International Research Journal of Pure and Applied Chemistry

In rural communities of the poor developing economies, dermatophytic infections have become pandermic with about 20-25% of the population affected. The present study was carried out to produce medicinal soaps with antibacterial and antifungal activities using leaf extracts of Acalypha wilkesiana. We compared the antimicrobial properties of different concentrations of the extract of the plant in soap production and the chemical parameters of the produced soap were determined. The soap containing 15% Acalypha wilkesiana showed more activities against clinical strains of Candida albicans and Staphyloccocus aureus at all concentrations with zones of inhibition between 6 – 18 mm compared to values obtained against Proteus mirabilis and pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, soap containing 10% of the medicinal plant was not active against all the test microorganisms at lower concentrations of 10 and 100 µg/mL but the activity increased with increased concentration of the active ingredient in the soap to 1000 and 10,000 µg/mL. However, the soap containing 5% medicinal plant was not active at any of the concentrations. The chemical parameters determined indicated that Total fatty matter (TFM) 47% is within the acceptable limit. The values obtained for Matter insoluble in water (18%), matter insoluble in alcohol (0.5%), Total free acidity (0.7%), Moisture content (7%), pH(10.5) and % Free alkali as Na₂O (6.19%) were all within acceptable limit. The Foam stability was determined to be 3.98 mins. It is therefore obvious that the soap containing 15% Acalypha wilkesiana is more effective against the test microorganisms compared to 10% and could be utilized for the management of skin infections.