This study published in the journal The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (AJTMH) aimed at assessing water contamination and the relative effectiveness of three options for point-of-use water treatment in South India. A 6-month randomized, controlled intervention trial was conducted using chlorine, Moringa oleifera seeds, a closed valved container, and controls.

Previous studies in India have shown that many of the public water sources that serve both the peri-urban and rural areas are often contaminated and the type of pathogens vary in each outbreak. Even when population-based methods of water purification, such as chlorination of tanks, are successful, practices in the home, such as dipping tumblers or cups into wide-mouthed containers to obtain water, can cause recontamination.

A combination of point- of- use disinfection methods and prevention of recontamination is likely optimal, but difficult to achieve. Boiling, one of the most common methods of disinfection used in settings with contaminated water sources, is expensive and time-consuming. Two promising alternative technologies for point-of-use decontamination are the use of M. oleifera seed preparations and in-home chlorination

Moringa oleifera seeds were first used for domestic household water treatment by women in the Sudan, who placed powdered seeds in a small cloth bag that was then swirled in turbid water. Laboratory testing of the seeds of the M. oleifera show that the seeds flocculate bacteria by low molecular weight cationic water soluble proteins that attach themselves to suspended particles, including bacteria, and thereby assist in the removal of harmful pathogens from water.

One hundred twenty-six families participated in the study. Approximately 70% of public drinking water sources had thermotolerant coliform counts > 100/100 mL. The study found that neither M. oleifera seeds nor containers reduced coliform counts in water samples from participants’ homes.

Chlorine reduced thermotolerant coliform counts to potable levels, but was less acceptable to participants. Laboratory testing of M. oleifera seeds in water from the village confirmed the lack of reduction in coliform counts, in contrast to the improvement seen with Escherichia coli seeded distilled water. The paper ends by concluding that this discrepancy merits further study, as M. oleifera have been found to be effective in reducing coliform counts in other studies and compliance with Moringa use in this study was high.

The entire article can be downloaded from here