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Aug 25, 2024Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Formulation of Cosmetics Using Selected Fruits of Medicinal Plants: Persea americana (Avocado pear) and Azadirachtha indica (Neem)
Abstract
The use of herbal cosmetics has been practised by ancient people and cultures because of their perceived minimal to zero negative effects. This study was aimed at producing soap from Persea americana and Azadirachtha indica determining the percentage yield of their extract and identifying bacterial strains in them using standard methods. The result showed that avocados generated a higher yield extract (28.20%) while neem had 19.40%. The result of the zone of inhibition of soap formulated from neem at 100mg/ml concentration revealed a significant difference (p<0.05) between the test organisms ranging from 5.65 to 8.40 mm. The result of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of neem-formulated soap showed activity at a concentration of 0.50 mg/dl against all the test organisms, while MIC of avocado soap showed activity against all the test organisms at 0.50 mg/dl concentration. However, when the concentration was increased to 1.00 mg/dl, the activity of the soap sample was active against Staphylococcus aureus, Listera monocytogenes, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pneumonia, but the soap sample showed no action at increased concentrations of 1.50 and 2.00 mg/dl respectively. The inhibitory properties of soap samples against gram-positive and negative bacteria are attributed to the concentration of the bioactive compounds present in the plant materials used to formulate the soap. Therefore, it is recommended that people should be using herbal cosmetics since it has bioactive compounds that inhibit the activities of bacteria.
