Studies on the Formulation of Anti-fungal Drugs from Azadirachta Indica Leaves Using Sonication Techniques

摘要

The paper explores the techniques which are critical in the formulation of drugs for non-invasive applications using herbal extracts from Azadirachta Indica. Azadirachta Indica is one of the well-known herb which grows as a tree in several parts of India. Several pharmacological activities of various parts of Azadirachta Indica are well known as it has been found that there are more than 135 compounds from different parts of Aradirachta indica which are useful in traditional medicine. Biological activity of this herb is reported with the crude extracts and their different fractions from leaf, bark, root, seed and oil. Though crude extract of different parts of this herb have been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases, most of them cannot directly be used on the skin for topical applications. Though oil from the leaves possesses a wide spectrum of antibacterial action against Gram-negative and Gram-positive microorganisms and anti-fungal action, it needs to be formulated as a thin medium with the help of lipid solvents so that it is not viscous and can penetrate the skin to provide the right therapeutic interaction. For extracting the herb contents, we have made use of ultrasound to assist extraction. This is based on the principle of acoustic cavitations that occurs when ultrasound is passed through a liquid medium. We have made use of certain hydrophobic solvents that are also known for their ability to penetrate the skin. Our current studies have been promising and have provided the basis for formulating new lipid based drugs using herbal extracts for topical applications.