calcium aluminosilicate

Calcium aluminosilicate is a naturally occurring mineral clay composed of flat plates of aluminosilicate separated by calcium ions. It acts as a cation exchange absorbent and is not absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract. Its primary mechanism involves adsorbing toxins (including chemotherapeutic drugs and their metabolites) and inflammatory proteins such as TNF-alpha in the gut. This property helps minimize chemotherapy- or radiation-induced diarrhea and may also be useful for other toxin-mediated diarrheal conditions. Calcium aluminosilicate has been studied in both animal models and human trials for cancer-related diarrhea, including medullary thyroid cancer–related diarrhea and chemotherapy-induced diarrhea. While it failed to show efficacy in one trial for preventing severe chemotherapy-induced diarrhea in colon cancer patients, it was considered safe with some evidence of improved stool quality when used alone or with standard antidiarrheals[1][2]. It is also used in veterinary medicine to adsorb mycotoxins from contaminated feed[3][4].

Brand names

NovaSil

Other names

calcium montmorillonite clayhydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate