Short Communication: Production of phenol-based disinfectant, using vegetable oil soda as surfactant

Abstract

In this study, a phenol-based disinfectant was produced using vegetable soda soap as surfactant. The soap was produced by saponificaoin of palm kernel oil with sodium hydroxide crystal, followed by the addition of 10 ml of phenol to varying weights of soap. Antimicrobial analysis was done on the soap samples using disc diffusion method The results indicated that phenol-based the disinfectants produced from palm-kernel oil had good anti-microbial effect on all the bacteria tested, with the concentration of 1.5 g surfactant (soap) per 10 ml of phenol solution as the most effective, followed by concentration of 10g/10ml and 0.5g/10ml as the least. The disinfectants were most effective on Streptococcus faecalis followed by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as the least affected. The result showed that the phenol-based disinfectants produced in tis study are good antimicrobial agents and are effective against streptococcus, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. It may also be effective on other microorganisms yet to be tested.

Keywords: Saponification, disinfectants, microorganisms, phenol-based soda, soap