Acacia concinna Seeds | Shikakai

Shikakai (Acacia concinna) seed — Shikakai (*Acacia concinna*): Fabaceae, native to the dry forests of the Indian subcontinent.

LATIN NAME: Acacia concinna

COMMON NAME: Shikakai

Plant Profile

Acacia concinna is a scandent shrub of the dry forests of India, and it is grown for its pods rather than for its timber. The stems are prickly and clamber over other vegetation, and the leaves are twice-divided with small leaflets. The pods are flat, brown and wrinkled, ten centimetres long, and they contain saponins that lather in water, which is the basis of the traditional hair wash called shikakai.

The species grows from the Himalayan foothills south through India and into Sri Lanka, in dry deciduous forest and in scrub. It is also planted as a live fence, since the prickles and the tangled habit make it stock-proof, and it is one of the oldest cosmetic plants in South Asia.

Science & Biotechnology

The pods contain saponins, chiefly acacic acid glycosides, which lower the surface tension of water and produce a mild lather. Unlike soap, the solution is acidic, around pH 4 to 5, which is close to the natural pH of hair and scalp, and that is the reason it is valued: it cleans without swelling the hair shaft.

The plant also contains tannins and flavonoids, and the bark is used as an astringent. The saponins are toxic to fish, and traditional fishing with plant material containing them is illegal in most countries because it kills everything in the pool. The pods are also used as a surfactant in natural shampoo formulations, where the extract is standardised for saponin content.

Uses & Benefits

The dried pod is ground and soaked in water to make a hair wash, either alone or with amla and with henna, and it is used as a shampoo and as a conditioner. It is also used as a soap substitute for the body and for washing silk and wool, since it is mild and does not strip colour.

In Ayurvedic medicine the pod and the bark are used for skin complaints and for malaria, and the leaf is applied to wounds. The plant is grown as a hedge and as a support for pepper vines, and the pods are sold dried in markets across India.

Growing from Seed

The seed coat is hard, so scarify it with hot water and sow in spring at 25 to 30 degrees. Germination is in two to four weeks. Cuttings of half-ripe wood also root, and the plant can be layered where a selected clone is wanted.

The plant wants full sun, a dry season and a well-drained soil, and it tolerates poor, stony ground. It is tender below about minus two, so it is a plant for a warm climate or a conservatory. It is thorny and sprawling, so give it a trellis or a fence to climb, and prune it after the pods are harvested.

Our Take

A thorny climber whose pods make a mild, acidic hair wash, and one of the few cosmetic plants that can be grown at home.

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