Formulation And Evaluation of Foot Cream by Ficus Glomerate

Feet ^{[ 1,2,3,4,5,6]:}

Feet are the important organ of human body and are exposed to a lot of friction and external environment [1]. The lack of oil glands on the sole of the foot predisposes it to dry skin. Negligence towards feet can lead to different disorders generally due to improper footwear, and one can suffer from infection because of the external penetration of the dirt, fungi, bacteria through this cuts and wounds [2]. Neglect of feet may lead to one of the more of the following unpleasant conditions such as penetrating odour of the sweaty feet caused by the bacterial decomposition of the sweat and skin debris, burning and itching sensation between the toes, painful tired and swollen feet; softening of the toenail bed, moist skin irritation, creating ideal conditions for fungal infections. Foot care products have one or more of the following properties such as refreshing, anti-pruritic, callus-softening, deodorizing and antiperspirant, cleansing, moisture absorbing, antiseptic and antifungal [3]. The Indian Materia medica provides clear information on the folklore practices, medicines obtained from wild and traditional aspects of therapeutically important natural products [4]. Ficus glomerata is commonly known as udumbar or umber tree. The stem is brown colored and it is reported that stem contains flavanoids, triterpenoids, alkaloids and tannins. The stem is having skin rejuvenating property along with anti tussive, antioxidant, wound healing, antibacterial, antifungal, antifungal and hypoglycemic properties [5, 6]. But not much work has been done till date to evaluate the properties of cosmetic importance. Present study deals with an attempt to formulate and evaluate foot cream with Ficus glomerata extract having moisturizing and wound healing properties which is safe highly stable and gave satisfactory results.

Skin ^{[7,8,9,10,11]:}

 For Understanding the concept of wound healing process, it is important to review the structural and biochemical features of human skin and those characteristics which contribute to the healing process of  the skin.

Fig No.1:- Physiology of Skin

Definition Of Wound ^[12] :-

Wound may be defined as a loss or breaking of cellular and anatomic or functional continuity of living tissue. Wound healing or wound repair is the body’s natural process of regenerating dermal and epidermal tissue Wound healing is a complex but generally orderly process. Sequential waves of specialized cell types first clear the inciting injury and then progressively build the scaffolding to fill in any resulting defect. Injury to tissue may result in cell death and tissue destruction. Healing on the other hand is the body response to injury in an attempt to restore normal structure and function. The process of healing involves 2 distinct processes.

a. Regeneration is the replacement of lost specialized tissue by proliferation of surrounding undamaged same tissue. For example regeneration of bone and cartilage.

b. Repair is the replacement of lost tissue by granulation tissue, which matures to form scar tissue repair of muscle and skin wounds.

Mechanism Of Wound Healing ^[13,14] :-

 The response to injury caused either surgically or traumatically, is immediate and the damaged tissue or wound then passes through four phases in order to affect a final repair.

[1] First phase: It involves a brief and transient period of vasoconstriction and haemostasis. A 5-10 minute period of intense vasoconstriction is followed by active vasodilatation accompanied by an increase in capillary permeability.[13] Aggregated platelets within a fibrin clot secrete a variety of growth factors and cytokines that set the stage for an orderly series of events leading to tissue repair.

[2]Inflammatory phase: The second phase of wound healing, the inflammatory phase, usually lasts between 24 and 48hrs and in some cases persists for about 2 weeks presents itself as erythema, swelling, and warmth, and is often associated with pain.[14]The response increases vascular permeability, resulting in migration of neutrophils and monocytes into the surrounding tissue. First line of defence against infection is provided by neutrophils, engulfs cell debris and microorganisms. Migration of neutrophils ceases after the first few days of post-injury if the wound is not contaminated. Acute Inflammatory Phase persists due to wound hypoxia, infection, nutritional deficiencies, medication use, or other factors related to the patient’s immune response, it can interfere with the late inflammatory phase. In the late inflammatory phase, monocytes converted to macrophages in the tissues, which digest and kill bacterial pathogens, scavenge tissue debris and destroy remaining neutrophils. Transition from wound inflammation to wound repair is the function of macrophages that secretes a variety of chemo tactic and growth factors that stimulate cell migration, proliferation, and formation of the tissue matrix.

[3] Proliferative phase: The subsequent proliferative phase lasts for about 2 days to 3 weeks after the inflammatory phase, dominated by the formation of granulation tissue and epithelialization. Its duration also depends up on the size of the wound. Chemo tactic and growth factors released from macrophages and platelets stimulate the migration and activation of wound fibroblasts that produce a variety of substances essential to wound repair, including glycoaminoglycans (hyaluronic acid, chondroitin- 4-sulfate, dermatan sulphate and heparin sulphate and collagen). These form an amorphous, gel like connective tissue matrix necessary for migration of cells. This phase also includes contraction of wound edges pull together to reduce the defects in the third step epithelial tissues are formed over the wound site.

[4] The Remodelling phase: This phase lasts for 3 weeks to 2 years. It involve formation of new collagen. The amount of collagen secreted determines the tensile strength of the wound .Tissue tensile strength is increased due to intermolecular cross-linking of collagen via vitamin-C dependent hydroxylation. Improper cross-linkage of collagen fibers has been responsible for nonspecific post-operative bleeding in patients with normal coagulation parameters .The scar flattens and scar tissues become 80% as strong as the original.

Fig No.2:- Wound Healing

Ideal properties of foot cream :

1. Massage with foot cream should allow relaxation of the feet and hence ready to absorb moisture from the cream.

2. It should soften the cells of the foot.

3. It should stimulate the natural healing process of the skin by hydrating it and regulating the pH balance.

4. The ingredient present in the cream should shield against microbial infections.

5. It should contain the proper dosage of extract in the product.

6. It should stimulate blood circulation, cooling agents as well as providing emolliency and skin softening properties.

7. It should discard all the tensions and treat diseases.

8. It should detoxify feet cells [21].

Pharmacognosy : ficus glomerata

Fig No.3:-  Ficus Glomerata ^[15,16]

Pharmacognosy: Ficus glomerata      

Scientific classification :

Kingdom: Plantae                                                         

Order: Rosales

Family: moraceae

Genus: Ficus

Species: F.racemosa

Binomial name: Ficus racemosa L.

Common name: Cluster fig

Synonyms: Ficus glomerata Roxb

Biological source: : It is obtained from dried leaf , stem and bark of ficus glomerata.

Chemical constituents : Tannins , flavonoids , Euphorbol , Racemosic acid , Triterpenoids , Alkaloids , Anthocyanins.[15,16]

Medical use : It has Antidiuretic , Antibacterial , Antidiarrheal ,Anti-inflammatory Hepatoprotective , Anti-carcinogenic activities .

Geographical Source ^[16,17,18] :

This is commonly found in Australia, Malaysia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It is cultivated all over India and countries near to it. It grows wild in many forests and hills. It is distributed widely from the outer Himalayan ranges, Punjab, Khasia Mountain, Chota Nagpur, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Deccan, and is common in South India.[16,17,18]

Chemical constituents

Application

Collection of plant material: In the month of March, leaves from the tree were gathered from locations around near gardan Local Region in Deori and authenticated in college laboratory.

Preparation of plant extract: The leaves were collected and cleaned with cold water before being air dried for two weeks. The electrical mixer was used to reduce the size. A 100-gm portion of the powder was used in 15 cycles of Soxhlet Apparatus using ethanol (500 ml) as the solvent over the course of three days. The filtrate was collected, and then it was isolated to produce solid extract.

Isolation and Drying of plant extract: The solution is then concentrated using rotatory evaporator and then on hot plate, further air dried.

Phytochemical investigation:

The extract collected was phyto-chemically investigated for the following Constituents.

1. Test for alkaloids: 5 ml of the extract was added to 2 ml of HCl. To this acidic medium, 1 ml of Dragendroff’s reagent was added. An orange or red precipitate produced immediately indicated the presence of alkaloids [19].

2. Test for amino acids: 1 ml of the extract was treated with few drops of Ninhydrin reagent. Appearance of purple color showed the presence of amino acids

3. Test for anthraquinones: 5 ml of the extract solution was hydrolyzed with diluted Conc. H₂SO₄ extracted with benzene. 1 ml of dilute ammonia was added to it. Rose pink coloration suggested the positive response for anthraquinones.

4. Test for flavonoids: 1 ml of the extract, a few drops of dilute sodium hydroxide was added. An intense yellow colour was produced in the plant extract, which became colourless on addition of a few drops of dilute acid indicated the presence of flavonoids.

5. Test for glycosides: The extract was hydrolysed with HCl for few hours on a water bath. To the hydrolysate, 1ml of pyridine was added and a few drops of sodium nitroprusside solution were added and then it was made alkaline with sodium hydroxide solution. Appearance of pink to red colour showed the presence of glycosides

6. Test for saponins: The extract was diluted with 20 ml of distilled water and it was agitated in a graduated cylinder for 15 minutes. The formation of 1cm layer of foam showed the presence of saponins.

7. Test for steroids: 1 ml of the extracts was dissolved in 10 ml of chloroform and equal volume of concentrated sulphuric acid was added by sides of the test tube. The upper layer turns red and sulphuric acid layer showed yellow with green fluorescence. This indicated the presence of steroids.

8. Test for tannins: 5 ml of the extract and a few drops of 1% lead acetate were added. A yellow precipitate was formed, indicates the presence of tannins.

9. Test for triterpenoids: 10 mg of the extract was dissolved in 1 ml of chloroform; 1 ml of acetic anhydride was added following the addition of 2 ml of Conc.H₂SO₄. Formation of reddish violet colour indicates the presence of triterpenoids.

Preparation of Foot Cream:

Base formulation without herbal extract was prepared consisting of cocoa butter and magnesium sulphate to obtain the basic formula for cream preparation. The cream obtains with a very light-textured cream that has the ideal amount of moisturizing, healing and emollients to soften the foot.[20].

Procedure:

Following steps were followed for formulating the foot cream:

Preparation of oil phase: -

Ingredient such as steric acid, cetyl Achol , bees wax , isopropyl alcohol , mineral oil were weighted and heated in 250 ml borosilicate beaker at the temperature of 70° C to form uniform mixing liquid .

Preparation of water phase: -

Ingredient such as methyl paraben, propyl paraben, triethanolamine , glycerine , Water and ficus recemosa extract were weighted and heated with continuous stirring in the 250 ml beaker at the temperature of 70°C to form uniform mixing liquid. After that the oil phase was mixed in water phase and continue stirring it the formulation was allow to stand for 24 hrs at room temperature and store in air tight glass container.

Figure 1: Foot Cream

Evaluation of foot cream: -

• Physical parameter Colour: A visual inspection was used to determine the cream's colour. The checks were made with a white backdrop.[22]
• Odour: The created cream's odour was evaluated by smell.
• Consistency: By applying to skin, the consistency was evaluated.[23]
• Greasiness: The greasiness was evaluated by applying it to the skin.[24]
• pH determination: A 5g portion of cream, precisely weighed, was added to a 100ml beaker. The cream was mixed with 45ml of water after being added. At 27°C, the pH was measured using a pH metre.
• Homogeneity: Visual inspection was used to check the homogeneity of developed cream. They were their look and any aggregates were present.[24]
• Water Wash ability: The formulations were applied to the skin, and manual inspections were made of the ease and scope of water washing.[25]

Penetration:

Table No. 4: Phytochemical test result of F. Racemosa leaves extract.

The sign + indicate constituent present in extract and – indicate the absence of constituent in extract.

Evaluation of foot cream:

Some parameters were evaluated by physical appearance of cream.

Consistency: Excellent (+++), Good (++), Satisfactory (+)

Homogeneity: Homogeneous (+)

Greasiness: Non greasy (-), Greasy (+)

Water wash ability: Washable (+)