Physicochemical Analysis For Quality And Safety Of Some Selected Animal Soaps Compared To Human Soaps In Plateau State, Nigeria

Soaps are cleaning agents that are usually made by reacting alkali with naturally occurring fats or fatty acids. In this work, animal and human (toilet) soaps purchased from the main markets in Jos North and Jos South LGA of Plateau State were analysed to compare the values on quality and safety criteria for different characteristics. The comparison of result on percentage moisture content for both animal and human soaps is between 1.38-8.44 and 1.96-6.58, pH is between 9.79-10.02, percentage free caustic alkali is between 0.20 -0.16 and 0.01-0.06, foam height (cm) is between 0.20 -3.00 and 0.50-3.50, percentage total free fatty matter (TFM) is between 7.60-36.10 and 11.72-49.65 while percentage alcohol insoluble (MIA) is between 55.46-89.00 and 53.82-90.30. These results were compared with data in several literatures. It was concluded that the values determined are within the limits set by standard except for the values of TFM and MIA which are not within the standard values. It is concluded that there should be constant evaluation and test for animal and human skin products by regulatory bodies.