Development, characterization and evaluation of herbal ointment containing momordica charantia, pongamia glabra and piper nigrum

Objective: The objective of present study was the development, characterization and evaluation of poly-herbal ointment formulation of pongamia glabra, piper nigrum and momordica charantia extract. Plant derived substances and herbal medicines have recently attracted the great interest towards their versatile application. Medicinal plants are the richest source of bioactive compounds used in traditional and modern medicine. The ointment formulation of plant extract has a sound approach to develop a poly-herbal ointment. The poly-herbal ointment formulation was evaluated for its physicochemical parameters like color, odor, pH, spreadability, extrudability, consistency, diffusibility, solubility, washability and stability. Materials and methods: Extract of all three plants has been separated by the soxhlet extraction. Poly-herbal ointment has been prepared by mixing the extract of momordica charantia, pongamia glabra and piper nigrum with wool fat, Cetostearyl alcohol and paraffin. Results and conclusion: Physicochemical evaluation shows that the poly-herbal ointment fulfilled the criteria as herbal formulation and irritancy test also performed indicate the effectiveness and efficacy of prepared ointment formulations. The poly-herbal ointment formulations were also evaluated for its stability at various temperature conditions which shows no change in the irritancy, spreadability and diffusion study. Thus it could become a medium to use the medicinal properties of extracts effectively and easily as a simple dosage form. Keywords: Momordica charantia, pongamia glabra, piper nigrum, ointment, Cetostearyl alcohol