Antibacterial Activities of Soaps Formulated from Carapa procera Oil

Aims: The Carapa procera species is used of traditional for its antimicrobial properties especially for the skin. Its oil is used for various applications including the production of soaps used for personal hygiene and other skin conditions. The purpose of this study is to assess the antibacterial properties of soaps formulated from the oil of this species.

Place and Duration of Study: The units of organic biological chemistry and structural organic chemistry of the UFR Structural Sciences of Matter and Technology (Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny) for the manufacture of soaps and the bacteriology unit of the Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire for bioassays between January 2019 and February 2020.

Methodology: The antibacterial evaluation was carried out by the disc method on nutrient agars with determination of bacterial parameters (MIC and MBC). Discs of usuals antibiotics (Tetracycline, Rifampicin and Ampicillin) were used as a control to assess this activity as well as a commercially soap.

Results: The inhibition diameters obtained from these different test soaps vary from 16.00 - 17.15 mm; 15.75 - 17.70 mm and 20.33 - 24.00 mm respectively on growth of the bacterial strains E. coli, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. Unlike unscented soaps, scented soaps have the best inhibition diameter zones values. Moreover, the best MBC values (25 mg/mL) are obtained with the 2 soaps in fresh or aged state on the S. aureus strain against 50 mg/mL on the 2 other strains. In addition, with the exception of the E. coli strain which is resistant to Tetracycline, the 2 other strains are sensitive to all the antibiotics tested. In addition, this study also shows variability in the effect of soaps on these targets.

Conclusion: Soaps formulated from Carapa procera oil do indeed possess antibacterial properties that could justify its usage against dermatoses in traditional medicine.