Abstract

TRANSUNGUAL DRUG DELIVERY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HERBAL NAIL LACQUERS

Bincy K. Chacko*, Ashni Vahab, Jeena S., Salma S., S. Rahumath and Subi Maria George

ABSTRACT

Around 14% of the general population is suffering from onychomycosis which includes distal subungual onychomycosis, white superficial onychomycosis, proximal subungual onychomycosis, candida onychomycosis and total dystrophic onychomycosis. Varieties of formulations are available for treating nail infection include creams, solution, gel, nail patches etc. Since nail has less vascular area, nail lacquers will be more effective formulation than the other formulation, mainly oral administration. Introduction of herbal cosmetics become latest, safe and effective trend. Combining the medicinal property of herb in cosmetic preparation enhance beauty as these products supply the body with nutrients and enhance health. Herbal species like Allium sativum (Garlic) and Lawsonia inermis (Henna) possess antifungal properties which shows prominent action against species likeTrychophyton, Candida etc which causes onychomycosis. Lawsone and Allicin is the active ingredient in henna and garlic respectively. In this study the leaves of henna and bulb of garlic were identified, collected, extracted and phytochemical evaluations were carried out to determine the presence of lawsone and allicin. Along with these herbal extracts other ingredients were used to formulate base, such as film forming agents like ethyl cellulose or nitro cellulose, plasticizing agents like castor oil, resins like formaldehyde and solvents like ethanol, ethyl cellulose, toluene, chloroform etc. A comparative study of the antifungal effect of both formulations were carried out and identified that henna nail polish shows more antifungal activity than garlic nail polish.

Keywords: Nail lacquers; Antifungal activity; Herbal formulations; Nail infection.