D'Aquino M, Teves S A
University of Buenos Aires, School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Argentina.
Bull Pan Am Health Organ. 1994 Dec;28(4):324-30.
The natural biocidal activity of lemon juice was studied in order to explore its possible use as a disinfectant and inhibitor of Vibrio cholerae in drinking water for areas lacking water treatment plants. From January through July 1993, water samples of varying alkalinity and hardness were prepared artificially, and underground and surface water samples were obtained from a number of different rural and urban areas in Argentina's Buenos Aires Province. After measuring the latter samples' hardness and alkalinity, a range of concentrations of lemon juice and other acidifiers were added to each sample, and the resulting pH as well as the samples' ability to destroy V. cholerae were determined. The results show that lemon juice can actively prevent survival of V. cholerae but that such activity is reduced in markedly alkaline water. For example, treatment of underground drinking water, which is characterized as having the greatest degree of alkalinity in our area, will typically destroy V. cholerae if the alkalinity of the water is the equivalent of that produced by 200 mg CaCO3 per liter, if enough lemon juice is added to bring the lemon juice concentration to 2%, and if the lemon juice is allowed to act for 30 minutes. All this points up the need to determine the alkalinity of water from any local source to be treated in the process of assessing the minimum concentration of lemon juice required.
为了探索柠檬汁在缺乏水处理厂的地区作为饮用水中霍乱弧菌消毒剂和抑制剂的潜在用途，对其天然杀菌活性进行了研究。1993年1月至7月，人工制备了不同碱度和硬度的水样，并从阿根廷布宜诺斯艾利斯省的一些不同农村和城市地区采集了地下水和地表水样本。在测量了后者样本的硬度和碱度后，向每个样本中添加了一系列浓度的柠檬汁和其他酸化剂，并测定了所得的pH值以及样本杀灭霍乱弧菌的能力。结果表明，柠檬汁可以有效防止霍乱弧菌存活，但在明显碱性的水中这种活性会降低。例如，如果将水的碱度调整到相当于每升200毫克碳酸钙产生的碱度，加入足够的柠檬汁使柠檬汁浓度达到2%，并让柠檬汁作用30分钟，那么处理具有我们地区最高碱度特征的地下饮用水通常会杀灭霍乱弧菌。所有这些都表明，在评估所需柠檬汁的最低浓度过程中，需要确定任何待处理当地水源水的碱度。
