas in Zimbabwe
Aaron Chigona, Farai Mapanda, Chakare Benhura, Justice Nyamangara, Phillip Nyamugafata, Menas Wuta, Ntandokamlimu Nondo, Sessely Mavunga, Takudzwa Nota · 2026
Read Human Health Risks Associated with the Consumption of Wild Foods and Geophagic Material Along the Great Dyke and Surrounding Areas in Zimbabwe by Aaron Chigona, Farai Mapanda, Chakare Benhura, Justice Nyamangara, Phillip Nyamugafata, Menas Wuta, Ntandokamlimu Nondo, Sessely Mavunga, Takudzwa Nota (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13512260.txt.
Description
Aaron Chigona and eight co-authors assess health risks from eating wild foods and soil-like materials gathered along Zimbabwe's Great Dyke, in 2026 work. Communities in this mineral-rich belt rely on wild plants and deliberate soil eating, called geophagy, for nutrition and tradition. Rocks in the area carry toxic elements from the ground itself, and the team measured those contaminants against world health limits.
Half of the wild foods studied crossed the tolerable risk levels set by global food bodies. A wild fig and soil materials from the ultramafic Great Dyke ground carried the highest cancer and non-cancer risks. Taking medicinal plants as hot infusions cut contaminant intake a good deal. The authors urge environmental health policies that raise community awareness of the danger while respecting food traditions, plus safer preparation guidance.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Aaron Chigona, Farai Mapanda, Chakare Benhura, Justice Nyamangara, Phillip Nyamugafata, Menas Wuta, Ntandokamlimu Nondo, Sessely Mavunga, Takudzwa Nota |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 32 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |