Formulation and physicochemical evaluation of toothpaste formulated with Thymus vulgaris essential oil

Introduction: Streptococcus mutans is the most common cause of tooth decay. Parabens, and other commonly used as anti-Streptococcus agents in toothpaste industry have numerous side effects such as discoloration of teeth. Thymus vulgaris essential oil has profound antimicrobial activity against a wide range of species. The aim of present study was the aim of the present study was to formulate and evaluate the physicochemical properties of a kind of toothpaste formulated with Thymus vulgaris essential oil. Thyme oil components were also analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS).Methods: Toothpaste was formulated in forms of gel and opaque and Thyme essence was added to it. The formulation was evaluated in terms of stability in different temperatures, pH, consistency, uniformity, taste, smell, and compatibility with special packaging for toothpaste at three temperatures. Profilometry was used to determine abrasivity. The rate of contaminations with lead and arsenic was determined by atomic absorption. The amount of fluoride was measured by potentiometry.Results: Forty-one different components, representing 99.64 of the total oil were identified in essential oil. Addition of thyme essence to formulation had no deleterious effect in stability, consistency, taste and smell. The pH of opaque and gel formulations was 7.02 and 7.45, respectively. The abrasiveness of opaque and gel formulations was in standard ranges. The fluoride content was 1000 ppm. Lead and arsenic were not detected at all.Conclusion: Formulation of toothpaste with T. vulgaris essential oil was acceptable and might be considered as a desirable herbal toothpaste

Comparison of efficacy and safety of atorvastatin 5% lotion and betamethasone 0.1% lotion in the treatment of scalp seborrheic dermatitis

Mohammadreza Sobhan,1 Ghazal Gholampoor,2 Farzin Firozian,3,4 Younes Mohammadi,5 Maryam Mehrpooya21Psoriasis Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Farshchian Hospital, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; 2Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; 3Medicinal Plants and Natural Products Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; 4Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; 5Modeling of Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, IranPurpose: Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that mainly affects areas rich in sebaceous glands, such as the scalp. Although the exact cause of SD is not clearly understood, it seems that skin colonization with Malassezia fungus and the inflammatory responses of the immune system to this fungus play an important role in the pathology of SD. Recently a growing body of evidence has shown anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal effects of statins. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of topical atorvastatin in the treatment of scalp SD.Patients and methods: In this double-blind, clinical trial, 86 patients with mild-to-moderate scalp SD were divided into either atorvastatin (n=45) or betamethasone groups (n=41) by block randomization method. In addition to the ketoconazole 2% shampoo (3 times per week), the atorvastatin group received atorvastatin 5% lotion and the betamethasone group received betamethasone 0.1% lotion daily for 4 weeks. The SD severity of each patient was determined by Symptom Scale of Seborrheic Dermatitis (SSSD) at baseline and 4 weeks after treatment. Also, the patient’s satisfaction of the treatment and adverse effects were investigated through individual reporting.Results: After 4 weeks of treatment, the score of SD severity decreased significantly in both groups, while changes of SSSD score from baseline to the fourth week of treatment were comparable in the two groups (P-value=0.476). Regarding patient’s satisfaction of the treatment, results demonstrated the non-inferiority of atorvastatin as compared to betamethasone. Topical atorvastatin was also well-tolerated in almost all patients.Conclusion: Although preliminary, the results of the present study showed that topical atorvastatin has a comparable effect to topical betamethasone and can be considered as an alternative therapeutic modality in the treatment of scalp SD. However, these results need to be confirmed in future studies while taking into consideration the improvement of topical statin formulations.Keywords: seborrheic dermatitis, anti-inflammatory effects, topical statin, skin disorder