Physicochemical and Microbiological Characteristics of Natural Antiseptic Solid Soaps Formulated from Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, and Olive Oil incorporating Tea Tree Essential Oil as Antibacterial Agent

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of natural antiseptic solid soaps produced from coconut oil, palm oil, and oliveoil incorporating tea tree essential oil as antibacterial agent using appropriate standard methods. The water content analysis revealed that all samples were within the recommended range for water content. The pH analysis results indicated that all samples exhibited an alkaline nature. The results of the hardness test revealed that sample D exhibited the highest value of 86674.5gram-force. The infrared spectra analysis of the solid soap formulations revealed consistent results, displaying prominent bands representing the υ (C=O) frequency of the keto group at 1558 cm^-1 and a strong band at 1450 cm^-1 corresponding to the υ (C-O) frequency of the ester oxygen. The various samples underwent in-vitro antimicrobial screening against multiple bacterial strains. The in-vitro antimicrobial screening of the different samples showed that sample D displayed significantly greater activity against the tested microorganisms compared to samples A, B, and C. Furthermore, the antiseptic efficacy test demonstrated that sample D achieved an outstanding bacterial reduction rate of approximately 98%.