TITLE:
Evaluation of eco-friendly coagulant from Trigonella foenum-graecum seed
AUTHORS:
Chitteti Ramamurthy, Malige Uma Maheswari, Natarajan Selvaganabathy, Muthuvel Suresh Kumar, Venugopal Sujatha, Chinnasamy Thirunavukkarasu
KEYWORDS:
Natural Coagulants; Water Purifier; T. foenum-graecum; Fenugreek
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Biological Chemistry,
Vol.2 No.1,
February
22,
2012
ABSTRACT: The ability of seed extracts of Trigonella foenum-graecum (T. foenum-graecum) and Cuminum cyminum (C. cyminum) to act as natural coagulants was tested using natural turbid water. Seed extracts were prepared using distilled water and NaCl (0.5 M and 1.0 M) solution. Only 1.0 M NaCl extract of T. foenum-graecum had coagulation capability and did not depend on pH values. Further it showed that natural coagulant obtained from T. foenum-graecum is temperature (upto 100?C) and pH stable (pH 4.0 - 10.0). Extract of C. cyminum had very minimal (16 ± 2) coagulation property. The seed extract of T. foenum-graecum showed about 80% coagulation properties, where as the best known natural coagulants such as Strychnos potatorum and Moringa oleifera, and chemical coagulant such as Al2(SO4)3 showed around 90%, 65% and 95% respectively, which are used as standards for the present study. When compared with pond water, T. foenum-graecum extract treated water shows decrease in alkalinity, turbidity, KMnO4 demand and total coli-form. This study reveals that seed extract of T. foenum-graecum can be used as natural water coagulant.