Article
Reduction of Malnutrition Related to Unsafe Water Consumption in Developing Countries: Potabilization of Surface Water and TraditionalWell Water, with Plant Extracts
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
(2024)
Abstract
The consumption of unsafe water in rural areas is a real public health problem in developing
countries. This situation mainly affects children under five years of age and causes several deaths
and many cases of malnutrition every year. The objective of this study was to evaluate and optimize
the capacity of four local plant extracts in the potabilization of unsafe water. Thus, Moringa oleifera
and Boscia senegalensis seeds, or Aloe vera and Opuntia ficus-indica mucilages were prepared in a
solution and applied during a jar test as biocoagulants and bioflocculants on three raw water samples
of 82.3 NTU, 549.8 NTU and 796.9 NTU. After treatment results showed that 0.9 g/L of Moringa
biocoagulant or 1 g/L of Boscia biocoagulant applied with 0.4 mL of Aloe vera bioflocculant or 0.6 mL
of Opuntia ficus-indica bioflocculant reduced the turbidity of each water sample to values less than
5 NTU after only 15 min of decanting. Moreover, the sanitary quality of the water treated by these
different extracts showed a perfect conformity of the physicochemical and microbiological parameters
with the standards of acceptability in drinking water decreed by the World Health Organization.
Thus, the application of these local plant extracts has made it possible to considerably improve the
quality of unsafe water in record time. Their popularization could be an alternative in the fight
against malnutrition related to the consumption of unsafe water, especially in rural areas.
Keywords
- Water,
- biocoagulant,
- bioflocculant,
- turbidity,
- potabilization
Disciplines
Publication Date
Summer April 23, 2024
DOI
10.3390/ijerph21050519
Citation Information
Citation: Konkobo, F.A.; Diao, M.;
Savadogo, P.W.; Dakuyo, R.; Roamba,
N.E.; Zongo, S.; Dicko, M.H.
Reduction of Malnutrition Related to
UnsafeWater Consumption in
Developing Countries: Potabilization
of SurfaceWater and TraditionalWell Water, with Plant Extracts. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21,
519. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21050519
Creative Commons license
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY-SA International License.