Formulation and Evaluation of Sun Protection Factor of Poly Herbal Sunscreen Cream

Gurubarik Neelima*, Saroj Kumar Raul, Jami Kranthi, Saravakota Sandeep

Maharajah’s College of Pharmacy, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India.

*Corresponding Author E-mail: saroj.raul@rediffmail.com

ABSTRACT:

Exposure to sunlight can trigger various biological responses ranging from sunburn, Erythema to skin cancer. Synthetic sunscreen formulation available in the market poses variety of adverse effects. Therefore formulation of herbal sunscreen formulation and evaluation of its sun protection activity is an important aspect in the cosmetic industry.The aim of the present study was to formulate and evaluate the sun protection factor of poly herbal sunscreen cream. In this study five sunscreen creams were formulated using various herbal oils and tested for physiochemical parameters such as color, spreadability, viscosity, limit test for lead, consistency, odour, appearance. Studies like thermal stability, phase separation, liquefaction, centrifugation to check stability and patch test for irritancy were done.The in-vitro SPF of the formulation was determined according to the UV spectrophotometry method of Mansur et.al. The sunscreen cream of formulation (F2) produced high absorbance at 290-320 nm wavelength range and SPF obtained was 1.7208±0.12.From the result obtained in the study we conclude that all the formulation , in particularly formulation F2 significantly contribute to the preparation of photo-protective cosmetic formulation which could prevent the skin from harmful effect of Ultra Violet radiation. These formulations will help in broadening the UV protection ability of the sunscreen along with the greatest advantage of avoiding the adverse and undesired effects of synthetic sunscreen compounds.

KEYWORDS: Sun Protection Factor, Poly-herbal, UV spectroscopy, Sunscreen.

INTRODUCTION:

The rapid growth of commercially available products containing sunscreens indicates that even though a suntan is still desired people are conscious of the possible dangers of photo-ageing and skin cancer, occurring as a result of sun overexposure. The harmful effects of solar radiation are caused predominantly by the ultraviolet (UV) region of electromagnetic spectrum, which can be divided into three regions: UVA, from 320 nm to 400nm, UVB, from 290 nm to 320 nm and UVC, from 200 nm to 290 nm. UVC radiation is filtered out by the ozone layer and is responsible for the damage due to sunburn¹ .

UVA radiation reaches the deeper layer of epidermis and dermis and provokes the premature ageing of the skin^2-3 . Ultraviolet radiations have been implicated as a causative factor of skin cancer.The efficacy of sunscreen is usually expressed by the sun protection factor (SPF), which is defined as the UV energy required for producing a minimal erythema dose (MED) on protected skin, divided by the UV energy required for producing a MED on unprotected skin.

Minimal erythema dose in sunscreen protected skin

SPF = -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Minimal erythema dose in non-sunscreen protected skin

The minimal erythema dose (MED) is defined as the lowest time interval or dosage of UV light radiation sufficient to produce a minimal, perceptible erythema on unprotected skin^4-5. Nowadays because of the benefits of products containing natural compounds, acceptance of these products by the users, also the probability of the systemic absorption, using natural products that can absorb the ultraviolet radiation is of great interest. Natural substances extracted from plants have recently been considered as potential sunscreen resources because of their ultraviolet absorption in the UV region and their antioxidant activity. The photoprotection afforded by topical sunscreen against solar ultraviolet radiation exposure can be determined in vivo or in vitro and it is ideally determined by photo-testing in human volunteers. This type of determination has been used for many years and although useful and precise, is a time consuming process, complex and expensive, particularly when information concerning to the protection against long wavelength is required⁶. As a consequence, much effort has been devoted to the development of in vitro techniques for assessing the photo-protection of sunscreen compounds. The methods in vitro are in general of two types. Methods which involve the measurement of absorption or the transmission of UV radiation through sunscreen product film in Quartz plates or Biomembrane and methods in which the absorption characteristics of the sunscreen agents are determine based on spectrophotometric analysis of dilute solution.

Present herbal cosmeceuticals was a cream developed by using a variety of phytochemicals oils like red raspberry seed oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil, coriander oil, coconut oil, olive oil , which posess the properties like antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-wrinkling ,lightning, hydration glow of the skin, pigmentation reducer and prevents skin from damage. Being rich in vitamins A and E formulations prepared using these essential oils protects from UV radiation by blocking sun effect and improving the skin beauty.

The present herbal base cream was prepared by using phase inversion emulsification method. Red raspberry seed oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil coriander oil, coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, sesame oil beeswax, liquid paraffin, and water which was stabilized by employing an emulgent like sodium stearate and sodium benzoate.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials

Oils of all the plant materials and other materials used in this study were procured from different manufacturer shown in table 1.

Table.1. list of Ingredients

S.NO	NAME OF THE INGREDIENTS	MANUFACTURER
1.	Raspberry seed oil	DeveHerbes
2.	Coriander seed oil	Allin Exporter
3.	Olive oil	Chaithanya Agro Herbals
4.	Lavender oil	Chaithanya Agro Herbals
5.	Tea tree oil	Allin Exporter
6.	Vitamin- E oil	DeveHerbes
7.	Coconut oil	ITC
8.	Sesame oil	Chaithanya Agro Herbals
9.	Almond oil	Swastik Eucalyptus
10.	White bees wax	Otto chemik Manufacturers
11.	Liquid paraffin	Dr.REDDY’S
12.	Borax	MERCK Private limited
13.	Rose water	Gulabari’s
14.	Sodium benzoate	Bakers spices and ingredients
15.	Calamine	Otto chemik Manufacturers
16.	Turmeric	Chaithanya Agro Herbals
17	Brilliant Green ( FDA approved )	MERCK Private limited

Reagents

Benzene and Petroleum ether (Finar chemicals)

Instruments

UV Spectrophotometer: Agilant Cary-60

Brookfield Viscometer: LVDV-I prime, Brookfield

Engineering Laboratories Inc. ,

PH meter: ELICO LI 610

Micro centrifuge: REMI RM-12 C

FORMULATION OF SUNSCREEN CREAM

The cream bases were prepared via emulsification process, containing aqueous phase and oil phase. Briefly, an oil phase containing lipophilic substances and an aqueous phase containing hydrophilic substances were separately heated on a water bath to 75^oC.Ingredients of oil phase (A) mixed together by melting in a glass beaker on constant stirring. Components of aqueous phase (B) mixed together and warmed to about same temperature of oil phase. Aqueous phase was added to oil phase drop by drop with constant stirring and pour the mixture and add pinch of coloring agents in mortar and pestle, triturate constantly in a single direction for 10 minutes, until it attains room temperature . The resulted cream bases were optically observed for appearance, texture and spreadability. Ingredients of phase A and phase B were mentioned in the table 2.

Table 2:Ingredients of phase A and phase B

Ingredient of Phase A	Ingredient of Phase B
Almond oil Lavender oil Raspberry seed oil Vitamin-E oil Coriander oil Olive oil Tea tree oil Liquid Paraffin	Borax Sodium benzoate Rose water

Table 3: Different formulation of sunscreen cream

S.NO	Ingredients	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
1	Olive oil	-	-	-	1ml	0.5ml
2	Coriander oil	0.5ml	-	-	-	0.5ml
3	Lavender oil	1ml	1ml	-	1ml	0.5ml
4	Tea –tree oil	1ml	1ml	-	-	0.5ml
5	Raspberry seed oil	1ml	-	1ml	-	0.5ml
6	Almond oil	1ml	1ml	1ml	1ml	0.5ml
7	Coconut oil	1ml	-	1ml	1ml	1ml
8	Sesame oil	-	1ml	1ml	1ml	1ml
9	Vitamin E oil	-	1ml	1ml	-	0.5ml
10	White bees wax	4gm	4gm	4gm	4gm	4gm
11	Liquid paraffin	13ml	13ml	13ml	13ml	13ml
12	Borax	200mg	200mg	200mg	200mg	200mg
13	Sodium benzoate	100mg	100mg	100mg	100mg	100mg
14	Rose Water	2ml	2ml	2ml	2ml	2ml
15	Coloring agents	Turmeric	Calamine + turmeric	Brilliant green	Amaranth	Turmeric

Five types of sunscreen creams were prepared by changing the formula for each individual cream and the formulas were mentioned in table 3.

Physicochemical Analysis

Physical parameters of cream formulation such as color, odor, spreadability, PH, specific gravity (25°C), limit test for lead of the herbal sunscreens were determined by the standard technique and methods. Viscosity of the sunscreens was measured using a Brookfield viscometer at 10-100 rpm, measurements were made at 25°C. Stability of each sunscreen was determined by centrifugation. During centrifugation studies both sunscreens were centrifuged at 3500-13500 rpm at the interval of 10 minutes and further observe for phase separation. To ensure sunscreens are free from adverse effects a sensitivity study using patch test for irritancy was done. The results were shown in the table 4.

Table 4: Physicochemical parameters

S.no	Parameters	Cream base
		F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
1	Appearance	Smooth	Very smooth	smooth	Smooth	Smooth
2	Color	Light chocolate brown color	Cream color	Sea green	Light pink	White
3	Odour	Pleasant	Pleasant	Pleasant	Pleasant	Pleasant
4	Consistence	Semi solid	Semi solid	Semi solid	Semi solid	Semi solid
5	Patch test for irritancy	No irritation reaction persists	No irritation reaction persists	No irritation reaction persists	No irritation reaction persists	No irritation reaction persists
6	Spreadability	Good	Very good	Good	Good	Good
7	Limit test for lead	passes	passes	passes	passes	passes
8	pH	5.5	7.5	7.5	5.5	6
9	Thermal stability	passes	passes	passes	passes	passes

DETERMINATION OF SUN PROTECTION FACTOR BY MANSUR EQUATION^7-8

The efficacy of a sunscreen is expressed by the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) .An in vitro method of determining SPF of the sunscreens is by using Mansur equation.

Sample preparation

Weighed about 1.0g of the sample in a 10ml petroleum ether in a beaker. Sonicate the contents for about 10 minutes . Filter the solution through whatmann (No1) filter paper and collect the filtrate by rejecting the first few mL of the filtrate. Take 1ml of the aliquot in a 50ml volumetric flask and make up to the mark using petroleum ether. Then take 0.1mL,0.2mL of the diluted solution in to the 10ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark using petroleum ether. The absorption spectra of sample solution were obtained in the range of 250 to 400 nm using UV spectrophotometer with 1 cm quartz cell. Benzene and petroleum ether were taken as blank. The absorption data were obtained in the range of 290 to 320, every 5 nm, and 2 determinations were made for each samples.

The SPF of the samples were calculated using the below equation (a mathematical expression derived by Mansur) and the relationship between erythemogenic effect and radiation intensity at each wavelength, (EE X I) was determined.

320

SPF = CF × ∑ EE (λ) × I(λ) × Abs(λ)

290

Where: EE – Erythemal effect spectrum; I – solar intensity spectrum; Abs - absorbance of sunscreen product; CF – correction factor (= 10). The values of EE x I are constants and Sayre et al determined them.

Another sample was prepared as the above procedure by taking benzene as solvent.

SPF determination

SPF determination of the formulated creams was done by taking two different solvents Benzene and Petroleum ether as a diluents. 0.1µg/ml and 0.2 µg/ml samples were scanned in 290-400nm range and SPF values of all the five formulations are represented in table number 5 to 9 . A comparative graph of SPF value of all the five formulation in benzene and petroleum ether solvent were shown in figure 1 and 2

Table 5: SPF value for F1(Formula 1)

Wave Length		Dilution with benzene				Dilution with petroleum ether
	EE× I	F1		F1×EE×I		F1		F1×EE×I
		0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml
290	0.015	0.1832	0.2432	0.0027	0.0036	0.0740	0.0675	0.011	0.001
295	0.082	0.1621	0.1984	0.0132	0.0162	0.0431	0.0534	0.003	0.004
300	0.287	0.1201	0.1782	0.0344	0.0511	0.0361	0.0461	0.010	0.013
305	0.328	0.1048	0.1686	0.0343	0.0553	0.0267	0.0455	0.008	0.014
310	0.186	0.0734	0.1867	0.0136	0.0347	0.0212	0.0330	0.003	0.006
315	0.084	0.0428	0.1468	0.0035	0.0123	0.0129	0.0268	0.001	0.002
320	0.018	0.0413	0.0889	0.0007	0.0016	0.0164	0.0558	0.002	0.001
TOTAL				0.10247	0.1746			0.038	0.041
SPF				1.024	1.746			0.38	0.41

Table 6: SPF value for F2 (Formula 2)

Wave Length		Dilution with benzene				Dilution with petroleum ether
	EE× I	F2		F2×EE×I		F2		F2×EE×I
		0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml
290	0.015	1.1031	1.0721	0.0165	0.0160	0.1192	0.2503	0.0017	0.0037
295	0.082	1.1011	0.0267	0.0902	0.0902	0.1096	0.2104	0.0089	0.0172
300	0.287	0.0918	0.0163	0.0233	0.0263	0.1042	0.2110	0.0299	0.0605
305	0.328	0.0813	0.0124	0.0266	0.0266	0.1061	0.1910	0.0348	0.0626
310	0.186	0.0612	0.0187	0.0113	0.1138	0.0980	0.1010	0.0182	0.0187
315	0.084	0.0411	0.0272	0.0034	0.0022	0.0640	0.0986	0.0053	0.0082
320	0.018	0.0400	0.0161	0.0007	0.0002	0.0440	0.0934	0.0007	0.0016
TOTAL				0.17208	0.27534			0.0996	0.1725
SPF				1.7208	2.753			0.996	1.725

Table 7: SPF value for F3 (Formula 3)

Wave Length	EE× I	Dilution with benzene				Dilution with petroleum ether
		F3		F3×EE×I		F3		F3×EE×I
		0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µgml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µgml	0.2 µg/ml
290	0.015	0.1811	0.2541	0.027	0.0038	0.1192	0.2503	0.0017	0.0037
295	0.082	0.1513	0.1995	0.012	0.0163	0.1096	0.2104	0.0089	0.0172
300	0.287	0.1492	0.1736	0.042	0.0498	0.1042	0.2110	0.0299	0.0605
305	0.328	0.0789	0.1634	0.025	0.0538	0.1061	0.1910	0.0348	0.0626
310	0.186	0.0642	0.1432	0.011	0.0266	0.0980	0.1010	0.0182	0.0187
315	0.084	0.0496	0.1563	0.004	0.0131	0.0640	0.0986	0.0053	0.0082
320	0.018	0.0351	0.1211	0.006	0.021	0.0330	0.0834	0.0006	0.0015
TOTAL				0.1247	0.1656			0.0995	0.1724
SPF				1.247	1.656			0.995	1.724

Table 8: SPF value for F4 (Formula 4)

Wave Length		Dilution with benzene				Dilution with petroleum ether
	EE× I	F4		F4×EE×I		F4		F4×EE×I
		0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml
290	0.015	0.1876	0.2876	0.0002	0.0013	0.1032	0.1172	0.0015	0.0017
295	0.082	0.1611	0.2813	0.0132	0.0230	0.0783	0.1163	0.0064	0.0095
300	0.287	0.1596	0.2694	0.0458	0.0773	0.0812	0.1321	0.0233	0.0379
305	0.328	0.1263	0.2216	0.0414	0.0726	0.0638	0.1024	0.0209	0.0335
310	0.186	0.0984	0.1992	0.0183	0.0370	0.0516	0.0992	0.0095	0.0184
315	0.084	0.0611	0.1635	0.0051	0.0137	0.0406	0.0621	0.0034	0.0052
320	0.018	0.0501	0.1943	0.0009	0.0034	0.0302	0.0524	0.0005	0.0009
TOTAL				0.1249	0.2283			0.0655	0.1071
SPF				1.249	2.283			0.655	1.071

Table 9: SPF value for F5 (Formula 5)

Wave Length	EE× I	Dilution with benzene				Dilution with petroleum ether
		F5		F5×EE×I		F5		F5×EE×I
		0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml	0.1 µg/ml	0.2 µg/ml
290	0.015	0.1154	0.2455	0.0017	0.0036	0.1162	0.2403	0.0017	0.0036
295	0.082	0.1201	0.1994	0.0098	0.01635	0.1301	0.2183	0.0106	0.0179
300	0.287	0.1036	0.1728	0.0297	0.0495	0.1063	0.2021	0.0305	0.0580
305	0.328	0.0788	0.1668	0.0258	0.0547	0.1042	0.1686	0.0341	0.0553
310	0.186	0.0851	0.1476	0.0158	0.0274	0.0651	0.1566	0.0121	0.0291
315	0.084	0.0682	0.1527	0.0057	0.0128	0.0640	0.1303	0.0053	0.0109
320	0.018	0.0409	0.0939	0.0007	0.00169	0.0208	0.0993	0.0003	0.0017
TOTAL				0.0892	0.1661			0.0946	0.1765
SPF				0.892	1.661			0.946	1.765

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Currently there is a lot of damage to the skin caused by UV radiation .The skin incidence of UV radiation on the skin is able to promote oxidative stress inflammatory response. In the present market scenario there are wide range of sunscreen products available using both natural and synthetic ingredients. Now-a-days herbal products are of great demand due to their less side effects.

The present work was aimed for preparing a poly-herbal sunscreen cream with significant UV absorbing property. The creams were developed by using different herbal oils which possess sunscreen effect along with properties like antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-wrinkling, reduce pigmentation and prevents skin damage. Five formulations of sunscreen creams were prepared by changing composition of herbal oils, mentioned in table 3. For all the formulation different physicochemical studies like spreadability, color, Patch test for irritancy, appearance, pH, thermal stability, consistence, odor, limit test for lead were performed and shown in table 4.

The SPF is the quantitative measurement of the effectiveness of the sunscreen formulation, to be effective in preventing sunburn and other skin damages. A sunscreen product should have wide range absorbance between 290-400 nm. SPF (Sun Protection Factor) determination was performed by UV spectrophotometric method and Mansur’s equation, the results were shown in the table 5 to 9.

The SPF (Sun Protection Factor) values indicates all the formulations having good UV absorbing properties in which formulation 2 (F2) is comparatively better. A comparative SPF (Sun Protection Factor) values for all the five formulations were shown in the figure 1and2.

Figure 1: Comparative SPF values of 0.1µg/ml Dilutions

Figure 2: Comparative SPF values of 0.2µg/ml Dilutions

CONCLUSION:

From the result obtained in this present study we can conclude that the formulated sunscreen creams with various herbal oils is having very good and significant UV absorbing property. As formulated sunscreen creams are from natural origin, it must have less side effects as compared to the marketed synthetic creams. Among all the formulations F2 shows better UV absorbing activity.

This formulations will be considered as a better, cheaper and safe alternative herbal sunscreen cream as compared to the harmful synthetic sunscreens that used now-a-days.

REFERENCE:

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Received on 15.05.2016 Accepted on 23.05.2016

©A&V Publications all right reserved

Research J. Topical and Cosmetic Sci. 7(1): Jan.-June 2016 page 09-14

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5844.2016.00002.9