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Soap nuts belong to a tree called Sapindus
Mukorossi. The life span of the tree is
about 70 years, and it generally grows to
a height of 4 to 5 meters. They grow in
tropical and warm climatic conditions and
indigenous to South East Asia. The seeds
of the fruits are well known for its use
in the manufacturing of soap thus it gets
the name Soap
Nut. The reason for its uses in making
soap is the presence of synthetic surface
active substance in the seeds called Saponin,
which is the vital constituent in Soaps.
A characteristic of Saponin is that it can
clean stains in clothes, certain subtle
fabrics and even in woolen materials. Soap
nut is praised to be an eco-friendly detergent
that is used as alternative to chemical
detergents. They can also be reused a lot
times for washing by keeping the nuts in
a cotton bag with a wash fill.
Another well known side of Soap nut is that
it is medicinal herb. It is considered to
be one of the apt Ayurvedic medicines used
for the curing dermatologic ailments such
as psoriasis, eczema, acne, etc. The soap
nuts are odorless in character thus
the addition of fragrance is made to it
in the manufactures soaps or shampoos. The
interesting fact is that the domestic grey
water obtained from washing by soap nuts
can be salvaged for irrigation in fields,
and it does affect any plants. Further more
benefits of Soap nuts will be as follows:
- Since it anti-allergic in nature, it
can be used in manufacturing of hand wash.
- They are non-soapy as well as less foamy,
which means the water consumption for
cleaning is reduced.
- It can cure allergic skin infections.
- It can exterminate lice when used in
hair wash and can prevent dandruff as
well.
- Jewelry cleansing solutions are made
using soap nuts.
- In Textile industries, soap nuts are
used as one of the auxiliaries for the
treatment of waste waters.
- Soap nuts can also be used in pet cleaning
for treatment of ticks and mites.
- Insecticide
spray of soap nuts is used for household
insect's control.
- Soap nuts can also serve as skin cleansers
in spa.
- Test results reveal that soap nuts are
found to possess the property of contraception
and thus used in certain cream formulations.
- As it has de-toxifying effects, it can
remove the residual synthetic chemicals
over fruits and vegetables.
Author: Adam Teaser - neem
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