Phyto-chemical screening, proximate analysis mineral composition of musa paradisiaca leaf ash (MPLA) for water treatment applications

Abstract

The pervasive issue of accessing potable water remains a critical challenge in numerous developing nations, conventional water treatment methodologies frequently rely on synthetic chemicals, which often necessitate importation at considerable expense, potential health risks, exemplified by the correlation between aluminum-based coagulants and the onset of Alzheimer's disease, the production of substantial sludge volumes.  Consequently, the imperative to mitigate the risks inherent in synthetic chemical usage necessitates the exploration of cost-effective and sustainable alternatives for water treatment, without compromising coagulation efficacy or microbiological integrity. Natural coagulants present an environmentally conscious alternative to their chemical counterparts. Musa Paradisiaca leaf ash is an agricultural waste in need of disposal. In this work the characterization of Musa paradisiaca leaf ash was undertaken to investigate suitability for water treatment applications. The results reveal the existence of Aluminium (AI) 12.3%, 7.5%, Carbon (C) 7.0%, 6.67%, Calcium (Ca) 5.20%, 22.09%, Iron, (Fe) 3.0%, 5.0%, Nitrogen (N) 4.0%, 4.0%, Oxygen (O) 20.3%, 10.43%, and Silicon (Si) 47.3%, 44.31% for Musa paradisiaca leaf ash and Musa paradisiaca stalk ash respectively. The result for nutritional content are as follows 1.95 mg/100g and 2.35 mg/100g for tannin, 0.16 mg/100g and 0.19 mg/100g for phytate, 0.48 mg/100g and 1.72 mg/100g for alkaloid, 8.7 mg/100g and 2.7 mg/100g for saponin, 36.55 mg/100g and 38.14 mg/100g for flavonoid, 18.6 mg/100g and 2.1 mg/100g for crude protein 9.5 mg/100 and 9.6 mg/100g for moisture content, 7.3 mg/100g and 9.2 mg/100g for ash content, 54.4 mg/100g and 63.5 mg/100g for carbohydrate, 1.6 mg/100g and 0.9 mg/100g for crude lipids and  8.6 mg/100g and 14.7 mg/100g for crude fibre for Musa paradisiaca leaf ash and Musa paradisiaca Stalk ash respectively.