RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: In the recent years, there has been a gradual revival of interest in the use of medicinal plants in developing countries because herbal medicines have been reported safe with minimal adverse side effect especially when compared with synthetic drugs. METHOD: In the present study we prepared gel formulations (formulations A and B) which comprised of ethanolic extract of Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Allium sativum, Ocimum sactum, Cinnamomum zeylanicum nees and Tamarindus indica in a concentration of 0.1 and 0.5%, respectively in a base. The base was prepared by using carbapol 940, propylene glycol-400, ethanol, methyl paraben, propylparaben, EDTA, triethanolamine and required amount of water in a quantity sufficient to prepare 50g. The prepared formulations were screened for their antimicrobial activity by agar well diffusion technique against S. aureus, B. subtilis, A. niger and E. coli which are representative types of Gram positive and Gram negative organisms. The formulations were also evaluated for appearance and homogeneity, pH, viscosity and rheological studies, spreadability, drug content uniformity, skin irritation test (Patch test) and washability. RESULT: The results of the studies revealed that both formulation under study viz A and B showed better zone of inhibition as compared with the base. However, formulation B exhibited maximum activity against the selected strains which may be attributed to its greater amount of herbal extracts as compared to formulation A. CONCLUSION: Based on our research, it could be concluded that these formulations possess antimicrobial activity and can be used safely on human skin.