Organic substances in the soil go through oxidative decomposition depending on factors such as temperature, air, humidity, and pH balance. This is a slow burning (oxidation) event of organic substances. However, oxidative decay is hindered if one of the aforementioned factors is lacking. Then, a slow decay of organic materials in soil called humification takes place.

Humification occurs in an open system in contact with air. For example, early chemical processes start with leaves changing color in autumn. The break down and partial ingestion of leaves by soil organisms follows. During this time, water soluble carbohydrates and proteins leave the leaf tissue. What remains behind are plant structures like cellulose and lignin, which are not broken down yet. Since leaf shapes are not completely deformed, species identification can still be possible at this stage. In the decay step, however, the cellulose and lignin are decomposed by various fungi species and converted to humus.

Humic substances and their properties

Humic substances are intermediate products that occur as the result of organic materials going through a series of chemical reactions. These intermediate products are humic acid, fulvic acid, and humate. Their molecular weights are around 1.000-10.000 gr/mol, 10.000-100.000 gr/mol, and 100.000-10.000.000 gr/mol, respectively. Humic acids contain weak aliphatic (carbon chains) and aromatic (carbon rings) organic acids that are soluble in water when it has a base medium but insoluble under acidic conditions.

Fulvic acids with smaller size molecular structures can reach plant roots, branches, and leaves easily because they are soluble in water under all pH conditions (acidic, neutral, and basic). Thus, trace elements such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and boron can be easily transported to plant tissues via fulvic acid.

Humates, however, are insoluble in water. Only the portion of a humate called ulmic acid can dissolve in alcohol.

Major functions have been assigned to humic matter in the nutrient and carbon cycle, as they are inseparable members of the ecosystem. Plants capture significantly more nutrients from humic matter than from clay minerals. Even though they can be depleted from soil by certain agricultural practices in less than 50 years, they can still remain in natural soils, outside human activity, for hundreds or even thousands of years without being degraded. This very long presence in soil enables them to continue their functions longer. According to radiocarbon dating, humates can last approximately 1140 years; and humic acid and fulvic acid last for 1235 and 870 years, respectively, in natural soils.

Positively charged nutritious elements (cations) remain in the soil by binding to negatively charged (anions) in humic matter. Because this bond is weak, useful elements for the plant can easily be exchanged with another cation, becoming free and getting absorbed by the plant. On the other side, cations such as iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and calcium, which are hazardous to plants when taken excessively, are held in the soil, bound to humic matter and thus not causing toxicity.

Another significant feature of humic and fulvic acid is their ability to form water bridges. Water bridges facilitate the movement of nutrient ions towards roots via soil solutions.

Aside from agriculture, humic matter, with its aforementioned properties, serve humankind in the industrial, environmental, and biomedical fields.

Industrial and environmental applications

Humic matter is utilized in the staining of leather works, as wood lining paint (natural blue color), as well as water based stripping material for furniture stains. Humic matter is also used in the production of durable, resistant papers in the paper industry, to provide mechanical strength to processed ceramics, and as an additive. It is also applied as a coloring, hardening, and plasticizing agent in plastic fabrication.

Humic and fulvic acids gain significance regarding their ability to form water soluble substances with many metal compounds containing radioactive elements in their structure.

In environmental chemistry, the main role of the humic matter is to remove toxic substances, human sourced organic chemical matter, and other pollutants from water. Calcium humate, obtained from humic matter, can bind and remove nickel, iron, cadmium, and copper in addition to radioactive elements produced at nuclear power plants from water.

Humus based filters are designed to treat sewage water and mud waste. Oils, stains, poisonous phenolic substances, and pesticides are removed from sewage via these materials. In poultry, humic substances are employed to absorb and eliminate the odor of waste gases.

Biomedical applications

Drugs for the treatment of human and animal diseases are developed from humic matter. These can be used for the treatment of viral and bacterial illnesses, in the prevention of blood clots, to cure infections, and to remedy estrogen deficiencies. Clinical studies have shown that common viral diseases of children’s respiratory tracks can be treated with fulvic acid supplements. A lot of medical research has shown that humic matter, especially fulvic acids, have the ability to provide protection against cancer causing viruses. In a study, laboratory mice were given ethanol to trigger gastritis and it was determined that humic acids supplied to mice led to a significant reduction in the harm gastritis caused. The fact that humic acids can form compounds with heavy metals, such as cadmium, enables the excretion of heavy metals from organisms.

In our universe there is no place for waste. Once every particle completes its task, it is returned in a different fashion to be assigned another job. Humification is a good example to this reassignment as a complex recycling event in the soil. It is amazing to observe everything being generated from one thing and everything converted into one thing so easily and in such a crafty, balanced, and organized fashion. In fact, the power and wisdom behind the conversion of the remains of millions of different organisms into a few similar substances to be employed in different tasks are no less amazing.

According to a recent report by the UN, factors like climate change and high demand for energy are the main reasons for switching to alternative sources, among which biogas is an essential one. The same report also indicates that increasingly higher shares of budgets are spent on biogas, solar and wind energy research.

What is Biogas?

Biogas is a mixture that is produced by microorganisms during the decomposition of vegetable and animal wastes in an oxygen-free environment. It consists of methane (60–70%), carbon dioxide (30–40%) and hydrogen-sulfide (0–2%). For its production, plant seeds that are rich in oil (e.g. sunflower), vegetables rich in carbohydrates (e.g. potato, wheat, corn, beet), fiber-rich plants (e.g. flax), other plant and tree remains (e.g. branches, hay, roots, bark), and animal remains can be utilized as raw material. Municipal and industrial waste can also be utilized on the condition that they are purified from inorganic materials like plastic and glass.

Biogas is an environmentally friendly energy source that is easy to produce almost anywhere. Biogas production capacity is directly proportional to the agricultural level of a country. Its ease of production and relatively higher efficiency compared to other renewable energy sources make it particularly important for countries which are not self-sufficient in energy production.

Biogas production in reactors

Biogas is produced by two main methods. In one case, the amount of biogas that can be extracted from the available organic waste is calculated. Then reactor tanks are designed according to the rate of production. In the other case, the energy requirement of a certain system (in terms of biogas energy) is calculated first, and then the reactors are built accordingly. The main concern in both designs is of course achieving the maximum efficiency and ease with minimum cost.

We can list the parameters in the design of a reactor tank as follows:

– Type and amount of organic material

– Type and amount of raw material

– Meeting the heat requirement of the chemical process

– Mixing various materials in appropriate proportions

Currently, reactors that are fed with raw materials on a daily basis are widely used in rural areas. This type of reactor is known as a continuous reactor. In cases where daily feeding is not possible, semi-continuous reactors are used instead. In this second type, re-feeding of the reactor is not necessary till the end of the first production cycle, but at the end of each cycle, the reactors have to be emptied and cleaned for the next cycle.

Keeping the temperature of the medium at the correct level is crucial. Solar energy can be used to manage this. It can help heat the liquid mixture up to the desired temperature and prevent the heat loss in certain designs by providing the green-house effect.

Implementing in daily use

How to implement biogas as an alternative source of energy in real life is surely an important subject. Currently, energy production from biogas is carried out either by direct burning or enriching and converting it into other forms of fuel to be used in industry.

One may wonder how good biogas really is compared to current energy sources. In terms of biogas production capacity, 440 lbs of food waste is equivalent to the daily manure production from 5 cows. From this much food waste or manure, 88 ft of biogas can be obtained. In terms of energy, this is equivalent to 9 lbs of wood, or 3 lbs of charcoal or 0.16 gallons of coal oil, 1.5 lbs of gasoline and finally 56.50 ft of natural gas. What can we really do with this much energy? Here is a small list of things we can do:

– cook 3 meals a day for a normal size family for 3 days

– run a 2-horsepower engine for an hour

– keep a 60–100 Watt lamp on for six hours, which is approximately 1.25kWh electrical energy

– heat two bedrooms daily

Humanitarian issues

Although when the western developed countries are considered, biogas is an excellent way of making use of waste food and other organic remains, it still calls for global thinking. In western countries, cutting food waste and turning it into useable energy is an advantage of biogas. Whether that energy is really needed is another issue to think about. People need to evaluate honestly how much energy they really need; they must consider the lights that are left on for no purpose, the heating and cooling systems that are over-used for extreme comfort, the excess of food they leave on plates and the pots of food dumped in the trash… Besides, in much of the rest of the world, there is malnutrition and a shortage of food. So, a straightforward question is, “Is it fair to consume edibles to make energy that we do not necessarily need, while there are people suffering from hunger?”

Biogas clearly holds promise to resolve both the energy problem and the environmental crisis of our modern days. However, will it ever be possible to find resources that can satisfy the consumption needs of a humanity that lacks virtues such as contentment and the desire to share?

Bekir Mugayitoğlu is an environmental engineer. He lives in West Virginia, USA.

More specifically, groundwater represents 98% of the available fresh water on earth. The contamination of groundwater has increased significantly due to industrial developments over the last century. To illustrate how the modern human has had an impact on the environment, let us look at some numbers: In the United States alone, yearly 100 million tons of hazardous waste is generated and 4 million tons of toxic chemicals are released into streams; in addition, 1.2 million tons of toxic waste are emptied into landfills and 1.5 million tons are injected into deep wells for disposal. Again in the United States, of the 2 million underground storage tanks in gas stations, 450,000 are leaking gasoline and petroleum products to the subsurface. If these numbers do not impress you, remediation costs for contaminated sites in Europe are expected to exceed $1.5 trillion in the near future. These are only some of the impacts of heavy industrialization of which we are aware. The contaminants that are released into the environment severely threaten drinking water, agricultural, and surface waters.

The pollution process of the subsurface environment is ironically simple. Leaks from various contamination sources seep into the groundwater from where they travel and infiltrate the soil with which they come in contact. Contaminated soils and sediments slowly release these pollutants, which over long period of time have become a continuous source. Of course, all these contaminants can potentially cause cancer or have detrimental effects on the ecosystem or on human health. To give an example of how these pollutants easily spread around the globe, in a recent study of dairy products that were collected from countries all around the world, the same type of organic contaminant (PCB:

Polychlorinated Biphenyls) was found in those products that, for the most part, originated in the USA, although the usage and production of this contaminant has been banned since 1976. How have these pollutants managed to persist in the environment and travel all the way from USA to the rest of the world, even as far as Australia? There are several ways this can be done; first the released contaminant volatilizes into the air and travels, through atmospheric depositions of large quantities onto the grass that is eaten by the cow. Another way is that a fish swimming in contaminated fresh water is caught and becomes food at a dairy farm. This research exemplifies how the pollution of the environment can affect us, regardless of where we live on this planet.

It seems like a very gloomy picture though, if nobody is going to take any action against the contamination or clean up the toxic chemicals from vulnerable targets like drinking water sources or terrestrial lands. There are, of course, many precautions that have been undertaken to clean up the environment. This article is about one of the interesting ways in which we utilize microorganisms to clean up contaminated groundwater or drinking water.

It sounds a little strange for engineers to be dealing with bacteria that naturally exist and utilize them in cleaning up the environment. But this is what they are doing, using a technique called bioremediation, wherein natural microbes become stewards for destroying the pollutants in the environment. The simple technical description of bioremediation is the intentional use of the biodegradation process to eliminate environmental pollutants that have been intentionally or inadvertently released. The biodegradation used here is the microbial transformation process of toxic chemicals into nontoxic forms and sometimes mineralization into inorganic elements like carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.

This transformation, which is essentially a process of destruction, first requires the presence of microorganisms. These microorganisms almost always exist in nature, unless there are harsh conditions that prevent microbial growth. The microorganisms use inorganic or organic contaminants as their nutritional and growth source in the life cycle. For example, a commonly encountered organic contaminant, benzene, is composed of six carbon atoms and six hydrogen atoms. During the degradation process, the microorganisms synthesize enzymes that stimulate the breaking down of benzene into carbon dioxide and water or sometimes the simple elements of carbon and oxygen. These enzymes ease the reactions that produce cellular energy and the building blocks for the synthesis of new cells. In essence, the contaminant serves as a nutrient – food – so that the microorganism can continue its life.

The electron acceptors

During the process in which the microorganism feeds on the contaminant (the degradation process), the key issue is the electron acceptors, the complementary part of the chemical reaction that occurs during the biodegradation process. During the breaking down of the large organic molecules into small elements, excess electrons are released into the environment and therefore an electron acceptor is required to maintain the chemical equilibrium and continue the reaction mechanism. This necessity for oxygen or iron dioxide resembles the need for oxygen in our liver to break down the complex molecules that occur during energy production and new cell generation. The process is as simple as this: we breathe oxygen to live and so do microorganisms. Oxygen molecules act as convenient electron dumps for bacteria that usually lie near the soil surface. Depending on the electron acceptor types, degradation reactions are categorized as aerobic (using oxygen) or anaerobic (using nitrate, manganese, iron and sulfate as electron acceptors). Humans can only inhale oxygen, but most insects can utilize other molecules, like iron oxide or sulfur as well.

Moreover, in order to have a successful clean up, scientists need to satisfy chemical and nutritional requirements and this is challenging for engineers. As these electron acceptors are not always readily available, engineers supplement the electron acceptors in the contaminated environment by methods like pumping air into the ground. Sometimes the microorganisms that are necessary to degrade the potential pollutant do not exist and the engineers must first inject the bacteria so that they can consume the pollutants as food.

Geobacter

One of the microorganisms most frequently studied for its degradation potential for organic and inorganic contaminants is Geobacter metallireducens, or the geobacter. Since it was first discovered, more than 20 years ago, researchers at the University of Massachusetts have been studying this incredible creature; however, they admit that there are many things that they still do not know about it. The geobacter was the first organism found to oxidize organic compounds to carbon dioxide using iron oxides as the electron acceptor. In other words, the geobacter gains its energy by using iron oxides (a rust-like mineral) in the same way that humans use oxygen. The main nutrient for the geobacter can be organic or inorganic pollutants for, and it breathes iron oxide in the way the human inhales oxygen. The geobacter can consume soil and groundwater contaminants like benzene and the gasoline additive MBTE, even in an oxygen-free environment. The geobacter, which has been found almost everywhere, even living in the dental spit-sinks, also flourishes in uranium-contaminated sites, converting soluble radioactive material to a material that is insoluble in groundwater, therefore making it easier to isolate for cleaning up. At present the geobacter is being put to work in actual clean up projects. As our understanding of the functioning of the species has improved, it has become possible to use this information to modify environmental conditions in order to accelerate the rate of contaminant degradation.

More interestingly, researchers have discovered that the geobacter spits out unwanted electrons into the circuit while consuming contaminants for energy. The geobacter exhales electricity through 20 to 30 hair-like structures, just 3 to 5 nanometers in diameter, to its surroundings. Although there is hardly enough microbe-produced electricity generated to solve the world’s energy problems, a fuel cell measuring a cubic meter would generate 2 kilowatts, and some engineers are talking about powering sewage treatment plants with a type of geobacter that harvests off the sewage itself. Just to give an idea about the direction of future research, researchers are now working on a selected gene of the geobacter. The gene that limits electricity production will be modified so that electricity production can be boosted during the degradation process. Given that, it would not be surprising if there were technology that created energy while cleaning contaminated soil or groundwater.

Clean water is a basic need for every human being, and it is our moral obligation to work as stewards for the environment; the first thing we must do is to stop contaminating the planet. However, we are faced with resources that have been previously contaminated. As one result of an increasing sense of responsibility toward nature, we are at a point where we can use natural microorganisms or plants as clean-up tools. Although mankind harshly contaminates the environment while creating an industrial and technological world, it is quite ironic that we still rely on the marvels of such divinely ordained solutions to sustain life.

References

• Martin Alexander, Biodegradation and Bioremediation, 199, Academic Press, San Diego CA USA
• Pedro J. Alvarez, Walter A. Illman, Bioremediation and Natural Attenuation: Process Fundamentals and Mathematical Models, 2005, Wiley and Sons, NY, USA
• www.geobacter.org Geobacter project, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Environmental Biotechnology Center
• Jana Weiss, Olaf Papke, and Ake Bergman, A Worldwide Survey of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins, Dibenzofurans, and Related Contaminants in Butter, AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment Volume 34, Issue 8 (December 2005), pp. 589–597

Our current source of energy is mostly fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable. In other words, they are finite resources and they will diminish significantly in future; hence, they will be very expensive to use and environmentally harmful to recover. In contrast, solar, wind, biomass, hydrogen, geothermal, ocean, and hydro power are renewable energy resources, that is, they are constantly replenished and will not run out. Renewable energy is not only important for our energy needs but also has significant advantages over fossil-based energy resources in the protection of the environment. Besides, the environmental aspect of renewable energy also has a religious dimension, since preservation of the earth and its inhabitants is regarded as a duty for humankind.

Among these energy resources, solar energy is generally used for electricity generation or for hot water heating. It also finds uses in solar cooling, and in direct heating and lighting of buildings and homes. Solar panels are made of photovoltaic (PV) cells. The term “photovoltaic” means “converting light into electricity.” Solar energy technology has been around since the late nineteenth century. Yet, its share in energy production constitutes a very small fraction (less than 0.1%) of production around the world. This stems from the higher cost of electricity generation with solar panels in comparison to use of fossil fuels. In the US, electricity generated from PV cells costs $0.30 to $0.40 per kilowatt-hour while consumers pay only $0.10 per kilowatt-hour to the electric utility companies. Nonetheless, with recent advances in this technology, it will be possible in the near future to decrease the cost and make this technology viable for our energy needs as we face shrinkage in fossil fuels around the globe.

One of the factors that increases cost is the low power-conversion efficiency of current PV cells. The PV cells used in the market are mostly fabricated from silicon crystals and these cells show a power conversion efficiency of 15%. That means, 85% of photons go to waste when harvesting energy from sunlight. In fact, the theoretical limit of light harvesting in silicon-based solar panels is only 31% because of the low band gap of silicon, which only partially absorbs sunlight to form charge carriers in the device. To solve this problem, scientists have utilized three different crystals in a single PV cell to absorb more sunlight, and these studies have yielded a device efficiency of 37%. Just recently, scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colorado) and Boeing-Spectrolab have achieved a world-record conversion efficiency of 41% by using the same idea, establishing a new milestone in sunlight-to-electricity performance. Although such studies are very promising in this field, when it comes to production cost, these inorganic PV cells are still an expensive technology for power generation compared to fossil fuels.

Organic photovoltaics

An alternative solution to decrease the cost is to use devices with lower power efficiency but a very low cost of production. Organic-based PV materials offer such an alternative with easy and fast production techniques such as solution processing and printing. Conjugated polymers (polymers with alternating single and double bonds in their polymeric backbone) are especially important in this regard, since they exhibit semiconductor properties. The best organic PV cell efficiencies reported in recent years are around 5%. This number must double in order for the cells to be used in solar panels, assuming that the cell displays high photostability and conductivity. Many research groups are now focusing on organic-based solar systems as an alternative technology to their inorganic counterpart.

Although we are all familiar with solar energy, most of us do not know how electricity is produced from sunlight. To show the mechanism for photovoltaic activity, one first should look into an anatomy of a typical organic PV cell which is shown in Figure 1. This cell is based on an organic PV cell. The organic layer is sandwiched in between two electrodes where light absorption and charge separation occurs. Typically, glass is used for support but plastic materials can also be used as alternatives. The anode is usually indium tin oxide (ITO) and the cathode can be aluminum, calcium, gold, or magnesium. The electrodes must be semi-transparent to facilitate light absorption. Specifically designed conjugated polymers are utilized for sunlight absorption, where the wavelength range of absorbed light may vary from ultraviolet-visible to near infrared depending on the material used in the device. The efficiency of the device is determined by the extent of light absorption, efficiency of charge separation, and charge diffusion to the electrodes. The morphology of the organic layer has been found to be very important for device characteristics and cell efficiency. In an organic PV, an electron is promoted from the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level upon light absorption (Figure 2). This transition results in an electron-hole pair which is then separated by the electric field formed by the different ionization energy of electrodes (Φ). Therefore, the electron moves to the cathode and the hole moves to the opposite side. This process causes charge flow between the electrodes and hence electricity is generated in the process.

Despite all the improvements in organic PV technology, current cell efficiencies are still low for electricity generation. The stability of organic PV materials must be improved as most of them are prone to degradation by oxygen and humidity in the air. The large-scale production of organic solar panels is possible, and yet the feasibility of current methods has not been investigated extensively so far.

Solar energy is a clean, renewable resource of energy and is projected to have significant role in the energy market in near future. Funding in the field of solar energy has been increasing in recent years due to the increasing need for energy and the likely reduction of fossil fuels towards the end of this century. Yet, our research efforts are still not sufficient for the advancement of this technology.

Importance of renewable energy for the environment: an Islamic perspective

Solar energy, like other renewable energy resources, is environmentally friendly. Its use should be promoted, as fossil fuels play a dominant role in the increase in greenhouse gases, which are believed to be responsible for the increased rate of global warming and hence climate change. Global warming may cause rises in sea level and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation. These changes may in turn increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, and tornados. Other consequences may include higher or lower agricultural yields, glacial retreat, reduced summer stream flows, and species extinctions. Warming is expected to affect the number and magnitude of the events mentioned above; however, it is difficult to connect particular occurrences to global warming.

In any case, focusing on renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies is one of the best options to secure the future of our planet and all existing forms of life on it. Our effort should not only be due to the expected shortage of fossil fuels in future. Rather, it must be seen as a duty and moral act to save the environment since use of renewable energy resources has little or no negative impact on nature. Religious awareness and guidance in this area is necessary so that each individual may take active part in the protection and development of the environment. Much environmental degradation is due to our ignorance of what our Creator requires of us. People should be educated to realize that the conservation of the environment is a religious duty demanded by God. This fact is expressed in Qur’an in a number of places such as, “Do good, even as God has done you good, and do not pursue corruption in the earth. Verily God does not love corrupters” (Qasas 28:77), “And do not follow the bidding of the excessive, who cause corruption in the earth and do not work good” (Shu’ara 26:151–152), “And do not cause corruption in the earth, when it has been set in order” (A’raf 7:56). Any deliberate damage to the natural environment and its resources is a kind of corruption which is forbidden by Islam.

As Muslims, we should protect and preserve the environment because by doing so we protect the creatures which pray to God and praise Him. Although we do not know how they praise God, the Qur’an clearly points this out: “The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory: There is not a thing but celebrates His praise, and yet you understand not how they declare His Glory!” (Isra 17:44). Islam is established on the concept of good (khayr). Since it is scientifically proven that protecting the environment is of great significance for all animals and plants on earth, Muslims should see it as khayr. In the last two verses of chapter Zalzalah (99:7–8), God says, “And whoever does good an atom’s weight will see it then. And whoever does ill an atom’s weight will see it then.”

Protecting God’s creatures and the environment is a duty of humankind because human beings are the “agents” of God on earth. This task cannot be performed by other creatures. Therefore, as the Muslim community we should all commit ourselves to the preservation and to the protection of the environment. Surely, investing in and promoting improvement of the technologies based on renewable energy is one way to go.

References

• http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_basics.html
• http://www.islamonline.net
• http://lfw.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ARTCL&ARTICLE_ID=257239&VERSION_NUM=3&p=12 (PHOTOVOLTAICS: Research targets more-efficient photovoltaics)
• http://lucy.mrs.org/publications/jmr/jmra/2005/dec/0407.html (Organic and nano-structured composite photovoltaics: An overview)
• http://www.orgchem.science.ru.nl/molmat/mm-web/education/caput-college/SolEnergMatCells-2004-83-125.pdf (A brief history of the development of organic and polymeric photovoltaics)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
• http://www.islamset.com/env/index.html

There is a natural healing power in honey of great benefit to man. This is affirmed in verses 68-9 of sura al-Nahl in the Qur’an: And your Lord inspired the bee: ‘Build your homes in the mountans and in the trees and in the (hives) made by mankihd’ Then (He taught the bee) to feed on every kind of fruit (of the earth) and to follow the ways of your Lord made smooth. There comes from inside their bellies a drink of diverse colours in which is healing for mankind. Surely in this is a sign for those people who reflect (al-Nahl, 16.68-9)

It is extraordinary that the curative properties of honey are documented in the world’s oldest medical literature. The Sumerians, and Egyptian physicians around 2000 BC, used honey to treat internal and external wounds, ulcers, diseases of the eyes, lungs, skin and, in particular, diseases of the stomach and intestines. The Chinese, the Indians, the Greeks and the Romans also recorded similar practices in their traditions. Hippocrates, the so-called ‘father’ of modern medicine (460-377 BC) also used honey to treat a variety of diseases. Honey was also highly regarded as a tonic to preserve youth and prolong healthy life–one Chinese Emperor used it as a drug to obtain immortality. The great Muslim physician, Ibn Sina (980-1037) wrote dozens of prescriptions containing honey in his world-famous medical textbook ‘The Canon of Medicine’. He is reported to have included among the benefits of honey that it makes you feel happy; that it refreshes you; that it assists digestion and gets rid of wind; that it helps when you have a cold; that it increases appetite; that it improves and sharpens memory; that it eases the tongue (the faculty of speech); and that it preserves youthfulness.

THE ANTIBACTERIAL ‘SYSTEM’ IN HONEY

In 1937 H. Dold et al. reported that honey has antibacterial activity and called the active agent an ‘inhibine’. Ever since, a number of scientist have tried in vain to discover the identity of this ‘inhibine’. In 1963 J.W. White et al. suggested that the ‘inbibine’ is the hydrogen peroxide produced by the honey’s glucose-oxidase system. However, results obtained by the author and by other scientists such as O.B.O’L. James et al. in 1972 and S.S. Radwan et al. in 1984 do not agree with the attribution of the ‘inhibine’ to the hydrogen peroxide produced. This author’s researches in the laboratory have shown that the antibacterial activity of honey is owed not to a single factor but to a complex ‘system’ of factors, of which there are at list three:

1- The high sugar concentration (76 g/1OO ml)

2- The acidity (pH=3.6-4.2)

3- The organic antibacterial compounds present in honey

It was observed that undiluted honey clearly exhibits antibacterial activity. The bacterial cells dry out because of the osmotic effect of the high sugar content in the solution and bacterial growth is retarded in the acidic environment which honey provides. In diluted form neither the sugar in the honey nor the acidity in it has an inhibitive effect on bacteria. Is it then the organic compounds which are responsible for inhibiting bacterial growth? It was also observed that most of the common pathogenic bacteria which infect human beings are killed in honey. Honey therefore acts as a bactericide. The researches established that the ‘inhibine’ is not a single agent but a subtle combination of intricately related factors quite unique in their antibacterial action. Further research is necessary, and is currently in progress, to identify the chemical nature of the organic antibacterial factors in honey.

THE BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF HONEY

The biochemical composition of honey is relevant to its curative properties. Beside the existence of the antibacterial ‘system’, honey is known to contain not less than 181 different compounds. These can be classified as follows:

– Simple and complex sugars

– Organic acids

– Minerals and trace elements (resembling blood composition)

– Vitamins (both water and fat soluble)

– Amino-acids (both essentials and non-essentials)

– Proteins (mainly enzymes)

– Lipids (simple, complex and wax)

– Plant flavours and colouring materials

– Hydrocarbons

– Hormones

– Pollens

– Microorganisms (yeast)

The list above shows just how complex the composition of honey is. It is then less of a wonder that honey contains some combination of elements which have proven so effective in the treatment of wounds and ulcers. Honey not only keeps ruptured cells sterile but also provides all the necessary micronutrients which are the building materials need to assist the cells’ full recovery. Although these micronutrients are present in only small quantities, they are available in the most easily assimilated, soluble forms. In addition, the high energy required for the healing processes to occur is provided by the simple sugars, fructose and glucose, in honey.

CLINICAL USE OF HONEY

To date the scientific and clinical evidences for the miracle of honey are numerous. Doctors and surgeons have used honey in their medical practice and even openly recommended its use. Among recent examples the use of honey for:

Treatment of serious gunshot wounds by Prof. S.A. Simirnov in 1948;

Treatment of breakdown surgical wounds by Dr. D. Cavanagh et al. in 1970;

Treatment of ulcers, surface wounds, cuts and abrasions by Dr. R. Blomfield in 1973;

Treatment of bacterial gastro enteritis (diarrhea) by Dr. I.E. Haffejee and Prof. A. Moosa in 1985;

Treatment of a wide range of serious long-standing wounds and ulcers by Dr. S.E.E. Efem in 1988;

Treatment of infected wounds in vulvectomy, infected perineum, infected abdominal wall wounds and breakdown of abdominal wall scar by Dr. R.J.F. Mclnerney in 1990.

In each of these cases honey was praised for its effectiveness as compared to ‘modern-conventional’ treatment. Honey was observed to kill bacteria at the site of wounds, to debride (clean up) wounds, rapidly replacing sloughs (dead cells) and so enabling granulation (scar) tissues to form. Honey also permitted epithelialization (i.e. growth of healthy cells) and the absorption of oedema (swellings) from around the ulcer margins. Honey reduced further infection, the risk of offensively smelly (seriously infected) wounds and so reduced need for skin graft treatments.

CONCLUSION

The verses of the Our’an which affirm the healing properties of honey affirm for us the mercy of Allah, Creator and Sustainer of the Worlds. It is also by this mercy that we study and research what He has created and made intelligible to us, including this miracle of honey. It is easy then to conclude our work, as Muslim scholars and scientists always used to begin their work, by praising Allah, and by saluting the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, who left us this advice: Whoever licks honey three mornings in a month is saved from serious illnesses. 

REFERENCES

• IOYRICH, N. (1977) Bees and People, Mir Publishers. Moscow.
• CRANE, E. (1978) Honey: A Comprehensive Review Heinemann, London.
• WHITE. J.W., Mary. J.R.. Subers. H. and Schepartz, A. I. (1963) ‘The identification of inhibine, the antibacterial factor in honey as hydrogen peroxide and it s origin in a honey glucose-oxidase system’, Biochem. et Biophys. acta, 73. pp.57-70.
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An adequate supply of water is a fundamental need of any society. Everyone requires water to drink; but also for cleaning, washing and cooking and, if a society is to flourish and expand, water is also needed for irrigation and industry. A supply of water is also desirable for recreational uses, such as filling up swimming pools and watering gardens. Consider the following statistics: you need at least 3 litres of water to produce a can of vegetables, 100 litres to produce one kilogram of pears, 4,500 litres to produce one tonne of cement, 4.3 tonnes of water to manufacture one of steel, 50 tonnes to manufacture one tonne of leather and no less than 2,700 tonnes to make a tonne of worsted suiting.

Even more importantly, the average human being -of which there are now more than 5 billion on the planet- needs to drink a litre or so of water each day in order to stay alive. That is, if he or she is adequately fed. The water requirements of those who are on starvation diets are dramatically higher, because solid food, of which they are deprived, itself consists mainly of water.

Water as the one essential requirement of all forms of food production, is the key global resource. No water, no food. Water is thus a limiting factor in human development and water shortages are heavily implicated in humanity’s present bad condition.

It will be useful to reflect on the relevant Qur’anic verses concerning this subject. Allah who created everything in the universe and beyond reminds us that water is the source of organic vigour:

‘Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together before we clove them asunder and of water fashioned every living thing? Will they not then believe?’ (Qur’an, 21:30)

The phenomenon of life has to be known before this verse can be understood. We know that the basic unit of life is the molecule known as DNA. If the vitality of an organism consisted in this molecule alone and if this molecule had developed from the molecules of water, the verse would have read: ‘We created all living things from water.’ Vitality on the other hand, is the construction of a new and identical molecule using organic chemicals from the original.

There is a subtle difference between life and vitality. Life is a structural characteristic, while vitality is a function of that characteristic. Let us now return to the verse. The word occurring in the verse is ‘the living’, which corresponds to vitality. The meaning of the verse can be understood to be this: ‘We have brought forth all living things from water’. Allah is the best of knowers. Vitality has arisen from, and has gained power from, water. The verse does not say ‘created’ (khalaqna); but ‘empowered’ (waja’al-na). After this the verse ends with the question ‘will they not then believe’ – directed rhetorically at unbelievers, meaning ‘how can they not believe’. The question is especially relevant to the unbelievers of our time, for it is only thirty years since the indispensability of water to vitality has been recognized scientifically.

The relationship between water and vitality is a profound one. In general terms, energy is needed for the continuation of vitality. This energy is obtained by the exchange of ions. A cell is healthy if the water ions within and surrounding it are balanced; otherwise it is diseased or dead.

Water is therefore the basic element not of genesis and life, but of vitality. The verse expresses this subtlety so beautifully that it is impossible not to affirm the Qur’an as a Divine miracle. And that miracle is reemphasized by the question: ‘How can they still not believe?’