A novel method for extraction of a proteinous coagulant from Plantago ovata seeds for water treatment purposes.

Abstract Several chemicals have been applied in the process of coagulant extraction from herbal seeds, and the best extraction has been obtained in the presence of KCl or NaNO 3 [1] , [2] , [3] , and NaCl [4] . However, the main challenge posed to these methods of coagulant extraction is their relatively low efficiency for water treatment purposes and the formation of dissolved organic matter during the treatment process. In these methods the salts, which have a one-valance metal (Na + and K + ), are deposited in the internal structure and the pore of the coagulant, and may be useful for the coagulation/flocculation process. In this research, we found that modified methods produced more dense protein. Therefore, the modified procedure was better than the older one for removal of turbidity and harness from the contaminated water. Here we describe a method where: • According to the Hardy–Schulze rule, we applied the Fe 3+ ions instead of Na + and K + for the extraction of protein from Plantago ovata seeds. • The method was narrowed to extract protein by ethanol (defatting) and ammonium acetate and CM-Sepharose (protein extraction). • Two consecutive elutriations of crude extract was directly performed using 0.025-M FeCl 3 and 0.05-M FeCl 3 according to the basis of the ion-exchange processes.