Exploring the potential of Aerva Lanata extract in a herbal ointment for fungal infection treatment

Abstract

Background: Fungal infections are a major health concern, and the search for effective and safe antifungal agents is ongoing. The use of natural products, including herbal extracts, has gained popularity due to their potential therapeutic benefits and minimal side effects. In this study, we aimed to formulate and develop an herbal ointment containing extract of Aerva Lanata for the treatment of fungal infections.

Methods: The ointment formulations were prepared using various concentrations of wool fat, hard paraffin, and cetosteryl alcohol. The physical properties of the ointment formulations, including extrudability, spreadability, pH, viscosity, and in vitro drug release, were evaluated. The in vitro antifungal activity of the optimized herbal ointment and Aerva Lanata extract were evaluated against Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger using the agar well diffusion method.

Results: The FTIR and DSC analysis showed that there was no significant drug-excipient interaction in the herbal ointment formulation containing Aerva Lanata extract. The viscosity of the ointment formulations ranged from 11,632±132cps to 16,423±172cps, indicating that the ointment formulations have good consistency and are suitable for topical application. In vitro drug release studies suggest that the ointment formulations containing Aerva Lanata extract exhibit sustained release of the drug over a period of 12 hours. The optimized herbal ointment (BF7) exhibited a zone of inhibition of 20.5±0.12 mm against Candida albicans and 17.8±1.15 mm against Aspergillus niger.

Conclusion: The study successfully developed and evaluated an herbal ointment containing Aerva Lanata extract with good physical properties and sustained drug release. The Aerva Lanata extract and the optimized herbal ointment showed promising antifungal activity, suggesting their potential as an alternative to existing antifungal agents.