Physicochemical Properties and Antibacterial Activity of Castor Oil and Its Derivatives
Muh Fitranda, Sutrisno Sutrisno, Siti Marfuah
Abstract
Abstract Castor oil is vegetable oil sourced from castor seeds ( Ricinus communis Linn). The main content of fatty acids in castor oil are ricinoleic acid (92%), oleic acid (3.53%), linoleic acid (2.90%), stearic acid (1.02%), and myristic acid (0.55%). Research on the antibacterial activity of castor oil and ricinoleic fatty acid has been carried out but for the K-soap and fatty acids methyl esters of castor oil have not been conducted. This research aims to produce castor oil derivatives, namely K-soap, free fatty acids (FFAs) and fatty acids methyl esters of (FAMEs) and evaluate their antibacterial activity. The results of the study included (1) K-soap (solid, white, melting point 168–175°C), (2) free fatty acids (liquid, yellow, boiling point 210°C, density 0.98 g.mL −1 , refractive index 1.46, viscosity 693.22 cSt, and the value of acids, saponification, and esters are 145.88, 294.52, 148.64), (3) fatty acids methyl esters (liquid, yellow, boiling point 170°C, density 0.98 g.mL −1 , refractive index 1.46, viscosity 27.31 cSt, and the value of acids, saponification and esters are 0.33, 392.7, 392.37). K-soap, free fatty acids, and methyl esters from castor oil have antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.