Bentonite in Medicinal

What is Bentonite?

Alternate Names: Bentonite clay, montmorillonite

Bentonite is a clay that is available in supplement form. The primary ingredient in bentonite is hydrated aluminum silicate. Other constituents in bentonite include calcium, magnesium, and iron (the composition varies according to the geographical location in which it is found).

Once in the body, bentonite easily absorbs water. It remains in the digestive tract and is believed to bind and inactivate toxins and promote their excretion.

Why Do People Use Bentonite?

Detoxification

Constipation

Irritable bowel syndrome

Bloating and gas

A large double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined the use of bentonite clay in people with irritable bowel syndrome. Bentonite appeared to work best for people with constipation-predominant IBS. People taking the bentonite clay experienced a significant improvement in abdominal discomfort and pain. Bentonite users also reported significantly better symptom reduction and treatment efficacy with bentonite. There were no significant adverse events reported.

Dosage Information

Bentonite is available in liquid or powder form. It is a popular ingredient in colon cleanse products.

Bentonite should be taken with plenty of water to avoid intestinal obstruction or constipation.

Side Effects and Safety

Pregnant or nursing women and the elderly should avoid bentonite.

Bentonite should not be taken two hours before or after medication or nutritional supplements.

Although there haven't been adverse effects in amounts used in nutritional supplements, there are no studies on the long-term safety of bentonite in humans.


Sources

Abdel-Wahhab MA, Nada SA, Farag IM, et al. Potential protective effect of HSCAS and bentonite against dietary aflatoxicosis in rat: with special reference to chromosomal aberrations. Nat Toxins.1998; 6:211-218.

Ducrotte P, Dapoigny M, Bonaz B, Siproudhis L. Symptomatic efficacy of beidellitic montmorillonite in irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized, controlled trial. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2005 Feb 15;21(4):435-44.

Santurio JM, Mallmann CA, Rosa AP, et al. Effect of sodium bentonite on the performance and blood variables of broiler chickens intoxicated with aflatoxins. Br Poult Sci. 1999; 40:115-119.

Function of Bentonite

 Foundry 
Bentonite is used as a bonding material in the preparation of moulding sand for the production of cast iron, steel, and non-ferrous casting. The unique properties of bentonite yield green sand moulds with good flowability, compatibility , and thermal stability for the production of high quality castings.

Drilling 
Owing to its rheological properties and thixotropy of aqueous suspensions, bentonite is used as a mud constituent for oil and water well drilling. Its functions are mainly to stabilize the borehole, seal the borehole walls, and remove drill cuttings. Bentonite mud are thus employed for oil and water well drilling, tunnel, and micro tunnel drilling. 

Civil engineering 
Bentonite slurries are used in the construction of special foundations for digging diaphragm walls and bored piles. In geotechnical engineering, bentonite is used for self-hardening mixtures employed to build cut off walls, grouting mortars, and grouting. Finally, bentonite waterproofing properties are best exploited in environmental engineering, to seal off soil infiltrations, and line the base of landfills.

Feedstuff
Bentonite is used as an animal feed supplement. Under European regulations, it is classified as a food additive, with E number E558. Bentonite is used as a pelletizing aid in the production of animal feed pellets. Due to its high adsorption power, it is particularly effective against micotoxins. 

Water treatment 
 Due to its ion exchange, flocculation, and sedimentation properties, bentonite is used in environmental protection for water clarification, and as an aid to polyelectrolites and inorganic flocculants.






Agriculture 
Bentonite is used as an ion exchanger for soil improvement and conditioning. It is also used for gardening in soil compounds and mixtures to absorb humidity, and as a carrier for various herbicides and pesticides.

Ceramics 
Bentonite is used to enhance ceramic paste plasticity and as an anti-settling agent in ceramic enamels.

Paper
Bentonite is used to improve the efficiency of conversion of pulp into paper, as well as for paper quality improvement by preventing rubber particle agglomeration. Due to its absorbing property, bentonite also offers useful de-inking properties for paper recycling. 

Wine making 
In winemaking, bentonite is used to enhance clarification and protein stabilization.

Cat litter 
Owing to its swelling property, bentonite is used for cat litter, due to its advantage of absorbing refuse by forming clumps. 

 Pelletizing of iron ore
Due to its water absorption capacity and colloidal property, bentonite is used as a binding additive to convert iron ore fines into pellets.

Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and spa mud therapy
 Bentonite is used as a filler in pharmaceuticals, and for its absorption/adsorption functions. It is also employed in creams, face-powders, and spa mud preparations. 

Detergent additive
Bentonite is used in detergents to soften the fabrics. Liquid cleansers/soaps rely on the inclusion of bentonite as a suspension agent and viscosity enhancer.

Food industry (wine, edible oils and fats)
Bentonite is utilized in the removal of impurities in oils where its absorptive properties are crucial in the processing of edible oils and fats. In drinks, bentonite is used as a clarification agent. 

Paints and varnishes 
Bentonite functions as a thickening and/or suspension agent.

Types of Bentonite

Sodium bentonite

Sodium bentonite expands when wet, absorbing as much as several times its dry mass in water.
Because of its excellent colloidal properties, it is often used in drilling mud for oil and gas wells and boreholes for geotechnical and environmental investigations.
The property of swelling also makes sodium bentonite useful as a sealant, since it provides a self-sealing, low permeability barrier. It is used to line the base of landfills for example.
Various surface modifications to sodium bentonite improve some rheological or sealing performance in geoenviromental applications, for example, the addition of polymers.

Calcium bentonite

Calcium bentonite is a useful adsorbent of ions in solution, as well as fats and oils. It is the main active ingredient of fuller's earth, probably one of the earliest industrial cleaning agents.
Calcium bentonite may be converted to sodium bentonite (termed sodium beneficiation or sodium activation) to exhibit many of sodium bentonite's properties by a process known as "ion exchange" (patented in 1935 by Germans U Hofmann and K Endell). In common usage, this means adding 5–10% of a soluble sodium salt such as sodium carbonate to wet bentonite, mixing well, and allowing time for the ion exchange to take place and water to remove the exchanged calcium.Some properties, such as viscosity and fluid loss of suspensions, of sodium-beneficiated calcium bentonite (or sodium-activated bentonite) may not be fully equivalent to those of natural sodium bentonite. For example, residual calcium carbonates (formed if exchanged cations are insufficiently removed) may result in inferior performance of the bentonite in geosynthetic liners.

Potassium bentonite

Also known as potash bentonite or K-bentonite, potassium bentonite is a potassium-rich illitic clay formed from alteration of volcanic ash.

Our Product

INDOBENT business, the first company that produces Bentonite. It started its efforts by doing exploration to find high quality Bentonite deposit. Subsequently, through its R&D, Indobent develops the best production process and method to obtain end products which meet the National,and International technical standard specifications.

Today Indobent has been successfully served and supplied Bentonite to many different industries with the high quality product. The company has a strong belief and is confidence in having a good potential to grow sustainably together with the economy development and progress of the country.

INDOBENT has a strong responsibility in production process and product quality. It starts from the selected raw materials which meet the National Standard as well as the International Standard,than a series of machinery production process under a high standard supervision by the experts,until the uncompromising quality control testing procedures.That becomes a promise of INDOBENT to assure the quality of products.

In service, meeting the satisfaction of the costumers, INDOBENT does regular contact and maintenance foe the product installed.Providing professional advices about the products will be imposed to answer customers needs for their industial process. Professionalism,hard working and responsibility will become the commitment of INDOBENT to be the active player in such business field to support the economic development of Indonesia.

The mine is located at Pacitan, East Java – INDONESIA,with a mineral quary concession covering a site of 1000 Ha. Since 1985, INDOBENT commenced its activities to produce Bentonite locally.

Manufacture Bentonit products of the application :

• Construction
• Foundry
• Bleaching
• Drilling
• Fertilizer