Abstract

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF POLYHERBAL ANTIFUNGAL NAIL LACQUER

Liby Tresa Francis*, Sinju Elsa Sajan, Soumya Samuel, Sruthi S. Kumar, Swathi S.,
Gayathri P. M. and Santhosh M. Mathews

ABSTRACT

The overall population has onychomycosis in about 14% of cases.Distal subungual onychomycosis, white superficial onychomycosis,proximal subungal onychomycosis are among the several forms ofonychomycosis. There are several formulations available for treatingnail infections such as gels, nail patches and lotions etc. Nail lacquersare a more effectiveformulation than other formulations, primarily oraldelivery, because nails have lessvascular area. The development ofherbal cosmetics has become a current, secure, and useful trend.Combining a herb's therapeutic qualities with cosmetic preparationsimprovesappearance while also nourishing the body and promotinghealth. Certain herbal species, such as Psidium guajava (guava) andAzadirachta indica (neem), have antifungal qualities that areparticularly effective against species that causeonychomycosis, such asTrichophyton, Candida, and others. The active components ofguava and neem are flavonoids,tannins and phenols. The guava and neem leaves were identified, gathered, extracted andsubjected to aphytochemical analysis to detect the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids,terpenoids and phenols. Other substances, such as film-forming agents like ethylcellulose andeudragit, resins like formaldehyde, and solvents like ethyl acetate were alsoemployed to makethe nail lacquer base in addition to the herbal extracts.

Keywords: Nail lacquers, cosmetics, onychomycosis, film-former, resin, eudragit, Azadirachta indica, Psidium guajava.