An introduction to soapberries : The eco-friendly cleaning solution

This post was last updated on April 10, 2020 by Preethi Sukumaran

It is April 2020, and as I look at this article we wrote nearly 9 years ago, as an introduction to soapberries, the wonderful fruit cleanser, I continue to be amazed. While we and soapberries have come a long way in India, I am surprised by how few people have heard of this wonderful Indian fruit even in 2020. If you are looking for a non toxic and clean start to household chores like laundry, dish washing, floor mopping, etc, soapberries are an excellent start.

Most people are stunned by just how versatile soapberries are. With some ingenuity, interest and enthusiasm, you can slowly substitute all toxic home cleaners with soapberries (and other herbs). Read on for more soapberry facts.

An introduction to soapberries: The detergent that grows on Trees

If you think that detergents are found only on supermarket shelves, then be prepared for a clean, green surprise.

It grows on trees and has been cleaning clothes (and people) since the time of the Buddha! In fact, some sources also add the Buddha to its list of satisfied consumers.

Say hello to the Sapindus – a group of around 10 species of trees whose fruits can be used as foaming cleaners or surfactants to use a more technical term. The unique surfactant property of the Sapindus fruit makes it an all purpose cleaner – for skin, hair, laundry, dishes and pretty much anything else that requires cleaning.

The name Sapindus is derived from the Latin words Saponis, meaning soap and Indicus, meaning from India. The part of the Sapindus tree used as a surfactant is the fruit and it is commonly known as soapnut. Since it is a fruit, We prefer to call it the soapberry which is more accurate.

An introduction to soapberries: auspicious, cleansing and indigenous to India

India is home to several species of Sapindus. The two most well known of these are the South Indian Sapindus trifoliatus and the Himalayan Sapindus mukorossi.

We have also seen records of a third species, Sapindus emarginatus, although many botanists believe that emarginatus is a sub species of Sapindus trifoliatus.

Both species of soapberries have their own medicinal uses. Some Ayurvedic texts opine that  Sapindus trifoliatus is indigenous to India and Sapindus mukorossi is indigenous to china, and spread to India via China and Nepal.

However, both varieties are mentioned in Ayurvedic texts. Soapberry or Arishtaka is described for various internal and external applications. It is called “Phenila” or a fruit that is foamy / generates lather. It is used for wound cleansing, especially in eczema and gangrenous wounds.

In China the soapberry pericarp is called wu-huan-zi or the non illness fruit. In Japan, the soapberry pericarp is called the enmei-hi or the life prolonging pericarp. In India, in Ayurveda, this herb is referred to as “Mangalya” or auspicious, and is suggested as a key dravya (medicine) to treat graha dosha (psychiataric disorders). 

The Soapberry Fruit

Fresh soapberry fruits look like grapes or gooseberry fruits and grow in clusters on the trees. As the name suggests, the Sapindus trifoliatus grows in clusters of three. It takes 9-10 years for a Soapberry tree to reach full maturity.

After this, a well cared for soapberry tree can produce 250 kg of soapberry fruits every single year!

An introduction to soapberries: the natural cleanser

The magic ingredient which gives the soapberry its halo is saponin, found in the fleshy outer part of the fruit.

The pericarp of the soapberries (the outer fleshy part of the fruit) contains saponins, which are the plants “immune system”. Saponins are a class of compounds, found in abundance in the plant world, and produce foaming solutions in water which can used for cleaning.

The saponins also give Soapberries its bitter / “tikta” taste, and also give it its anti bacterial, anti fungal and insecticidal properties.

An introduction to soapberries: what you can use it for around your home

One of the most sought after questions when we are asked to do an introduction to soapberries , is on how you can use this versatile natural fruit in your home. The soapberry is an excellent natural cleanser that can be used as a base ingredient to substitute most synthetic cleansers in your home.

You can use the soapberry shells , soapberry powder, or extract soapberry liquid by making a concentrated decoction with water and use this as a substitute for almost all your cleaning needs.

It can be used in the following ways:

• As a mild shampoo substitute along with other conditioning herbs – using soapberry liquid alone can dry out hair
  • • The Krya range of Ayurvedic hair cleanser choornams use Soapberry along with other beneficial herbs to gently cleanse scalp, control conditions like dandruff and gently cleanse and condition hair without chemicals

 

• As a safe and effective detergent
  • Soapberries can be used whole, soaked in hot water, as a liquid extract or as a fine powder
    • Krya has a wide range of soapberry based detergents that can be used in Front, Top Load and HE washing machines

 

• As a hypoallergenic baby fabric detergent
  • • Soapberries can be used whole, soaked in hot water, as a liquid extract or as a fine powder
      • We recommend using the unfragranced Krya Classic detergent for baby’s cloth diapers and nappies and clothing
      • For baby’s linen, and other fabric, please try the Krya Rakshoghna Detergent, formulated according to ayurvedic principles to safely sanitise and disinfect baby’s linen – coming soon!

 

• As a food-safe dish wash product
  • • Soapberries can be used singly or with a combination of other beneficial herbs like Neem leaf, Lemon, Cow Dung, etc. This is a much better alternative to synthetic dishwash products which are highly toxic on soil and in water and are also very irritating on skin
      • Krya has a wide range of Soapberry based dishwash products for regular dishes and a special variant for cleaning brass and copper vessels without chemicals.

 

• As a floor and surface cleanser
  • • Soapberries should be ideally used in combination with other herbs that have Prana positive, Vitality enhancing, Krimighna and Rakshigna properties. Please read this blog post to see how you can construct a DIY floor cleaner with Soapberries
    • Krya has 2 floor cleaners which use Soapberries in the formulation: Krya Sookshma and Krya Sugandha floor cleaners.

An introduction to soapberries: what are its other uses?

Our introduction to soapberries needs to cover its many other uses. Plants are wonderfully complex systems that are beyond complete human understanding. All along we have only talked about the surfactant property but the soapberry does so much more than just clean.

a.  Pesticide removal action of soapberries: fruits and vegetables

Soapberry powder works well on removing surface level pesticides in fruits and vegetables as well. Research done on tomatoes, aubergines, cabbage and grapes, which have a thin membrane and are prone to absorbing a large quantity of pesticides, indicates a 76% reduction in deadly pesticides like Monocrotophos, when these fruits and vegetables are soaked for 20 minutes in a mild solution of water and soapberry powder. Be careful to thoroughly rinse off all the soak-water off the soaked vegetables.

Please note that this soaking will only remove surface level pesticides that are sprayed after the crop has been harvested. It will not be able to remove what the produce has absorbed during its growth cycle. For this reason it is always better to consume organic produce as much as possible.

b. Pesticide removal action of soapberries: on cotton

Cotton is one of the most sprayed crops in the world. In India, cotton crop is sprayed with a deadly cocktail of chemicals including Lindane, Heptachlor, and DDT.

A simple test measuring the surface level pesticides on cotton yarn before and after treatment with soapberry, showed nearly a 70% reduction in the surface levels of Lindane.

c. Anti-bacterial and anti-fungal action of soapberries

Soapberries have strong anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. They have been prescribed in small quantities in oral medications in traditional Chinese medicine.

Extracts of Sapindus mukorossi were shown to inhibit the bacterium Helicobacter pylori which causes GERD, peptic ulcers, cancers of the oesophagus and stomach. Preliminary studies on Sapindus mukorossi and Sapindus saponaria show active action against many disease causing fungi like Candida albicans, and bacteria like Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Staphylococcus Aureus. 

Please remember that Ayurveda considers Soapberry a “Garbaphatana” or a natural abortificent. It also has natural spermicidal action. So any internal use should only be considered if you are not pregnant and only under the direct supervision of a good Vaidya.

How do I start using the soapberry?

Fresh soapberry fruits need to be dried well to be used. Once dried, they become a rich dark brown colour, depending on the species and look like this:

Once dried, they need to be de-seeded before they are ready for use. Soapberries are extremely hygroscopic in nature, meaning that they absorb moisture from the atmosphere, so they need to be stored in a dry place.

1.How to use whole soapberries

Whole soapberries need to be activated and mildly extracted before using them. If you’re using them to do your laundry in a washing machine, start by soaking 5-6 whole soapberry shells in a clean sock / muslin bag in hot water.

After 20 minutes, place the muslin bag into the drum of the washing machine, and add the extracted liquid into the detergent dispense or directly into the drum, if using a top load machine.

Depending upon the extraction levels of saponin, you can use the whole soapberries 2-3 times. Remember to let them dry before the next wash.  You can use the soapberries until they turn grey in colour (indicating that there are no more saponins left). Best of all, as soapberries are completely natural and biodegradable, they can be composted.

2. Making soapberry powder from dried soapberries

For even better results and greater convenience, soapberry powder can be made by grinding dried, de-seeded soapberries.  They can be ground in a mixer grinder with some effort, and should be ground into large sized particles when used as a detergent or a dish wash product. The finer soapberries are ground, the faster they absorb moisture, so grinding them into large sized particles helps you store them for longer.

Please note that soapberries must be extremely well dried before you attempt to make a powder. Soapberries are extremely sticky, especially in humid places and exude a sticky residue. This makes them very difficult to grind properly esepcially in domestic machines. If your soapberries are not well dried, you can easily damage your mixer grinder. 

Soapberry powder can be used as a substitute to detergents and dish wash applications. Keep in mind that they do not dissolve completely like synthetic surfactants, so when using them in a washing machine or a dish washer, put the powder into a sock or muslin bag, to keep the residue from sticking onto laundry or dishes.

The residue after use as a detergent or dish wash makes for great plant food so do remember to compost the residue  after use.

Making soapberry powder is the most difficult way to use whole soapberries. It is better to use whole soapberries or make a liquid extract as soapberry power is slightly difficult to make.

3. Extracting Soapberry liquid

You can also extract soapberry liquid for use as a detergent or a floor cleanser. Soapberry liquid needs to be refrigerated and does not keep for more than a month.
It is prepared by soaking soapberries overnight in cold water or soaking them in hot water for 15 minutes to an hour and squeezing out the saponins mechanically until the berries turn grey in colour.

Let the soapberry liquid cool slightly before filtering out the soapberry residue. The residue can be dried and re-used again to make more floor cleanser (the cleanser made with this residue will be more dilute, so reduce the water the second time around) or to do the laundry. The soapberry powder / residue can be re-used until the residue turns grey, indicating the absence of saponins.

Again remember, to compost the residue after making your soapberry liquid – unlike other trash which doesn’t go away, soapberries bio-degrade and can be composted.

Do I have to work very hard to use the soapberry?

The soapberry is making a strong comeback into popular use especially in countries like USA, Australia, Singapore, India and other places.  A lot of the work done on the soapberry in recent times has been directed to making it readily usable so that you do not have to go through the process of buying the fruit and making a powder or extract.

Unfortunately a lot of incorrect information also floats around the internet on the properties of the soapberry. We have seen many blogs referencing its use in internal consumption without understanding its properties properly.

As we often say about herbs, it is important to understand their properties correctly and then only use them. For this we need the support of a strong system of medicine and herb knowledge that can provide us the correct framework to understand the properties of herbs.

India’s traditional medicine systems of Ayurveda and Siddha are of ancient origin, have been practiced over thousands of years and have in-depth knowledge of indigenous herbs and how they can be effectively utilised.

Soaopberry is clearly mention in Ayurvedic texts as a cleansing and mangalya herb, which foams and is excellent for many external cleansing functions including cleansing gangrenous wounds. It is selectively used internally depending upon the condition under the guidance of a vaidya. It is not recommended internally for all.

Please ensure you get your herb knowledge, including about soapberries from the right source. Do not experiment unnecessarily. For all external cleansing needs, please use the information given in this post. If you feel you need a jump start with ready made products, please explore our website. 

To sum up: an introduction to soapberries

We do many daily tasks like the laundry on autopilot now and understandably so. However several drastic concerns for the environment and human health are lurking behind many of these “autopilot” routines. In 2020, the entire world is going through a pandemic and we are all collectively examining the choices that lead us to this stage. Being mindful about our everyday choices, and ensuring that we do as little damage to the water, soil and earth around us has never been more important.

Many of the little everyday choices we exercise are fraught with environmental risk. For example the synthetic detergent industry is red flagged for pollution by many governments. These red flags arise out of pollution concerns during manufacture and severe harm to water bodies and marine ecosystems by detergent residue post consumer use.

Apart from detergents many personal care products like shampoo, body wash, toothpaste use a synthetic surfactant as a foaming agent. Look for either sodium lauryl sulphate or sodium laureth sulphate (referred shortly as SLS) in the ingredient list the next time you are in the supermarket and you will be surprised by the number of times these two surfactants appear. There are many studies that point to these synthetic surfactants as carcinogens so much so that “SLS free “is an important new category of products.

Moving from autopilot to manual mode can throw up interesting natural alternatives to most of the products we use on ourselves and in the home. Every time you choose a natural alternative like the soapberry, you choose better health for your family and a cleaner planet.

We hope you enjoyed this introduction to soapberries, the versatile, natural cleaning fruit. If you have any questions o this, or would need help transitioning to natural products, please write to us or call us (0-75500-89090).