| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
Background: Tinea corporis is a superficial dermatophyte infection that is highly prevalent (20–25%)and can be problematic if poorly managed. Its management today with oral and topical antifungal agents is associated with increasing resistance and this calls for more intervention. The efficacy of some of these hasbeen proven but little pharmaceutical development has been done.Cassia alata has shown considerable efficacy and has been chosen for the formulation of GO-TINEA for management of Tinea Corporis. General objective: To develop a herbal cream from Cassia alata for management of Tinea Corporis. Specific objectives: To formulate a herbal cream containing the ethanolic extract of Cassia alata for management of Tinea corporis and to determine the acute of the prepared herbal cream. METHODS:This was an experimental study to formulate a herbal antifungal cream containing ethanolic extract of Cassia alata against cutaneous Tinea corporis.The ethanolic extract was screened for presence flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and Saponins. The antifungal assay of the extract was demonstrated using Trichophyton rubrum cultured on PDA using Ketoconazole as the positive control. The MIC was determined and used during formulation of GO-TINEA. GO-TINEA was also tested for acute dermotoxicity by applying a large amount of cream and the site inspected for any cutaneous changes within 24 hours. RESULTS: A soft extract was obtained from Cassia alata leaves by maceration with 96% ethanol. The extract had antifungal activity against Trichophyton rubrum with an MIC of 9.137mg/ml. GO-TINEA was formulated with strengths of 1%, 2% and 5%.The 1% GO-TINEA had the lowest dermal irritation score and therefore the safest for topical use.
CONCLUSION:A herbal cream, GO-TINEA from the ethanolic leaf extract of Cassia alata has activity against Trichophyton rubrum and can be considered an alternative to conventional creams like ketoconazole cream. It is also safe for topical use.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The prevalence of superficial mycotic infection worldwide is 20–25% of which dermatophytes are the most common agents (Sahoo and Mahajan 2016). Dermatophytosis is therefore currently a disease of global importance and a public health burden. It is caused by dermatophytes, which attack and grow on dead animal keratin. Tinea corporis is the second most clinical type, after Tinea capitis (Nweze and Eke 2017). Dermatophytes are a group of filamentous fungi referred to as the ringworm fungi. They are keratinolytic and invade keratinized tissues causing mostly superficial infections involving the skin, hair and nails. They are amongst the most common causes of skin disease in the world, and the real prevalence is probably underestimated (Hayette and Sacheli 2015). The most common and most widely distributed etiological agent is Trichophyton rubrum, which causes different types of infection in different parts of the world (Oke, Onayemi et al. 2014). The other pathogenic fungi commonly known to cause Tinea corporis include Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Currently, the treatment of these dermatophytoses is by oral or topical antifungal agents. Examples of these antimycotics include itraconazole, fluconazole, griseofulvin, terbinafine etc.(Gupta and Foley 2015). However, due to the increasing development of drug resistance in human pathogens as well as the appearance of undesirable effect of certain antimicrobial agents, there is a need to search for new agents. The use | en_US |
