Development of clay liquid detergent for Islamic cleansing and the stability study.

Clay liquid detergents (CLDs) were developed for cleansing religiously-prohibited dirt ('najis') according to Islamic law. Four types of clay were selected: marl, kaolin, bentonite and veegum. After product development trials, five CLD formulations with varying combinations of clays were qualified for stability testing. Three exaggerated temperature conditions were considered: 4 degrees C for 24 h, 50 degrees C for 7 days, and 40 degrees C for 1 month. The CLDs were also evaluated at 30, 60 and 90 days after production, while being stored at room temperature (RT30, RT60 and RT90). Physical and chemical characteristics including pH, colour, viscosity, surface tension, foam tests and sensory liking scores were evaluated. Our results showed that the kaolin-based formula, F2, had an optimal pH (closest to skin pH) of 5.08. The other formulas ranged from pH 6 to 8. Colour shades of the CLDs ranged from white, to creamy white, to mildly greenish-white. The foaming properties of the CLDs, the means +/- SD of foam heights at 0 and 5 min, using the Ross-Miles test, were 19.13 +/- 0.25 to 20.88 +/- 0.45 cm at RT90 and were comparable with those of commercial detergents. Foam stability of all CLDs was high, as shown from the foam heights between 0 and 5 min being not significantly different (P > 0.05). The surface tensions, means +/- SD, of CLD solutions were between 27.94 +/- 0.08 and 28.72 +/- 0.04 mN m(-1), which were slightly better than the surface tension of 29.08 +/- 0.04 mN m(-1) for sodium lauryl sulphate. There was a weak negative relationship between surface activity and foam height, based on the pooled data of the CLDs (R(2) = 0.209, P < 0.01). The viscosity of four CLDs ranged from 16 317 to 49 036 mPa s. In conclusion, CLDs can be formulated with good stability. F2 (kaolin-based, with a white, creamy texture) was the best CLD formula. It had the highest surface activity, moderate lathering and pleasant physical appearance.

Effects of multivitamin supplementation for improvement of thiamin, riboflavin, and retinol nutrition in pediatric patients.

The effect of multivitamin supplementation on thiamin, riboflavin and retinol nutrition was studied in ten male chronic pediatric patients at Ramathibodi Hospital. MTV forte (Government Pharmaceutical Organization) was given 1 tablet daily for ten days and the effect was compared with the preceding ten-day control period. Anthropometric biochemical, clinical and dietary assessments were performed throughout the study. Biochemical assessments of vitamin nutrition at the beginning and the end of a 10-day non-supplementation period revealed multiple vitamin deficiencies in the subjects, though clinical manifestation was not seen. Hospital diets improved vitamin nutrition of some patients but most of them still showed subclinical vitamin deficiencies. Improvement of vitamin nutrition was clearly shown in most patients after MTV supplementation. Multiple vitamin supplements should be prescribed in high-risk patients since there was no definite pattern of vitamin deficiencies in various diseases and early detection of vitamin deficiency was difficult to perform. The dosage between 1-2 times of RDA was considered adequate in most of our patients.