Formulation And Evaluation of Herbal Ointment on Different Extract of Whole Plant of Indigofera Aspalathoides. Vahl.ex.Dc., to Treat Psoriasis

INTRODUCTION: Herbalism: Herbalism is the study of botany and use of plants intended for medicinal purposes or for supplementing a diet. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medicinal herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy Herbal Medicine: Herbal medicines are being used by about 80% of the world population primarily in the developing countries for primary health care. They have stood the test of time for their safety, efficacy, cultural acceptability and lesser side effects. Ancient literature also mentions herbal medicines for age-related diseases namely memory loss, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, diabetes, immune and liver disorders, etc. for which no modern medicine or only palliative therapy is available4. The chemical constituents present in them are a part of the physiological functions of living flora and hence they are believed to have better compatibility with the human body5. There are over 1.5 million practitioners of traditional medicinal system using medicinal plants in preventive, promotional and curative applications. Medicinal plants have attracted the attention of not only professionals from various systems of medicine, but also the scientific communities belonging to different disciplines, plants are promising source of herbal formulation6. The use of herbal drugs due to toxicity and side effects of allopathic medicines, has led to rapid increase in the number of herbal drug manufacturers. For the past few decades, herbal drugs have been more and more consumed by the people with no prescription. These drugs have survived real world testing and thousands of years of human testing. Some drugs have been discontinued due to their toxicity, while others have been modified or combined with additional herbs to counterbalance side effects. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: Indigofera aspalathoides plant are used in the treatment of skin disease in ethanomedicine. The literature survey indicates that no scientific data on the anti psoriatic activity of this plant. Various parts of these plants have been claimed to be effective in a wide range of disease .The scientifically state therapeutic properties for Indigofera aspalathoides have reported antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancerous, anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, antiviral, Antitumor activity Antidiabetic ,Wound Healing64-71 . Rationale of the study The allopathic drugs like methotrexate, corticosteroids and immuno suppressant shows effective response in psoriasis by reducing the scale ,plaque ,cell proliferation and inflammation but the adverse reaction is severe than the efficacy of the drug .the long term usage of drug causes serious adverse reaction like hepatotoxicity, renal failure sometimes leads to fatality.So the herbal drugs are safe in psoriasis treatment since the adverse effect is mild or nil and lower the cost of therapy as comparable to the allopathic medicine. The present investigation was therefore proposed to: 1. To evaluate the anti-microbial activity related to psoriasis from the different extract of whole plant of Indigofera aspalathoides. 2. To formulate herbal ointment with different extract of whole plant of indigofera aspalathoides. 3. To evaluate the formulated herbal ointment 4. To evaluate the anti-psoriatic activity of ointment by mice skin test. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: Indigofera aspalathoides plant is used in traditionally in the treatment of skin disease. The literature survey indicates that no scientific data on the anti-psoriatic activity of this plant. Various parts of this plant have been claimed to be effective in a wide range of disease. The allopathic drugs like methotrexate, corticosteroids and immune suppressants shows effective response in psoriasis by reducing the scales, plaque, cell proliferation and inflammation but the adverse reaction is severe than the efficacy of the drug. The long term usage of drug causes serious adverse reaction like hepatotoxicity, renal failure sometimes lead to fatality. So herbal drugs are safe in psoriasis treatment since the adverse effect is mild or nil and lower the cost of therapy as comparable to the allopathic medicine. The morphological and physiochemical properties of the whole plant were evaluated. Different extract of whole plant powder were prepared and these extracts were subjected to phytochemical evaluation. The ethanolic extract showed the presence of various phyto constituents such as ,Steroids, flavonoids, alkaloids and carbohydrates. All the extract was tested for anti-microbial activity. Ethyl acetate and ethanol extract showed good activity even at low concentration and also shows maximum zone of inhibition. The ethanolic extract were formulated as an ointment in a concentration of 2%w/w and 4%w/w evaluated for anti-psoriatic activity. The ointment were then pharmacologically evaluated for their anti psoriatic activity using mice skin model test. The ointment prepared with ethanolic extract showed antipsoriatic activity which was comparable to the standard clobetasol cream. The activity of ethanol extract cream was seen to be superior to standard ointment. The ethanolic extract was subjected to HPTLC finger printing to establish an identity for future comparison. An attempt was also made to isolate the active constituents from the ethanol extract. The present study confirms the anti-psoriatic activity of ethanol extract of Indigofera aspalathoides., whole plant by various studies including in vitro and in vivo as mentioned in the study .The efficacy of the ointment could also be evaluated for clinical settings