Development of Hand Sanitizer Formulated with Essential Oil from Piper betle Grown in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize the metabolites in Piper betle essential oil and to determine the antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli in order to develop into a hand sanitizer. Betel leaves were collected in five districts in Jogjakarta (Sleman, Kota Madya, Kulon Progo, Gunung Kidul, and Bantul). The chemical compounds in essential oil was identified using GC-MS. The antibacterial activity was determined using the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bacterisidal Concentration (MBC). There were 34 components identified in betel oils, with the eugenol, acetyl eugenol, and chavicol acetate being the most abundant. Betel oil from Sleman district showed the highest inhibitory activity against S. aureus with MIC 0.313% v/v and MBC 0.625%v/v, and against E. coli with MIC 0.078%v/v and MBC 0.156%v/v. The essential oil from Sleman District was used in the production of a gel and cream hand sanitizer. The gel product was transparent, soft, and homogeneous, whilst the cream was beige in colour and homogenous. Both the gel and cream hand sanitizers meet the standard for topical preparations. The gel and cream were also well-accepted, as evidenced by the average value of respondents' responses.