Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXVI, Issue 1
Written by Ramona-Daniela PAVALOIU, Fawzia SHAAT, Cristina HLEVCA, Georgeta NEAGU, Adela STARAS, Lucia PIRVU
The use of herbal cosmetics is increasing in the world market, due to the good activity with no side effects of the active ingredients from plant extracts as compared to synthetic compounds. The aim of the present study was to formulate and characterize herbal creams containing several plant extracts (Arctium lappa, Magnolia virginiana, Tiliae flos) in different combinations. The creams were prepared with different ratio of plant extracts and essential oils, while the composition of the cream base was kept the same. The characterization of the formulated creams was carried out by standard methods, for evaluating the organoleptic characteristics, physicochemical properties, microbiological contamination level and in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Also, the plant extracts were evaluated in terms of cytotoxicity using MTS/MTT assay on L-929 fibroblasts. The creams were homogeneous, non-irritant and easily removable. The pH of creams was in the range of 5.0-5.5 which is safe for human skin. The samples were found to be populated with aerobic bacteria, yeast and fungi up to 10 CFU/g and showed moderate antibacterial activity.
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