Formulation and Evaluation of Antimicrobial Herbal Ointment

Abstract

Most of the antibiotics were originally derived from micro-organisms while the
chemotherapeutic agents are from plants. Herbal medicine refers to the use of any
plant's seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers for medicinal purposes. Along
with other dosage forms, herbal drugs are also formulated in the form of ointment. An
ointment is a viscous semisolid preparation used topically on a variety of body
surfaces. The objective of the study was to formulate and evaluate the antimicrobial
herbal ointment from the local medicinal plants. The ethanolic extracts of the selected
plants were taken in different ratio randomly and the antimicrobial tests of the
combinations were carried out. The most effective combination was then determined
by comparing the results of the zone of inhibition given by the 10 different extract
ratios on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species. Then the
minimum inhibitory concentration of the effective combination was found out. The
ointment base was prepared and formulation of ointment was done by incorporating
the active ingredients in most effective ratio in the base by trituration. After the
completion of the formulation, quality of the ointment was assessed in terms of
irritancy, spreadability, diffusion and stability.

Key words: Herbal ointment; minimum inhibitory concentration; irritancy;
spreadability; diffusion; stability

DOI: 10.3126/kuset.v6i1.3317

Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.6(1) 2010, pp102-107