Antibacterial and antifungal activities of plant extracts for development of liquid soap

The purpose of this study was to develop new alternative antibacterial and antifungal agents for liquid soap from natural plant origin and investigate their antibacterial and antifungal efficacy. The efficacy of Bougainvillea species and Andrographis paniculata leaf extracts as natural antibacterial and antifungal agents was evaluated with the ability to inhibit the growth of common human skin pathogens included Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The formulated liquid soap base comprising plant extracts was determined by paper disc diffusion method and antibacterial and antifungal efficacy test. The results obtained were compared with the positive and negative controls. All the liquid soap formulated with plant extracts had no antibacterial and antifungal activity on the test microorganism. Hence, the result indicated that the test sample (A. paniculata and
Bougainvillea) is not suitable to be used as antibacterial and antifungal agents in personal care products to inhibit the spread of human skin pathogens.