Soapnuts contain saponins which are a natural surfactant. They have been used for washing for thousands of years by native peoples in Asia as well as Native Americans. Soapnuts are being considered and used for commercial use in cosmetics and detergents as well as many other products.
Soapnuts have historically been used in folk remedies as a mucolytic agent, emetic, contraceptive, and for treatment of excessive salivation, epilepsy, and to treat chlorosis. While they do exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, the effectiveness of some of these folk-remedy treatments have not been subject to extensive scientific scrutiny. However, modern scientific medical research has investigated the use of soapnuts in treating migraines.
