Formulation, Evaluation and Comparative Assessment of an Alcohol-Free Herbal Mouthwash Containing Leea macrophylla Leaf Extract: Phytochemical, Antimicrobial and Stability Studies

Abstract

The present research was designed to formulate and test an alcohol free herbal mouth wash using an extract from the leaves of Leea macrophylla. The phytochemical screening was conducted after macerating the leaves in 70% ethanol. Four different formulations (F1 to F4) of mouthwash were prepared and tested for appearance, color, odor, taste, homogeneity, pH, viscosity, specific gravity, antimicrobial activity and short-term stability. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, tannins, glycosides, steroids and terpenoids. The pH of all formulations were found to be acceptable ranging from 6.12 ± 0.05– 6.48 ± 0.03. The activity of the plant extract was found to be enhanced with the rise in concentration. But F4 yielded maximum inhibition zone against Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans and exhibited slight turbidity, sedimentation and high bitter taste. F3 demonstrated inhibition zones of 16.67 ± 0.58, 15.00 ± 1.00 and 12.67 ± 0.58 mm against the respective microorganisms. It has been chosen to be the optimized formulation due to its good antimicrobial activity, good taste, physical stability and homogeneity. After 90 days stability, no significant changes in physical appearance, odor, uniformity or precipitation were noted. The preliminary data indicated that L. macrophylla leaf extract could be a potential herbal source for formulation of mouthwash. There is a need for more standardization, safety testing and clinical evaluation