| Castile soap | A soap made with olive oil, or some other suitable oil or fat, and sodium hydroxide; used as a detergent, and in the form of a suppository or soapsuds enema for constipation; used also as an excipient in pills. Synonym: Castile soap. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| soaps | Sodium or potassium salts of long chain fatty acids. These detergent substances are obtained by boiling natural oils or fats with caustic alkali. Sodium soaps are harder and are used as topical anti-infectives and vehicles in pills and liniments; potassium soaps are soft, used as vehicles for ointments and also as topical antimicrobials. (12 Dec 1998) |