The effect of storage time to anti-bacterial activity, characteristics, and stability of non-alcohol natural hand sanitizers

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Hand Sanitizer is a choice for handwashing because it contains alcohol, preventing or inhibiting growth and even killing germs that stick to hands quickly. However, apart from being only bactericidal (not for fungi and viruses), alcohol can also cause the skin to become dry, irritated, and allergic if used repeatedly. It is what prompted the creation of the idea to manufacture Hand Sanitizers made from natural plants or plants. However, Hand Sanitizers made from natural ingredients can weaken due to storage for stability and antibacterial activity, so this research is deemed necessary to see the stability and antibacterial activity of Hand Sanitizers made from natural ingredients after storage for several days. The research stages started from instrument sterilization, sample preparation, formulation, antibacterial activity testing, characterization, and stability observations. The antibacterial power test used the suitable diffusion method with the types of bacteria, Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus, determined by the diameter of the resulting inhibition zone. Then, the characterization and stability were observed through the parameters of color, smell, texture, and the formed phase. The results showed that all non-alcohol natural hand sanitizer formulas (A, B, C, and D), stored for one week, still had antibacterial power, which was included in the strong category even better when compared to the group. Positive control A. Furthermore, for the results of the characterization observations, it was shown that the Hand Sanitizer formula was green and brownish-green in color, the smell was still distinctive with the aroma of betel leaf mixed with orange and honey, and the texture was still liquid, but there was the formation of a separate phase and foamy. Thus, it can be concluded that the four formulations of the Hand Sanitizer, although they have been stored for one week, can still be used as Hand Sanitizer products but require a slight improvement in terms of characteristics and stability.