Biobased Natural Sapindus mukorossi–Carvacrol Emulsion for Sustainable Laundry Washing

Abstract

Low-temperature laundry washing prompted the formulation of a new biobased detergent that meets sustainability criteria. A soapnut extract conferred good cleaning performance on the standard soiling agents EMPA 101 and EMPA 114 but showed rather weak performance on EMPA 116 and EMPA 160. The results indicated the good disinfection properties of the soapnut extract–Carvacrol emulsion (>6 log CFU/carriers), whereas the commercial detergent and sole soapnut extract were less effective. Comparable results were observed for cross-contamination assessment and wash water, whereas total elimination was achieved only for the soapnut extract–Carvacrol emulsion. We demonstrated significantly decreased water surface tension for all three compounds. The microorganism cell membrane integrity assessment showed the highest number of dead cells on cotton carriers washed with the soapnut extract–Carvacrol emulsion. All this indicated that the newly formulated biobased laundry detergent made of soapnut extract and Carvacrol could effectively remove standard soiling agents and ensure good disinfection.