In Traditional Indian practice, the white seeds of Jequirity (Abrus precatorius) are used in preference to the red seeds for medicine preparation. They are also purified before usage. However, the reasons for this are not known. We have conducted chemical and biological studies to compare the profiles to understand the relevance of the traditional methods of choice of raw drug and methods of purification.

From the physicochemical, chemical and biological study it is observed that the Abrus red seeds contain more phytoconstituents than the white seeds and exhibit increased antimicrobial effect. However, there is no significant difference in their bioactivity as observed in Brine Shrimp Assay. Purification of the seeds does bring about the change in the chemical profile and the biological profile as the concentration of the constituents is reduced and there is a decrease in the bioactivity. Of the two purification methods, viz., Purification by steaming and purification by soaking, steam purification seems to be more effective. However, further chemical and biological studies have to be undertaken to establish the nature of the chemical constituents and the chemicals that contribute to the toxicity of the seeds.

Oil extracted from the seeds of small ‘variety’ of castor (Ricinis communis) is considered better for internal consumption while that from the big seeds is better for external application. Are there differences in their chemical profiles and biological activities? Is yes, this is an important folk observation. In the case of castor seeds, the small seeds were found to be less toxic than the big seeds again indicating a purpose in the traditional recommendation.

 The bioactivity of big seeds was significantly higher than that of the small seeds, which is well correlated with the higher alcohol soluble extractive values. The Chromatographic profile also indicates that though qualitatively the chemical profiles of both the type of seeds are similar, the big seeds contain higher amounts of the chemical constituents. The small seeds are probably used as medicines in folk tradition due to their lesser toxicity. Detailed chemical and biological investigation are required to pinpoint the differences in the nature of the phytoconstituents

WHO estimates that four million children under the age of five die each year from diarrhoea, mainly in developing countries. Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protozoa or by parasites are the most common and widespread health risk associated with drinking water. Some of the microorganisms causing waterborne infections are bacteria such as E.coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella spp., Vibrio cholerae, viruses such as, Enterovirus, Hepatitis A and E virus, Norwalk virus, Rotavirus and protozoa such as Entamoeba histolytica.

Our study indicated that E.coli gets completely killed within 12 hours of inoculation into water stored in copper pots. It also demonstrated that the continuous presence of the pot was not necessary to cause the kill, as the water stored for 24 hours in copper pots, by itself was able to kill the organisms. The levels of copper (< 1035 ppb) that had leached into water were within the World Health Organisation (WHO) permissible limits.

Storing water in copper pots offers the benefit of providing drinking water free from E.coli. Its efficacy on the other water-borne organisms could be explored further. Since copper pots may not be affordable to many, viable contraptions using copper may be designed to provide a cost-effective, decentralized purification method to the rural and urban population.