Abstract

FORMULATION OF ANTI-FUNGAL CREAM FOR JOCK ITCH (TINEA CRURIS) DISEASE FROM PLANTS AND EVALUATION OF ITS SAFETY AND EFFICACY THROUGH ANIMAL AND HUMAN CLINICAL TRIALS, AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL PARAMETERS

Muhammad Siddiq* and Ghulam Sakina

ABSTRACT

Jock itch (tinea cruris) is a disease caused by dermatophytic fungus Trichophyton rubrum which covers lower abdominal external area and under buttocks. Disease is very common in society. Fluconazole an effective medication, have some issues i.e., it is cost effective, have side effects and arose resistant in fungus, so to find solution of this problem ethnobotanical survey was done to find plants with anti-fungal activity. Fungal strains were isolated from patients and identified through various test to confirm the disease’s causative agent which was Trichophyton rubrum. Curcuma longa, Azadirachta indica, Allium sativum, apple cider vinegar, Aloe vera gel and Lavandula Lavandula were selected as suggested in ethnobotanical survey, Disc diffusion method was used to test their anti-fungal activities and compared with fluconazole as positive control. Ethanolic extracts have shown higher anti-fungal actives than water (individually and mixed plants extracts). cream was formulated then from ethanolic herbal extracts of all plants and apple cider vinegar mixed in equal ratios. Cream was evaluated through various physical and biological parameters. Pre-Clinical trials were run on four rabbits 1 cm square shaved skin to test cream safety and judged as safe. In Phase 1 Clinical Trial two healthy skin volunteers participated to test the medication safety and result proved it safe. In Phase 2 Clinical Trial three patients participated voluntarily and used the medication. Results proved this antifungal cream as effective as it cured all the three patients in very short time. This type of study is performed for the first time.

Keywords: Plants therapeutics, Anti-Fungal Cream, Jock Itch, Tinea Cruris.