Comparative Evaluation of Some Physicochemical Properties on Selected Commercially Available Soaps on the Zambian Market

Abstract

The Zambian market has witnessed an impressive upsurge in the production and consumption of a variety of soaps in recent years. However, there is scant, if any, knowledge of the quality and safety of these soaps. In this undertaking, the quality of some selected soaps was evaluated. The soap samples were randomly obtained from various supermarkets. The qualities of soaps were assessed based on the following physicochemical parameters: free caustic alkali (FCA), moisture content (MC), total fatty matter (TFM), pH and total alkali content (TAC). Upon analysis, a variation in these physicochemical properties was observed. Percent MC ranged between 6.70% ± 0.06% and 18.13% ± 0.13%. Solo and Yebo recorded the highest MC. The pH values ranged from 10.70 ± 0.02 to 12.23% ± 0.01%. Yet again, Yebo had the highest pH followed by Solo and then Romeo. The TAC was between 2.00% ± 0.06% to 2.40% ± 0.01% and FCA values were from 0.00 to 0.021% ± 0.00%. Romeo had the highest TAC value (2.40% ± 0.01%) followed by Dettol (2.31% ± 0.05%). Only Solo and Yebo showed some traces of FCA. On the other hand, TFM values ranged from 51.60% ± 0.60% to 78.15% ± 1.66%. Romeo recorded the highest TFM value (78.15% ± 1.66%) and Yebo recorded the lowest (51.60% ± 0.60%). On average, most soaps analysed herein were of fairly acceptable quality and are fit for use.

Assessment of Physicochemical Properties of Liquid Soaps in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

“…Moisture attributes the existence of liquid especially water, usually in trace extent. The moisture content in soaps has been reported to be a determinant of the shelf life of the soap, it is measured as the amount of free water present in the soap 4 . A high moisture content depicts an increase in solubility of the soap, thereby leading to wastage 28 .…”

“…Soap is prepared by heating animal fat or oil with wood ashes. Wood ashes contain potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate which makes the solution basic 4 .…”

Physicochemical evaluation of Prinsepia utilis seed oil (PUSO) and its utilization as a base in pharmaceutical soap formulation

“…Soaps having TFM above 76% are categorized as Grade 1 soap whereas the TFM limit for Grade 2 soap is 60-70% (Ahmed et al, 2021). The TFM of PUSO-based soap was 69.31%, thus insuring it a Grade 2 category, and was compared to some commercially available soaps such as Lifebuoy (63.4%; Mwanza and Zombe, 2020;Sindhu et al, 2019), Lux Beauty (60.7%;Sharma et al, 2020), Dettol (65.4%; Mwanza and Zombe, 2020), and Liril Lime and Tea Tree Oil soap (70.4%;Sharma et al, 2020).…”

Studi Kelayakan Produk Sabun Batang Berbahan Dasar Minyak Jelantah dengan Media Bantu Ecoenzyme

“…Salah satu asam yang terkandung dalam ecoeznyme adalah asam asetat sama halnya dengan pengaruh penambahan madu dalam sabun juga akan memengaruhi peningkatan total lemak. Madu juga mengandung asam asetat yang dapat memengaruhi total lemak (Belitz, et al, 2019) Tingginya angka total lemak akan meningkatkan kulitas dan kekerasan sabun, tinggi rendahnya total lemak pada sabun juga dipengaruhi oleh jumlah kandungan pengikat minyak yang digunakan (Mwanza and Zombe, 2020). Sampel ketiga mengandung total lemak yang paling tinggi disebabkan oleh banyaknya ecoenzyme yang digunakan berdasarkan hasil pengujian kandungan ecoenzyme salah satu kandungan dalam ecoenzyme adalah minyak dan lemak sebanyak 13 mg/L.…”