Abstract

• The present study focused on the preparation of herbal sunscreen gels from P. integrifolia stems. The qualitative preliminary phytochemical investigation was carried out by the reported chemical methods. The prepared herbal sunscreen gels by using watery and ethanol extracts were examined for evaluation parameters such as colour, odour, appearance, consistency, homogeneity, washability, pH, viscosity and sun protection factor (SPF). The prepared herbal sunscreen gels had a pleasant odour, smooth appearance, acceptable consistency, great homogeneity, ease of removal and brown for watery extract and yellowish brown for ethanol extract containing prepared gels. The pH of prepared gels was near skin pH, found to be 6.3 and 6.2 for watery and ethanol extracts containing gels. The viscosity results indicated that both of the two extracts using gels had > 5000 cP revealing the easy spreadability of gel application on the skin. The in vitro SPF values were found to be 16.16 and 13.89 for watery and ethanol extracts containing prepared gels, respectively, compared to marketed products (34.48) by using the UV spectrophotometric method. In vitro screening of antibacterial activity showed a mild antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus by the agar well diffusion method. Skin irritation tests exhibited no redness, edema, inflammation, or irritation in 10 volunteers (male/female) using patch tests. The prepared herbal sunscreen gels containing watery and ethanol extracts from P. integrifolia stem were effectively utilized as sunscreen with significant sun protection properties and were safe with respect to skin irritation and allergic sensitization. The result can form the basis for the development of novel broad-spectrum sunscreen formulations.