59 Offcial Journal of College of Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Ojo et al., 2022 AJINAS, 2 (2): 59-65 ABUAD INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES ISSN: 2955-1021 AIJNAS 2022, Volume 2, Issue 2, pp 59–65 https://doi.org/10.53982/aijnas.2022.0202.02-j Copyright ©2022 https://journals.abuad.edu.ng/index.php/aijnas INTRODUCTION W ater quality assessment is one of the most crucial indices to ensuring public health safety for the consumption of drinking water. Constant evaluation of drinking water quality in terms of heavy metals and toxic substances is vital (Ehya and Marbouti 2016). Water contamination has diverse complications on the well-being of both plants and animals across the board (Ojo & Onasanya 2013). Ailments linked to contaminated water pose a serious burden on human health (WHO 2017); thus, the assessment of potable water is of great signifcance in preventing health issues. Drinking water is sourced commonly from wells, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds etc. The variety of sources of water poses the utmost risk to human health because of contamination from these sources. Water pollutants are mainly heavy metals, microorganisms, fertilizers, and thousands of toxic organic compounds. Organic pollutants are pollutants that are organic in nature, and usually contain carbon bonded with other elements covalently. These compounds are toxic and or carcinogenic in nature. When present in large quantities in water, they cause considerable and widespread concern. Rivers serve as a hotspot for organic pollutant loading, particularly those in lowland regions (Burton and Pitt, 2001). Organic water pollutants generally include detergents, disinfection by-products (having“down- the-drain” applications), food processing waste, insecticides and herbicides, petroleum hydrocarbons and lubricants, and fuel combustion by products (from storm water regarded as persistent organic pollutants, POPs) (Burton and Pitt, 2001). Many pieces of evidence exist regarding water-bodies pollution by organic pollutants. In drinking water, concentration rarely exceeds 20 mg/L. Some organic pollutants including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), antibiotics, herbicides, and bisphenol A (BPA), have drawn signifcant attention by environmental researchers. However, other organic pollutants considered low priority pollutants may be in the form of nutrient or Organic Compound Composition in Sachet and Bottled Potable Water Produced in Southwest Ado Ekiti, Nigeria Ojo Abiodun Ayodele, Mubarak Akanji Raji, Onasanya Amos, Jonathan Johnson, Adewole Ezekiel and Idowu Olajumoke Department of Chemical Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria Corresponding author: ojoa@abuad.edu.ng Abstract Organic pollutants are pollutants that are organic in nature, and usually contain carbon bonded with other elements covalently. These compounds are toxic and or carcinogenic in nature. Their presence in water in large quantities causes considerable and widespread concern. Sachet, and bottled potable waters are generally consumed in the southwest, Ado-Ekiti capital city, as drinking water. In this study, the composition of organic compounds was investigated in ten water samples -sachets and bottles, purchased from different potable water- producing plants in Ado-Ekiti environs. By using a separatory funnel with a liquid-liquid extraction system of 50mL:50mL n-Hexane: Dichloromethane, organic compounds were extracted from the water samples. These extracts were analyzed using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, which determined that the wavelength of maximum absorption (λmax) of the organic compounds present in all the water samples occurred at 222 nm. The organic compounds were identifed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. The composite water sample obtained from the sachet water revealed sixteen (16) organic compounds, while ten (10) were found in the bottled water composite sample. The common organic compounds found in both the sachet and bottled waters were: Neophytadiene, Hexadecanoic acid, Eicosadiene, Cyclotrisiloxane, and Tetrasiloxane. Organic compounds found only in the composite bottled water samples were Dodecanoic acid, Octadecadienoic acid, Octadecenoic, Methyl stearate, Benzisothiazol-3-amine, and Arsenous acid. Apart from the toxic organic compounds, the identifcation of Arsenous acid in bottled water is quite worrisome, because most elites in the society drink bottled water. In the composite sachet water sample, other organic compounds found include Copaene, Cubebene, Caryophyllene, Humulene, Naphthalene, Caryophyllene oxide, Tetradecyne, Caffeine, Methyl Hexadecenoic acid, Hexadec-9-enoate, p-Camhorene, Octadecatrienenoic acid, Supraene, and Hexamethyl Cyclotrisiloxane. In general, most of these organic compounds have plant origin but their presence in potable water is undesirable and therefore regarded as contaminants and harmful. The water producing plants need to incorporate effective organic purifcation systems to remove the organic compounds considered as harmful contaminants in the drinking waters. Keywords: sachet and bottled water, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and organic compounds.