Research of Zeolite and Zeolite Water from Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria

Abstract

The physicochemical composition and antibacterial effect of aqueous zeolite infusion (spring zeolite water Sevtopolis with zeolite from deposit Beli plast, Bulgaria) obtained for 12 and 36 hours was tested. Ordinance No. 9/2001, Official State Gazette, issue 30, and Decree No.178/23.07.2004 regarding the quality of water intended for drinking and household purposes were applied to study the physicochemical composition. Staphylococcus aureus-ATCC and TSA-MRSA and Escherichia coli ATCC were used in the studies. Both tested zeolite waters reduced the amount of viable E. coli and S. aureus cells even when they were in high concentrations (106 cells/ml). The effect of the 36-hour infusion was better, under the influence of which after 60 minutes the number of live bacteria of both tested species decreases by almost half compared to the initial amounts. Slightly higher sensitivity to two zeolite waters was shown by E. coli, whose cells were reduced to about 35% after two hours of exposure zeolite water tested. However, about 20% of the cells of the tested bacteria survived even after 96 hours of exposure to these waters. Only in E. coli no growth was found after 96 hours of exposure to 12 hours zeolite water. These results show the effectiveness of zeolite for water purification from Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as prospects for the use of zeolite water as a prophylactic and auxiliary treatment for bacterial infections.