Centre of Analysis of Drinking Water, Food and Environmental Safety, Department of Chemistry, Jalan Sultan, 46661, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
East Coast Environmental Research Institute (ESERI), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21300, Gong Badak Campus, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Apr;28(16):20717-20736. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-11680-5. Epub 2021 Jan 6.
Sewage contamination is a principal concern in water quality management as pathogens in sewage can cause diseases and lead to detrimental health effects in humans. This study examines the distribution of seven sterol compounds, namely coprostanol, epi-coprostanol, cholesterol, cholestanol, stigmasterol, campesterol, and β-sitosterol in filtered and particulate phases of sewage treatment plants (STPs), groundwater, and river water. For filtered samples, solid-phase extraction (SPE) was employed while for particulate samples were sonicated. Quantification was done by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Faecal stanols (coprostanol and epi-coprostanol) and β-sitosterol were dominant in most STP samples. Groundwater samples were influenced by natural/biogenic sterol, while river water samples were characterized by a mixture of sources. Factor loadings from principal component analysis (PCA) defined fresh input of biogenic sterol and vascular plants (positive varimax factor (VF)1), aged/treated sewage sources (negative VF1), fresh- and less-treated sewage and domestic sources (positive VF2), biological sewage effluents (negative VF2), and fresh-treated sewage sources (VF3) in the samples. Association of VF loadings and factor score values illustrated the correlation of STP effluents and the input of biogenic and plant sterol sources in river and groundwater samples of Linggi. This study focuses on sterol distribution and its potential sources; these findings will aid in sewage assessment in the aquatic environment.
污水污染是水质管理中的主要关注点，因为污水中的病原体可能导致疾病，并对人类健康产生不利影响。本研究考察了七种甾醇化合物（粪甾醇、表粪甾醇、胆固醇、胆甾醇、豆甾醇、菜油甾醇和β-谷甾醇）在污水处理厂（STP）、地下水和河水的过滤相和颗粒相中的分布。对于过滤样品，采用固相萃取（SPE），对于颗粒样品则进行超声处理。通过气相色谱-质谱联用仪（GC-MS）进行定量。粪甾醇（粪甾醇和表粪甾醇）和β-谷甾醇在大多数 STP 样品中占主导地位。地下水样品受天然/生物甾醇的影响，而河水样品则由多种来源组成。主成分分析（PCA）的因子负荷定义了生物甾醇和维管束植物的新鲜输入（正变最大值因子（VF）1）、老化/处理后的污水源（负 VF1）、新鲜/处理较少的污水和家庭源（正 VF2）、生物污水废水（负 VF2）和新鲜处理污水源（VF3）在样品中的情况。VF 负荷和因子得分值的关联说明了 STP 废水与河流和地下水中生物和植物甾醇源输入的相关性。本研究侧重于甾醇的分布及其潜在来源；这些发现将有助于评估水生环境中的污水。
