Potable Water - Sources and Methods of Purification at Domestic level

by

MANOJ KUMAR

1.    

  POTABLE WATER:

Water which has been filtered cleaned or treated to meet the standards of drinking water and is reasonably clear for contaminants and harmful bacteria are considered as potable water.

            Potable water access is crucial and people in developed countries may not worry where they get potable water from. They may simply turn ON their taps and get potable water. But the people in developing countries have very limited access to potable water.

            Most non-potable water will be raw and untreated, which may contain unknown contaminants. It is possible for non-potable water to taste normal but carry health risks.

2.    

  STANDARDS FOR POTABLE WATER IN INDIA

According to BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards, 2012) potable water is water intended for human consumption for drinking and cooking from any source. The following table shows the parameters, their upper limit as per BIS and possible impacts on health.

TABLE – 1: SHOWING PARAMETERS, THEIR APPROVED UPPER LIMITS AS PER BIS AND POSSIBLE HEALTH HAZARDS (as per BIS water quality standards, 2012)

parameters	upper limits as per BIS standards	possible health risks
total dissolved solid	200 mg/L	GI irritation, Bad taste
pH	6.5 - 8.5	affects mucous membrane, bitter taste
alkalinity	600 mg/L	boiled rice turns yellowish
hardness	600 mg/L	poor lathering with soap, skin irritation, boiled meat/food becomes poor quality
Ca	200 mg/L	deteriorates clothes, pipe incrustation
Mg	100 mg/L	deteriorates clothes, pipe incrustation
Fe	1.0 mg/L	cloth staining, bitter taste
Mn	0.3 mg/L	poor taste, staining of clothes
Al	0.2 mg/L	neurological disorders, Alzheimer disease
Cu	1.5 mg/L	liver damage
Zn	15 mg/L	vomiting, abdominal pain
Ammonia	NIL	indicates pollution
Nitrite	NIL	forms nitrosoamine which is carcinogenic
Nitrate	100 mg/L	blue baby disease
Sulphate	400 mg/L	GI irritation, laxative effect
Chloride	100 mg/L	corrosive to alimentary cannal
Fluoride	1.5 mg/L	dental and skeletal disorders
Hg	0.001 mg/L	minamata disease
Cadmium	0.01 mg/L	itai itai disease
Lead	0.05 mg/L	bioaccumulation, neurological disorders
Chromium	0.05 mg/L	Carcinogenic
Pesticides	0.001 mg/L	affects CNS
detergents	NIL	undesirable foaming

3.      SOURCES OF POTABLE WATER:

As per the Indian Census, 2011 the potable water sources in India and their comparative shares in household potable water consumption is as follows.

TABLE 2: SHOWING VARIOUS SOURCE OF POTABLE WATER AND THEIR PERCENTAGE SHARES IN TOTAL HOUSEHOLD POTABLE WATER CONSUMPTION (as per the Indian Census Report, 2011)

SOURCE	PERCENTAGE SHARE
Tap water	43.5
Well	11.0
Hand pump	33.5
Tube well	8.5
Spring	0.5
River	0.6
Pond/Lake	0.8
Other sources	1.5

4.      METHODS OF PURIFICATION OF POTABLE WATER AT DOMESTIC LEVELS

A.     BOILING:

It is a satisfactory method of purifying water for house hold purposes. While using this method, the water must be brought to a 'rolling' boil. Boiling should be done for 5-10 minutes. Boiling destroys all forms of disease producing organisms usually found in water. When the water is boiled, the container becomes sterilized or the water should be boiled preferably in the same container.

B.     SEDIMENTATION AND DECANTATION:

It is a natural method of water purification. In this method water is collected from the source and stored in a jar or container. The water if allowed to remain for some time in container, the impurities (e.g. stone, sand, chalk, mud, etc.) will settle down at the bottom. We will be able to pour out the water without disturbing the impurities. This process of water filtration is called sedimentation and serves the following purpose:

The solid matter in suspension falls to the bottom by gravity and is called sediment.

C.     SAND FILTERATION:

This is also called the filtration of water by four pitchers system. It is old fashioned filter system. In this method, the four pitchers are placed one above the other on a wooden stand. All the vessels except the last one have small pores at the bottom. The upper most vessel contains thick layer of charcoal which is filled with water and which percolated through a hole made at its bottom, along with a piece of cloth plugged into the hole of the second pitcher.

The second pitcher contains a layer of sand, and the third contains gravel. Water drips into each of these vessels. The last or fourth pitcher contains filtered water.

Nowadays one can buy a manufactured filter from the market. The principle of these filters is that water is made to pass through porous 'candle' and in doing so it is purified.

D.     CHLORINATION:

Water is most essential for the maintenance of life but it is also a vehicle for infection and responsible for severe and wide spread water borne diseases. In such a context, bacteria, helminthic,  protozoal and other pathogenic infection causing cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, worm, dysentery, gardenias can be caused. It is essential to make the water safe for drinking from whatever source it is obtained. In this regard, one of the most widely used disinfectants for treating drinking water is chlorine and when it is added to water in proper proportion, it is effective in killing pathogenic organism.

E.      DISTILLATION:

In the process of distillation water is heated and evaporation takes place, whereby water changes back to water when cooled; this process is called condensation. The condensed water is the purest form of water, free from microbes, and impurities.

But it loses its taste and odor. Through aeration or passing oxygen through it the water becomes consumable.

This method is quite expensive and time - consuming. But in place like laboratories, on sea-ships or places where pure water is not available, this method is found to be very useful.

F.      FILTRATION:

Different varieties of filters are used to purify the water at domestic level. Filter rods (candies) are installed in the upper chamber. These rods are made of china porcelain and it is porous and hollow from the centre. When water is filled in the upper chamber it purifies and drips in the lower chamber. This water is free of any suspended matter but still has microbes in it

G.     CHEMICAL METHODS OF PURIFICATION

(a) Aluminum Sulphate (b) Chlorine

(c) Potassium Permagnate purification by Ultra-Violet Rays

In a school where a large number of students and teachers depend on the water supplied by the local civic bodies, extra measures to ensure good quality of water are needed especially when it is routed through drinking water coolers.

These water collars should be cleaned at regular periodicity and should be pilferage free. Besides, ultra-violet rays may be used for destroying micro- organism from the water without any chemical change. It has the following advantages: -

(a) Ultraviolet rays destroy all kinds of bacteria and virus, which produce diseases.

(b) Besides the boiling method, this method is safe and water can immediately be used. There is no chance of any contamination in storing it for 48 hours. Water stored in ordinary filters and pitchers provide a breeding place for the microbes.

(c) Water is purified in its natural form; there is no chemical change in it.

(d) The quality of water remains intact.

(e) It has an electronic method for water purification, which is more reliable

 *the data and notes have been collected from books and online contents

BIOCHEMICAL TEST FOR PRESENCE OF CARBOHYDRATE (QUALITATIVE TEST)

Aim: to test the presence of carbohydrate in given sample

Materials Required: Test tube, test tube holder, sugar solution, Benedict's solution, spirit lamp.

Principle: Sugar contain aldehyde and keto-group which readily reduce metallic oxides, specially cupric to cuprous oxide. In Benedict's  solution CuSO4 is mixed with sodium citrate and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) which is more stable. In Alkaline Solution all Reducing sugars, glucose, fructose and lactose precipitate Cu2O. In acidic solution only the polysaccharides reduce cupric salt.



observation table

Experiment	Observation	Inference
Clean test tube was taken and 5 ml of Benedict’s reagent was taken in it, 3-4 drops of sample A was added to it, the mixture was thoroughly heated on spirit lamp or boiling water bath	Red or yellow of Cu2O was formed	The given solution contains sugar monosaccharide and reducing disaccharides
Clean test tube was taken and 5 ml of Benedict’s reagent was taken in it, 3-4 drops of sample B was added to it, the mixture was thoroughly heated on spirit lamp or boiling water bath	Yellow ppt not formed	_____

Result: The solution resulted in yellow precipitate formation in sample A, hence carbohydrate is present in sample A

Therapeutic efficacy of Cinnamomum tamala (Buch.-Ham.) and Aegle marmelos (L.) leaf

Sukumar Dandapat*, Manoj Kumar and M. P. Sinha

*Department of Zoology, Ranchi University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India – 834008
*email: eaddress.sukumar27@gmail.com

Medicinal plants are widely used for therapy of various diseases and disorders due to presence of various bioactive phytochemicals. Among the studied phytochemicals polyphenol content was higher (16.7 ± 0.7 g/100g in C. tamala and 6.7 ± 0.61 g/100g in A. marmelos) and flavonoids content was lower in both plants (1.0 ± 1.01 g/100g and 0.9 ± 0.25 g/100g in C. tamala and A. marmelos respectively). Leaf extract of both plant were effective against S. aureus and P. mirabilis (6-10 mm ZOI and 100% inhibition at 0.25mg-5mg of leaf extracts in agar disk diffusion and broth dilution method respectively) and the leaf extract of both plant possess high antioxidant activity, 0.9% and 0.2% at 5μg/mL concentration 4% and 7% at 100 μg/mL concentration of A. marmelos and C. tamala leaf extracts respectively. Aqueous leaf extract of both the plants did not show cytotoxicity by haemolysis at 0.2 mg/mL-1mg/mL concentration.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HARMONY WITH NATURE IN CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY (HARMONY - 2014)

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HARMONY WITH NATURE IN CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY (HARMONY - 2014)

NOVEMBER

28-30

2014

Pharmacological Screening of Leaf Extract of Adhatoda vasica for Therapeutic Efficacy

Global Journal of Pharmacology 8(4): 494-500, 2014

ISSN 1992-0075

© IDOSI Publications, 2014

DOI: 10.5829/idosi.gjp.2014.8.4.8419

Pharmacological Screening of Leaf Extract of Adhatoda vasica for Therapeutic Efficacy

ManojKumar, Sukumar Dandapat, Amit Kumar and M.P. Sinha

Department of Zoology, RanchiUniversity, Ranchi-834008, Jharkhand, India

Abstract: In the present study Adhatoda vasica was screened for therapeutic efficacy. The plant leaf extract was screened for phytochemicals, mineral elements, antioxidant and reducing power activity, foaming and swelling index properties. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses of phytochemicals were done. The result showed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, phenolics and flavonoids. Tannins were maximum among all the detected phytochemicals (61.38 ± 0.8 mg/g). Phenolics were minimum (1.30 ± 0.1 mg/g). Following the presence of phytochemicals the plant leaf samples were also screened for antioxidant and reducing power ability. The screening for mineral elements revealed the presence of macro and micro elements. Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Chromium (Cr), Vanadium and Manganese (Mn) were detected in the leaf sample. Adhatoda vasica showed highest (68070 ± 35.58 ppm) concentration of Ca. V was lowest among all the mineral elements (118 ± 6.03 pm). Since the plant contains important phytochemicals, mineral elements, antioxidant and reducing power analysis, it may be good source of future medicines.

 

Key words: Phytochemicals,  Mineral Elements, Antioxidant, Reducing Power

Digestive System of Scoliodon