Production and Characterization of Soaps from Croton Megalobotrys and Ricinus Communis seed oils Indigenous to Botswana with High Levels of Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity

Croton megalabotrys mixed with Ricinnus cummunis and coconut seed oils produced high quality organic soaps with some levels of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The pHs of these soaps ranged from 10.01 and 10.30 showing that these soaps are mildly alkaline and hence cannot burn the skin while at the same time killing bacteria and other microorganisms on the skin surface. The low levels of moisture content at 2.78 % to 2.97 % and low levels of free fatty acid at 0.29 % to 0.75 % shows that these soaps have long shelf live hence good candidates for commercialization. Low levels of matter insoluble in alcohol from 42.00 % to 47.18 % is an indication that soaps produced from these seed oils have few impurities. C. megalabotrys and R. cummunis seed oils exhibited strong antioxidant activity while the soap produced from these seed oils also exhibited some level of antioxidant activity proving that both the oils and the soaps can scavenge for free radicals produced on the skin surface reducing the formation of most skin diseases. The C. megalabotrys/R. cummunis seed oils soap exhibited antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacterium - an indication that this soap can prevent growth of gram-positive bacteria growing on the skin surface such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes which are the most identified causes of skin infections in humans.