Antimicrobial Herbal Soap Formulation

Nosocomial infection has been recognized as a crucial issue in the outcome of hospital care, with significant morbidity and mortality results. The primary routes of infection transmission to patients are the hands of health-care workers. This also evokes utilization of antiseptics for hand-washing purposes. Many of the antiseptics commercially available are sanitizers dependent on alcohol that have certain shortcomings or harmful effects. The regular use can cause dermal irritation. The aim of the present study was to formulate an herbal hand-wash using leave extracts of Terminalia catappa, fruits of Curcuma longa, and rinds of Garcinia indica. Using the Disc diffusion process, the antibiotic activity against skin pathogens was evaluated, and results were compared with commercial antimicrobial hand-wash. The results showed that the herbal hand-wash was more effective against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli than the commercially available antiseptic hand-wash. The effectiveness of herbal hand-wash was analysed using the Glove Juice method, which revealed that herbal hand-wash is effective in reducing pathogenic microbes present on the hands better than commercial hand-wash. These plant extracts can therefore be used for formulating herbal hand-wash to prevent hand borne microbial infections.