La Reyna Roshele S.

Salenga

2bio4, Group 9

A Report on the pH Levels of Two Commercial and One Biological Product All biochemical and chemical reactions are under pH control. Indeed, to produce the expected results, one must take the pH level into consideration. In the human body, the pH level is considered one of the most important human body biochemical balances that should be kept. This is evident especially in the human bloodstream, wherein small changes in the pH level of the blood can cause immediate death. What we take in or apply on our bodies are also regularly pH-checked. Of course, a product cannot be disclosed to the public if its pH level is sure to bring harm to the human body. In this paper, we will tackle three products two commercial and one biological and their pH levels. The first of the two commercial products is a famous astringent by Eskinol, the Pimple Fighting Facial Deep Cleanser with Dermaclear Formula. It yielded a pH of 3.64, which is not really surprising, given that the product explicitly states that it contains substances such as water, denatured alcohol, citric acid, salicylic acid, dimethyl phenyl buthanol, niacinamide and sodium citrate (and others not mentioned), though the percentage of each were not given. Judging from the products main claim though, it can be said that citric acid and sodium titrate act as buffers to maintain the products pH, because the pH of the salicylic acid must be from between 3 to 4 in order to be effective. The pH level of the product falls within that range. It is said that astringents such as this one temporarily change the pH level of the skin, but to some, it may lead to dryness which is also temporary but may become permanent, especially if the user has really sensitive skin. The next commercial product is what most people know as Korean wine, the Chamisol soju (manufactured by Jinro), which amazingly yielded a pH of 6.48, a pH that is still acidic but nevertheless close to the neutral pH. It is said that a wines normal acidity must range from 2.8 to 3.8 and any higher than that, the wine can become susceptible to bacterial inhabitation. Unfortunately though, the products ingredients were not listed on the bottle at all. The labels only indicated that it has 20.1% of alcohol per 360 mL volume. The Jinro website claims it to be the first pure and clean soju filtered four times with charcoals made from bamboo in Korea. This filtration method eliminates any harmful substances or impurities leaving only the clean and smooth tasting soju, and only vaguely says that it is from spring water and barley. The last and the only biological product tested for pH is the saliva of Joseph Winfred Sajul, which also yielded a pH of 6.48. This one is quite a novelty because among the people whose saliva were tested, this is the only one which produced an acidic pH the rest were all basic. Saliva is a natural substance secreted by salivary glands which actually function to neutralize the pH of the mouth after eating. Although more in depth study is required for this, based on Sajuls activity, the cause of the acidity of his saliva is due to intake of acidic foods, which involved vinegar, and sugary foods, wherein the bacteria in the mouth who consumed the sweet foods gave acid as byproduct. One can only conclude that the mouth has not yet fully neutralized because the person has just eaten right before the time of sample collection.