Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Development of Ficus religiosa extract-loaded emulsion system for topical application: Characterization and stability evaluation

Irfan Aslam , Naveed Akhtar

Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan;

For correspondence:- Irfan Aslam Email: irfanaslam.iub@gmail.com Tel:+2923116615424

Accepted: 26 September 2019 Published: 30 October 2019

Citation: Aslam I, Akhtar N. Development of Ficus religiosa extract-loaded emulsion system for topical application: Characterization and stability evaluation. Trop J Pharm Res 2019; 18(10):2003-2010 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v18i10.1

© 2019 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To develop, optimize and characterize a topical (W/O) emulsion containing 4 % Ficus religiosa extract for cosmeceutical purposes.

Methods: The ethanol extract of Ficus religiosa was obtained by Soxhlet method. Various formulations were developed using paraffin oil, emulsifier (Abil®-EM 90) and purified water at different proportions, and their physical stability was assessed under different stress conditions, to enable selection of the most stable formulation. The optimized formulation based on stability studies was chosen for evaluation of different physical properties, i.e., color, liquefaction, phase separation, centrifugation, pH, droplet size and rheology, under accelerated conditions for 12 weeks.

Results: The optimized formulation (F4) contained ethanol extract (4.0 %), Abil®-EM 90 (3.5 %), paraffin oil (14.0 %) and purified water (78.5 %), and remained stable on centrifugation under all stress conditions. The pH of the formulation remained within the specified range for human skin pH i.e. 4.5 – 6.0, and droplet size of dispersed phase also persisted within the size range of macroemulsion (1 – 100 μm) throughout the study period. Rheological properties of the formulation showed shear thinning response, and flow index value less than 1 resulted in pseudoplastic flow of emulsion.

Conclusion: These results suggest that the optimized emulsion system was stable and can serve as a good medium for topical delivery of various natural substances.

Keywords: Ficus religiosa, Emulsion, AbilÂ®-EM 90, Rheology, Stability