Vanesse G.

Barrientos

ANTIBACTERIAL POTENCY OF AVERRHOA CARAMBOLA

(Star Fruit) AS A SUBSTITUTE ETHANOL

INTRODUCTION

It is undeniable that people frequently involve hands in their daily activities.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common opportunistic bacteria which inhabit human skin,
including hand and its palm (Edmonds-Wilson et al., 2015). Because of their ability to produce
enterotoxin as a major cause for food poisoning and their nature to be easily transmitted from
hand, S.aureus might create a threat for human health (Harris et al., 2002).

Maintaining hygiene is commonly conducted by hand washing with soap and water.
Modern life sees this habit is impractical and people switch to use hand sanitizer to keep hand
hygiene. Alcohol is widely use as the main ingredient for hand sanitizers. Because excessive use
of alcohol could cause skin irritation, an alternative active ingredients for alcohol substitution is
important to be found. Grace Sciscitatio, Januari 2021 Vol. 2, No. 1: 22-28 et al. (2015), stated
that the using of plant antibacterial compound could be applied as a substitution for alcohol in
hand sanitizer formulation.

Citrus is one of the most abundant crops in the world, with annual production of
approximately 102 million metric tonnes in 2007 (González-Molina et al., 2010, Pérez-Pérez et
al., 2005). Star fruit is a common cultivated plant that is found in tropical countries like Sri
Lanka or the Moluccas, the islands of Indonesia. It spread throughout Asia and has been
cultivated there for centuries. Star fruit is commonly grown in southern China, India, and the
Philippines. In daily life, star fruit is commonly considered an impactful ingredient in dishes
because of its savoury taste in culinary activities. Despite its presence as food, Wardani et al.
(2018) found that star fruit has antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus due to its
secondary metabolites compounds. Star fruit contains large numbers of flavonoids, more than its
fruit. Exploration of antibacterial compound from star fruit extract could provide important
information related to substitute alcohol from hand sanitizer formulation.
Vanesse G. Barrientos

ANTIBACTERIAL POTENCY OF AVERRHOA CARAMBOLA

(Star Fruit) AS A SUBSTITUTE ETHANOL

Significance of the Study

This study will benefit the following:

1. Department of Environment and Natural Resources

The results of this study will benefit them with information and assessment of the star fruit as a
natural antibacterial agent under their authority.
2. Communities globally
The results of this study will benefit students, from pre-school to college. People who live in
squatter’s area, condominium units, small and big houses. People who work as part-time or full-
time. People who work on hospitals like doctors, nurses, janitors, and even patients. Bank
employees, security guards, salesman or women, police officers, etc. Even people who don’t
have jobs and senior citizens.
2. Future Researchers
The results of the study will give them informations about the antibacterial properties of the star
fruit.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study will be limited in determining the potency and effectivity of the Averrhoa Carambola
extract for antibacterial testing against Staphylococcus aureus.

The study covers how starfruit can be used as a hand sanitizer and to know the health benefits
when it is used to be a hand sanitizer, the side effects arise when using the hand sanitizer.