Development and Characterization of Topical Herbal Formulation For Treatment of Atopic Dermatitisand Dermatophytosis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (or atopic eczema) is characterized by an itching sensation with swelling of the skin and flaking of skin. It is observed in around 70 percent of children below 5 years. Dermatophytosis is also one of the common skin infection affecting scalp, face, groin, hand, foot, nails, etc. severely affecting 20-25% of people. As it is reflected from the historical period, herbal formulations have helped us in the prohibition and treatment of various diseases without side effects as observed in non-herbal formulations. Due to this, scientists have been inspired to search more new components from the herbal plants so that many other infectious diseases could be cured. It has been notified in experiments that many of the herbal plant parts have antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities, which have led off promising advantages to the people in curing various contagious diseases. According to the current situation, a shocking increment is observed in the occurrence of novel and re-appearing infectious diseases. Another main issue of interest behind development of this herbal formulation is the occurrence of resistance due to overuse of antibiotics in medicinal purposes. So, this issue creates a high interest in developing a herbal formulation which could treat the infectious diseases of skin. The present work was aimed with the formulation and assessment of novel herbal formulation consisting of neem oil (Azadirachta indica), zinc oxide (Yashad bhasma), borax (Shuddha tankan), sulphur (Gandhak), kapila (Mallotus philippinensis), copper sulphate (Tuttha) and alum (Sphatik). The herbal ointment was prepared using automatic process of ointment manufacturing in industry. The prepared formulation was assessed for different features such as physiognomy, pH, homogeneity, extent of spreading, viscosity, irritancy and stability. The result showed good appearance, pH, adequate homogeneity and viscosity. Also, the formulation was easily washable with no irritancy and was found stable during accelerated stability studies. It is concluded that the developed herbal ointment provides good penetrability for skin infections with maximum benefits and cost effectiveness.