Charcoal as toothpaste

THERE are many things in the Nigerian environment that Nigerians do not make use of, either because of plain ignorance or because of the habitual lack of interest in home-grown things. Particularly in the area of herbs and medication, Nigeria has been losing a lot because there has hardly been any productive integration between traditional and modern medicine. There, is, we believe, much to be gained from harnessing the possibilities of Nigerian flora and fauna. For instance, a professor of fibre science and colour chemistry at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Abayomi Adetuyi, recently stunned Nigerians when he revealed certain uses to which charcoal can be put,  apart from cooking. He said that charcoal, when activated, is a great purifier for wastewater, the human body system and food, among others. Adetuyi, who is currently on sabbatical at Trinity University, Yaba, Lagos, shared this perspective while delivering a maiden public lecture at the university. The lecture was organised by the Faculty of Basic  Medical and Applied Sciences and the lecturer spoke on the topic, “Activated charcoal: An absorbent with a difference for wastewater purification.”

According to him, activated charcoal, when properly processed in an oxygen-free atmosphere that cannot support combustion, can be used for various purposes, including brushing the teeth. This, he said, is better than the regular toothpaste in the market. He averred that even though the recommended toothpaste might look local, it had been in existence for several centuries, whitening the teeth and preventing mouth odour. Activated charcoal is also said to strengthen the teeth and make them healthy, and there are no side effects because it is not toxic: the carbon is within the range of six to ten, which the human body can tolerate. Adetuyi further explained further the normal charcoal generated from cooking in the open air, while it can serve the same function,  would not be as effective as the activated charcoal processed under a limited level of oxygen. Even at that, he pointed out, the only thing users of activated charcoal would need to do is to always drink plenty of clean water to flush down the body system as it is a good practice generally for everyone. He said: “I will recommend that people should start using activated charcoal to brush their teeth, as doing so would not only keep their teeth white and healthy but also reduce their expenses on factory-made toothpaste whose prices continue to increase every other day.”

Similarly, the researcher declared that activated charcoal could be used to purify water polluted by human activities, including body waste (faeces and urine), food scraps, fat, laundry powder, and even industrial chemicals and so forth. He said leaving waste water to get into rivers and seas untreated could lead to the destruction of biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems and also cause health problems for downstream users and the environment. He added that this was the reason numerous diseases were caused by contact with or consumption of contaminated water, citing the recent multiple cholera outbreaks in some states of the federation, including Lagos, as a case study.

No doubt, Nigeria has a lot to gain by taking advantage of research findings such as the present one. If activated charcoal is indeed a better toothpaste than the regular paste in the market, there is no reason not to use it. Indeed, the companies making toothpaste can key into the research finding and roll out their own versions for members of the public who are persuaded to use it. Nigerians being less dependent on foreign-made toothpastes and, by implication, reducing its dependency on foreign currency isn’t such a bad idea. There are actually so many things in the Nigerian environment on which researchers have shed light, but which the government has yet to pay attention to. This has to change if Nigeria’s quest for self-reliance is to leave the realm of rhetoric. For instance, in June last year, a lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Professor Samuel Oluwalana, said Nigeria was losing a huge amount of money with its failure to export human faeces, cockroaches and scorpions to foreign countries. The lecturer indicated that Nigeria has a great chance to get billions of naira from the exportation of a large number of cockroaches to China, where they are consumed.

In previous editorials, we lamented the fact that Nigerian policymakers are too detached from indigenous research establishments and thus have failed to utilise the research outputs from universities and other research institutions in several domains. This, we said, has led to poor policymaking and underutilisation of knowledge both in government and industry. We have not been persuaded to change our view that Nigeria has to embrace the evidence-based decision-making revolution that characterises the global knowledge economy, and that it must join this evidence-based approach to issues and address the numerous challenges faced by government and industry. If the government is not taking advantage of research findings, then its expenditure on education is a total waste. It is a fact that the country adds no value to so many agricultural products, and this has to change, and very fast too.  The government and the country as a whole must look inwards, and shun the practice of indiscriminately turning forest reserves into estates. Utilising what is available in the Nigerian environment to make life better for Nigerians is a core part of the functions of government. It should not shirk it.

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