The technological functionalization of hydrogel containing Pelargonium sidoides DC. root extract

Aim: to produce hydrogel with antibacterial properties and to evaluate it physical properties. Objectives: 1) To pick the right ingredients and prepare the procedure for hydrogel containing Pelargonium sidoides DC. root extract production. 2) To pick the most suitable microbiological analysis methods in order to determine the antibacterial properties of the hydrogel. 3) To assess the quality and the stability of the gel. Objective: hydrogel containing Pelargonium sidoides DC. root extract that is supposed to be used for wound healing. Methods: Research of the antibacterial properties of gels containing Pelargonium sidoides DC. dry root extract using stiff Mueller - Hinton agar. The technical properties and the stability of the produced semi-solid formulation were researched by pH means, texture analysis, centrifugation, evaluation of organoleptic properties and by assessing the viscosity of the product. The microscope was used to determine the evenness of the formulation. Results and the conclusion: Ingredients used to make the gel: the active substance - Pelargonium sidoides DC. dry root extract. Complementary substances: sodium - carboxymethylcellulose and 2 - phenoxyethanol. The gels with Pelargonium sidoides DC. dry root extract suppressed the following microbial strains: S. aureus, E. faecalis, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, E. coli, B. cereus, B. subtilis and P. mirabilis fungus. Only C. albicans fungus had been resistant. The gels containing 20% PS root extract had stronger antibacterial properties against E. coli bacterial culture compared to the gels with 15% PS root extract. It had been established, that the higher sodium - carboxymethylcellulose polymer and Pelargonium sidoides DC. dry root extract levels, the bigger is the dynamic viscosity of gels, the texture analysis had shown that the firmness, consistency, cohesiveness and index of viscosity also grow exponentially. The pH research results had shown that when the concentration of sodium - carboxymethylcellulose is higher, the pH of the gels grow accordingly. In the opposite manner, when the concentration of Pelargonium sidoides DC. root extract rises, the pH gets lower. All of the gels have acidic pH, which is known to be beneficial to healing of wounds and controlling of bacterial infections. Stability test of the gels after 1 and 3 months in room temperature had shown that gel G – 4 ranks the highest in stability (4 proc. Na - KMC and 20 proc. PS). Almost all of the qualitative research differences were statistically insignificant (p>0,05). The least stable was the G – 2 sample (3 proc. Na – KMC and 20 proc. PS)