Optimisation of Antiseptic Soap Production from a Blend of Neem Seed Oil and Eucalyptus Oil

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VI, Issue VIII, August 2019 | ISSN 2321–2705

Optimisation of Antiseptic Soap Production from a Blend of Neem Seed Oil and Eucalyptus Oil

Abdulhanan Bello^1,*, Abdulazeez A. Abdulazeez¹, Abdulmutalib O. Usman², Yunusa G. Sariki¹, Adamu Ibrahim Agiteh³

¹Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
²Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Kogi State University, Anyiba, Kogi State, Nigeria
³Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
*Corresponding Author

Abstract: – In this work, Neem oil and eucalyptus oil were mixed in various proportions and used in preparing soaps which were subsequently characterized. The combination of neem oil to eucalyptus oil considered were 100:0, 90:10, 80:20,70:30, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 30:70 20:80 10:90 and 0:100 (wt:wt). The physical properties of the prepared soap including hardness, foamability and pH were analyzed. The antibacterial properties of the prepared soaps in terms of sensitivity, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bacterial concentration were analyzed. The antimicrobial properties of the prepared soap in terms of sensitivity, minimum inhibitory concentration (with respect to staphyylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis) indicated that the properties observed from the use of the blending ratio 20:80 correlates with that gotten from the commercial soap sample and clearly agrees with world health organization standard for antiseptic soap.

I. INTRODUCTION

Soap is a product formed from saponification reaction, where esters are split into alcohol and salts. Saponification is more widely used in general terms as alkaline hydrolysis of ester. Soap is sodium or potassium salt of fatty acid produced by saponification reaction using sodium or potassium hydroxide. Based on its chemical properties as an anionic surface active agent (surfactant), soap is used to clean and wash skin and clothing. The fatty acids, stearic, palmatic, myristic, lauric and oleic acids, contribute to lathering and washing properties of the soaps (Alander, 2004: Maranz et al., 2004), other oils such as lard and tallow from animal sources, coconut, palm oil and olive oil are the commonest plant oil used in soap production (Okumura and Nishikawa, 1996).

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