Abstract
Acne vulgaris occurs due to the inflammation of sebaceous follicles in the skin. It is triggered by the activity of some bacterial species like Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Acquisition of antibiotic resistance by these microorganisms and adverse effects associated with the current treatment regimens necessitate the introduction of novel therapeutic agents for acne vulgaris. Thus, this study was undertaken to develop novel gel formulations from seeds of Nigella sativa L. and to evaluate the antibacterial potential against some acne-causing bacterial species. The antibacterial activity of seed extracts was initially screened against S. aureus and P. acnes by the agar well diffusion method. Thereafter, topical gels were formulated incorporating the ethyl acetate extract of seeds of N. sativa at three different concentrations. These topical formulations were subjected to antimicrobial activity studies while the stability was evaluated over a period of 30 days. All three formulations were capable of inhibiting the growth of S. aureus and P. acnes, with the highest antibacterial activity in the formulation comprising 15% of the seed extract. Interestingly, the antibacterial potency of this formulation against S. aureus surpassed the commercial synthetic product used as the positive control. Moreover, any alteration in color, odor, homogeneity, washability, consistency, and pH was not observed while the antibacterial potency was also retained during the storage period. The potent antibacterial activity in topical gel formulations developed from the ethyl acetate extract of N. sativa signposts their suitability as alternatives to existing antiacne agents in the management of acne vulgaris.
Highlights
Mueller Hinton Agar (MHA) plates were inoculated with a saline suspension of bacteria prepared using isolated colonies of one-day-old pure cultures of S. aureus (ATCC 25923) obtained from the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. e turbidity of the bacterial suspension was adjusted to that of McFarland 0.5 standard. ereafter, wells (6 mm diameter and 5 mm depth) were prepared in these culture plates at equidistance using a sterilized cork borer. e wells were filled with 50 μL of each of the test solutions (20 mg/mL of hexane, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate extracts dissolved in 2% DMSO) separately. ereafter, the plates were incubated at 37°C overnight, and the zone of inhibition around each well was measured
In order to ensure that the incorporation of above concentrations of ethyl acetate extract for the gel formulations has an advantage of inhibiting the bacterial growth, the antibacterial activity of the extract at these concentrations was evaluated by the agar well diffusion method against S. aureus and P. acnes
Among the three crude extracts tested, the highest activity against S. aureus was observed in the ethyl acetate extract with a zone of inhibition of 12 ± 0.0 mm in diameter. e zones of inhibition of 7 ± 0.0 mm in diameter were detected for both hexane and methanol extracts. e positive control, coamoxiclav, exhibited a zone of inhibition of 31 ± 0.0 mm while any zone of inhibition was not observed for the negative control, 2% DMSO. erefore, further investigations were conducted using the ethyl acetate extract
Summary
Development of Novel Topical Cosmeceutical Formulations from Nigella sativa L. with Antimicrobial Activity against Acne-Causing Microorganisms. Acne vulgaris occurs due to the inflammation of sebaceous follicles in the skin. It is triggered by the activity of some bacterial species like Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Us, this study was undertaken to develop novel gel formulations from seeds of Nigella sativa L. and to evaluate the antibacterial potential against some acne-causing bacterial species. Ereafter, topical gels were formulated incorporating the ethyl acetate extract of seeds of N. sativa at three different concentrations. E potent antibacterial activity in topical gel formulations developed from the ethyl acetate extract of N. sativa signposts their suitability as alternatives to existing antiacne agents in the management of acne vulgaris Any alteration in color, odor, homogeneity, washability, consistency, and pH was not observed while the antibacterial potency was retained during the storage period. e potent antibacterial activity in topical gel formulations developed from the ethyl acetate extract of N. sativa signposts their suitability as alternatives to existing antiacne agents in the management of acne vulgaris
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