From Brass jugs polish off disease – Developing world urged to ditch plastic for traditional pitchers:
Reed, with his colleagues Puja Tandon and Sanjay Chhibber, carried out two series of experiments. In Britain, the researchers filled brass and earthenware vessels with a diluted culture of Escherichia coli bacteria, which can cause illnesses such as dysentery. They then counted the surviving bacteria after 6, 24 and 48 hours. A similar test was carried out in India using naturally contaminated water.The amount of live E. coli in the brass vessels dropped dramatically over time, and after 48 hours they fell to undetectable levels, Reed told the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting this week in Edinburgh, UK.
The key to the result is copper, which can disrupt biological systems, Reed explains. The element acts by interfering with the membranes and enzymes of cells; for bacteria, this can mean death. Pots made of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, shed copper particles into the water they contain.
The amounts that circulate into the brass water vessels would not harm humans, Reed adds. According to the researchers, even a person drinking 10 litres of such water in a single day would take in less than the daily recommended dose of copper or zinc.