INTRODUCTION:

Ayurveda has stressed the connection between people and medicinal plants ever since the dawn of civilization. For centuries, humans have relied on plants to meet their fundamental requirements, including food, clothing, shelter, fertiliser, tastes and scents, and medicines¹. The ancient Indian medical system known as Ayurveda is a science of life that takes a comprehensive approach to health. Because ayurvedic medicine has fewer adverse effects than complementary medicine, more people are turning to it today.

One self-management strategy used by these individuals, frequently without their healthcare providers' awareness, is the use of herbal remedies.²

The Butea monosperma (Lam.) (BM) also called as the "Flame of Forest" or "Palas tree," is used in the Ayurvedic medical system to treat gout, leprosy, and other skin conditions as well as to relieve burning sensations. Chemical analysis revealed that plants are an abundant source of glycosides, linoleic acid, flavanoids, and other compounds. In addition to alkaloids, carbohydrates, tannins, and phenolic compounds, leaves also contain palmiticlignoceric acid, 3-alphahydroxyethylheptacosanoate and 3,9-dimethoxypterocapan. They also contain glycosides, flavones, phytosterols, glucosides, and linoleic acid.

Pharmacological activity of Butea monosperma (Lam.) are anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-asthmatic, anti-diarrhoeal, wound healing, and anti-fungal etc..³

Ointments are homogenous, viscous semisolid preparations with a high viscosity that are meant to be used externally to the skin. When a degree of occlusion is necessary, they are applied to the skin as emollient or for the application of active compounds for preventive, therapeutic, or protective purposes.⁴

MATERIALS AND METHOD:

Collection of Plant material:

Butea monosperma (Lam.) belongs to family Fabaceae were collected during November 2022 from Radhanagari, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra state, India. The samples were authenticated by Dr. Anjali Gaharwar, Professor of Botany, Vasantrao Naik College of Agricultural Biotechnology, Yavatmal, Maharashtra. Authentication certificate number is VNCABT/Ytl/Hort/1088/2022.The fresh leaves were washed, chopped into smaller pieces and the shed-dried.

Extraction Of Dried Leaves Of Butea Monosperma (Lam.) With Ethanol By Maceration Extraction Process:

The dried leaves of BM were ground to coarse powder by motor grinder. Thereafter, 500 gm leaves powder were macerated through 4 Liter ethanol for 7 days and agitated intermittently. Evaporation of the resultant solution in water bath afforded 32g (6.4% yields) of the ethanol extract.⁵

Preparation of Ointment:

Table No 1: Composition of Ointment of 10% Butea Monosperma (Lam.) Leaves Extract

Sr. No.	Ingredient	Quantity (gm)
1	BM Extract	5
2	Wool Fat	3
3	Hard Paraffin	3
4	Soft Paraffin	39

Table No.2: Composition of Ointment of 20% Butea Monosperma (Lam.) Leaves Extract

Sr. No.	Ingredient	Quantity (gm)
1	BM Extract	10
2	Wool Fat	2
3	Hard Paraffin	2
4	Soft Paraffin	36

Preparation of Herbal Ointment:

Initially, the hard paraffin was carefully weighed and placed in a china dish over a water bath to create ointment foundation. After the hard paraffin was melted, in order to facilitate melting and thorough mixing, the remaining ingredients were added and gently stirred. The ointment base was then allowed to cool.

Ointments were ready by incorporating the accurately weighed Butea monosperma (Lam.) leaves decoction to ointment base through levigation technique. To make a smooth paste with 2 or 3 times its weight of base, gradually added more base till to form stable ointment and finally placed in an appropriate container.⁶

Characterization of Herbal Ointment:

Color and Odour:

Physical parameter such as color as well as odour was inspected through visual inspection.

Consistency:

Smooth and no signs of greed are seen.

pH:

pH of formulated ointments were determined through utilizing digital pH meter. 100 ml of distilled water was used to produce the ointment solution, which was then left to sit for two hours. The solution's pH was measured three times, with the average value being computed.

Spreadability:

Spreadability was determined through insertion of the excess of sample in between 2 slides which were compressed to uniform thickness by placing a definite weight for definite time. The amount of time required to separate the two slides was used to calculate spreadability. The result of separating two slides faster is better spreadability. Spreadability was calculated by following formula-⁷

S=M×L/T

Where, S= Spreadability

M= Weight tide to the upper slide

L= Length of glass slide

T= Time taken to separate the slides

Extrudability:

A container made of collapsible tubes was filled with the formulation. The extrudability was inspected in terms of weight of ointment essential to extrude 0.5cm of ribbon of ointment in 10 sec.⁸

Diffusion Study:

The agar nutritional medium was made in order to undertake the diffusion research. A board with a hole in the middle was filled with ointment. It was observed that the ointment took a while to diffuse after 60 minutes.⁹

LOD:

The LOD was calculated by putting the formulation in a petri dish and drying it for 105°C.

Solubility:

Solubility of BM ointments in boiling water and miscibility of BM ointments with alcohol, ether, and chloroform was checked.

Washability:

After applying the BM ointments to the skin, the ease of water washing was evaluated.

Non Irritancy:

The BM ointments were prepared and checked for any kind of irritations when applied to human skin.

Stability Study:

The BM ointments underwent a four-week physical stability test at different temperatures, including 2°C, 25°C, and 37°C. Within four weeks, it was discovered that the herbal ointment was physically stable at various temperatures, including 2°C, 25°C and 37°C^7,8.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:

Objective of the existing study was to prepare and evaluate the BM ointments. The herbal extracts were prepared using a simple maceration approach to get a good yield of extract without harming the chemical components or their activity. The levigation procedure was used to create the ointment, which made sure that the herbal extract and ointment base were blended evenly and remained stable throughout storage.^10,11 The physicochemical qualities were investigated, and the spreadability, extrudability, washability, solubility, loss on drying, and other results are satisfactory. Additionally, the formulation was kept for four weeks to conduct a stability study at a variety of temperatures, including 2°C, 25°C and 37°C. Spreading capability, diffusion studies, and irritating impact were unchanged.

Figure 1: Formulation of ointments having (A) 10% BM extract and (B) 20% BM extract

Table No. 3: Evaluation Parameters of BM Ointment Formulations

Parameters	10% BM Extract	20% BM Extract
Colour	Army green	Dark green
Odour	Characteristic	Characteristic
Consistency	Smooth	Smooth
pH	5.16	5.12
Spreadability(sec)	7	6
Extrudability	0.4 g	0.4 g
Diffusion study	0.7cm	0.6 cm
LOD	23%	21%
Solubility	In boiling water, miscible with alcohol, ether, chloroform	In boiling water, miscible with alcohol, ether, chloroform
Washability	Good	Good
Non-irritancy	Non irritant	Non irritant
Stability study (2°C, 25°C and 37°C)	Stable	Stable

CONCLUSION:

Butea monosperma (Lam.) have been utilized for its diverse pharmacological activities such as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and wound healing since ancient times. Because of these therapeutic properties, this ointment can be employed as a simple dosing form and media.

REFERENCES:

1. Shrirao, A. V., Kochar, N. I., Chandewar, A. V. (2017). Butea monosperma: an ornamental plant to precious herb. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biological Archives, 8(5), 1-9.

2. Sindhia, V. R., andBairwa, R. (2010). Plant review: Buteamonosperma. International journal of pharmaceutical and clinical research, 2(2), 90-94.

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8. Kandhare, A. D., Alam, J., Patil, M. V., Sinha, A., andBodhankar, S. L. (2016). Wound healing potential of naringin ointment formulation via regulating the expression of inflammatory, apoptotic and growth mediators in experimental rats. Pharmaceutical biology, 54(3), 419-432.

9. Li, H. L., Deng, Y. T., Zhang, Z. R., Fu, Q. R., Zheng, Y. H., Cao, X. M., ... and Chen, Q. X. (2017). Evaluation of effectiveness in a novel wound healing ointment-crocodile oil burn ointment. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, 14(1), 62-72.

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11. Reiss, F., and Kern, A. B. (1950). Clinical and experimental evaluation of thephorin ointment. Journal of Allergy, 21(2), 160-168.

Received on 07.05.2023 Modified on 19.06.2023

Asian J. Pharm. Tech. 2023; 13(3):175-177.

DOI: 10.52711/2231-5713.2023.00031