Abstract

DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HERBAL TOOTHPASTE CONTAINING NEEM EXTRACT; COMPARED WITH MARKETED PRODUCT

Krishnamurthy A. Kamalapurkar, Prasad Mallinath Gote*, Mahewash A. Pathan, Priyanka R. Surwase and Kirti J. Shiddanagoudar

ABSTRACT

Since many centuries, Ayurveda regarded neem as a cure for many ailments, predominantly due to its superb antimicrobial activity. It possesses anti-bacterial, anti-cariogenic, anti-hermitic, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, astringent, anti-viral, cytotoxic, and anti-inflammatory activity. Nimbidin, Azadirachtin and nimbinin are active compounds present in Neem which are responsible for antibacterial activity. Neem bark has anti-bacterial properties; it is quite useful in dentistry for curing gingival problems and maintaining oral health in a natural way. Neem twigs are used as oral deodorant, toothache reliever and for cleaning of teeth. It has been a practice since time immemorial to use tender twigs of neem as dentifrice. In addition to the antimicrobial activity it was thought that the small fibers in the powder may act as abrasive thereby potentiating the activity of the dentifrice. The scope of the present work is limited to testing the antibacterial activity of neem extract and neem powder in a tooth paste form. The formulated herbal toothpaste compared with marketed preparation. Physical examination: smooth in nature, Odour- Characteristic, pH-8.5, homogeneity-good, Taste- Characteristic, spreadability-good and stable the formulation. The antimicrobial evaluation Streptococcus viridans reveals that formulated growth of microorganism was inhibited.

Keywords: Tender twigs of neem, Antimicrobial activity, Azadirachta indica.