FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF POLYHERBAL GEL FOR PREVENTION OF HAIR FALL

Divam Singh*, Balkrishna Dubey, Deepak Kumar Basedia, Sunil Shah, Vivek Singh Thakur and Mukesh Patel

ABSTRACT

The objective of the present investigation was to prepare herbal gel formulations for prevention of hair loss. The gel formulations were prepared in carbopol 934P gel base using extracts from the leaves of Tinospora cordifolia, pulp from Tamarindus indica, seeds of Trigonella foenum graecum and flowers of Hibiscus rosa sinensis. The results of phytochemical screening suggest that most of the while flavonoids were present in the methanolic and aqueous extracts of Tinospora cordifolia, they were found only in the aqueous extracts of the other plant materials. The extracts were mixed in varying proportions with the gelling agent to prepare the hair gel formulations. The formulations were evaluated for physicochemical properties. For all formulations, the pH value lies within the 5.86 to 6.75 which is within range compatible with the pH of the skin (4.5 to 7.4). The viscosity of the formulations ranged from 35.7 cp to 38.6 cp whereas the spreadability was from 24.2 to 48.4 mm. The rheological behavior of the formulations exhibited pseudoplastic flow as indicated by shear thinning. The antifungal activity of the polyherbal gels was evaluated against Candida albicans using disc diffusion method. All the gel formulations were able to exert antifungal action as witnessed by the zone of inhibition in the culture plate.

Keywords: Polyherbal gel, antifungal, Tinospora cordifolia, Hibiscus rosasinensis, Tamarindus indica.