Sri Handayani, Indyah Sulistyo Arty, Cornelia Budimarwanti, Karim Theresih, Evy Yulianti, Melati Khairuddean
Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) peel has been known to contain antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal substances, yet it has not been widely used as cosmetic ingredients or drugs. This research focuses on the production of organic soap bars made of melinjo peel extract, quality testing, and analysis of the soap antimicrobial function against selected microbes. The soap bars were processed through the saponification reaction between the mixture of palm oil and coconut oil with sodium hydroxide through cold and hot processes. Distilled water and ethanol were used as solvents for melinjo peel extraction. The quality test was done by determining insoluble fractions in ethanol, free alkali, and unsaponified fatty matter. An antimicrobial activity test was conducted using the Kirby-Bauer diffusion method. The result shows that the quality test fits with INS 2016 for all the criteria except for unsaponified lipids in the cold process soap bar. Inhibition zone of organic soap bar sequentially decreases against the growth of Tricophytone mentagrophytes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Therefore, the organic soap bar with melinjo peel extract is feasible to be used as an antimicrobial soap. © 2021, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman. All rights reserved.
Chemistry Education Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Biology Education Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia; School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, 11800, Malaysia
