Safety and Efficacy of Herbal Ointment formulated with Methanolic extract of Mikaniacordata as Treatment for Acute Superficial Injury

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of herbal ointment formulated with methanolic extract of Mikania cordata as Treatment for acute superficial injury. Ointment was prepared by fusion method using emulsifying ointment as base. The formulation was then tested for its physicochemical properties like loss of drying, pH, spreadability, extrudability, together with diffusion study, which gave a satisfactory result. The prepared ointment was also stable at 40C, 250C and 370C. Further, the formulation was evaluated for its anti-bacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp., by agar diffusion method by using Mupirocin (6%w/w) as a standard. The formulation showed significant (p<0.01) activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus sp. compared to Mupirocin ointment which showed a significant (p<0.01) activity against Pseudomonas sp. and E. coli. Antioxidant activity of the extract through reducing power assay showed that the scavenging activity of the formulation increased with increase in concentration due to the presence of flavonoids and tannins. The dermatological effect of the herbal ointment was carried out by applying a considerable amount of the ointment on the skin surface area of ten healthy individuals in phase I clinical trial and showed a satisfactory result with no allergic or irritation reaction. Evaluation of the healing potency of the extract was carried out on twenty individuals with acute superficial injuries in phase II clinical trial and showed a significant (p<0.01) wound treatment index of 5.43±0.37 and a percentage reduction index of 28.26±4.14. The standard treatment drug mupirocin also showed a significant difference (p<0.01) with a treatment index of 4.47±0.26 cm and a wound percentage reduction index of 21.68±3.76. Paired sample correlations showed no significant difference (p>0.01) between those treated with M. cordata and those treated with mupirocin. Overall result of this study revealed that the herbal ointment of Mikania cordata is safe and as pharmacologically competent as Mupirocin and can be used as treatment for superficial injuries.