Chemical, Physical and Biological Performances of Natural Antibacterial Soap from Garlic

Abstract

The aim of producing natural-based soap was to provide an alternative to commercially available antibacterial soaps that contain high levels of chloroxylenol, which can be toxic and harmful to humans at high concentrations. The natural formulated soap contains garlic extract, which has bioactive compounds that contribute to its antibacterial activity. The garlic extract was obtained using an ultrasonication method in water and then infused in virgin coconut oil (VCO) before undergoing saponification process. The performance of the soap was determined through physical, chemical, and biological properties. The foam stability test, moisture content, pH, and free alkali content test were done, and the antibacterial property of the soap was tested using the disk diffusion assay. The disk diffusion test was done on gram-negative and -positive bacteria, namely Escherichia coli (E. coli) (ATCC 25922) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (ATCC 25923), respectively. The study found that garlic-infused soap has good foam stability (98.11%) and low moisture content (15.4%) due to its high VCO content. The chemical analysis showed that the soap has an alkaline pH (9.98) and contains enough free alkali (0.861%), which is within the recommended range. The antibacterial performance of the soap was tested, and it was found to inhibit the growth of E. coli as the formation of an inhibition zone (11.5 mm) was observed. The larger the inhibition zone, the stronger the antibacterial properties of the soap. However, the soap had weaker antibacterial properties against S. aureus as the inhibition zones formed were smaller (1.2 mm). Based on these results, it was concluded that garlic-infused soap is a potential substitute for readily available antibacterial soap with comparable physical, chemical, and biological properties The results of this study suggest that garlic-infused soap is a potential alternative to commercial antibacterial soaps with further research to confirm these findings. DONE