FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL HERBAL GEL FROM COCOS NUCIFERA L. SHELL EXTRACTS FOR THE TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY.

The present research involved developing an antimicrobial herbal gel using extracts from the shell of Cocos nucifera L. to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of the formulation for potential use in topical drug delivery. The extracts of coconut shell in different solvents such as water, petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol were screened for antimicrobial activity against the causative organisms Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Trichophyton rubrum by well diffusion method. The results of the antimicrobial study demonstrated that the extracted sample exhibits potent activity against the used causative microorganisms with maximum inhibition comparable with the standard. According to studies, the antibacterial activity confirmed that the extracts of water, petroleum ether, and chloroform were more effective against S. aureus than that of E. coli, while methanol extract was similarly effective on both bacterial strains used. The extracted sample showed more potent antifungal activity against C. albicans and A. niger than T. rubrum. The significant antimicrobial activity may be due to their phytochemical compounds. Thus, from the antimicrobial study, we came to know that the extract obtained from petroleum ether solvent is more effective against microbial strain used. Then, the herbal gel was prepared using selected herbal extract and pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. The prepared herbal gel was subjected to physical evaluation. The gel's physical characteristics met the required benchmarks. Hence, the study can be concluded that the extracts obtained from C. nucifera shell were stable, effective and safe; thus, the herbal gel prepared from the extract was found to have promising antimicrobial activity against many skin-related infections, but more research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]