Basic study on antibacterial properties of Adenanthera pavonina (Saga) seed oil

Abstract

Adenanthera pavonina, known as Saga, is a tropical legume found in most parts of Asia. As per literature survey, it was found that the cooked Saga seeds, which can be easily digested by humans and livestock, are rich in fats and proteins. The seeds are used to cure boils and inflammations. It is also has an antibacterial property which then has been exploited to produce natural antibacterial liquid hand soap. Extraction of Saga seed oil was done by using three different solvents, namely, hexane, methanol and ethanol. Maximum volume of oil was recovered by using hexane extraction. The extracted saga seed oil was further analyzed by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that the three main components in the oil were Methyl Linoleate Natural, Ethyl Palmitate, and Butyl Streate. These three components are usually contained in commercial oil. For antibacterial test, soap was prepared from the extracted oil and hand is washed by using the soap. Thumb was pressed on Agar plate and the growth of bacteria was observed. The result was compared by using commercial antibacterial soap. The data showed that the bacteria were largely removed when hand was washed by using Saga seed oil soap. This observation was similar when commercial antibacterial soap used to wash hand.