OBJECTIVES: In this study, Chromolaena odorata gel and quercetin gel (bioactive flavonoid compound) were successfully formulated and compared with placebo and conventional wound aid gel. The chromatographic profilling was conducted to screen the presence of phytoconstituents. Subsequently, all formulated gels were subjected to physical characteristic and stability study.
METHODS: Reverse Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) of C.odorata methanolic leaves extract shows a distinct compound separation at retention time 8.4min to 34.8 min at 254nm. All gels were characterised by evaluating their rheological properties including storage modulus, loss modulus and plastic viscosity. Besides, texture analysis was performed to measure the gels' firmness, consistency, cohesiveness, and viscosity index.
RESULTS: From the observation, C. odorata gel demonstrated better spreadability as compared to the other gels, which acquired less work and favourable to be applied onto the skin. Moreover, C. odorata gel showed no changes in organoleptic properties and proven to be stable after 30 days of accelerated stability study at 40°C ± 2°C with relative humidity (RH) of 75%± 5%.
CONCLUSION: C. odorata gel has shown to be stable, reflecting the combination of materials used in the formulation, which did not degrade throughout the study. This work suggests the potential of this gel as a vehicle to deliver the active ingredients of C. odorata to the skin, which can be further explored as a topical application in antimicrobial wound management or other skin diseases study.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The HVGICs evaluated were Zirconomer [ZR] (Shofu), Equia Forte [EQ] (GC) and Riva [RV] (SDI). Sixty specimens (12mm x 2mm x 2mm) of each material were fabricated using customized Teflon molds. After initial set, the specimens were removed from their molds, finished, measured and randomly divided into 3 groups of 20. Half the specimens in each group were left uncoated while the remaining half was covered with the respective manufacturers' resin coating. The specimens were subsequently conditioned in distilled water, artificial saliva or citric acid at 37°C for 7 days. The uncoated and coated specimens (n=10) were then subjected to dynamic mechanical testing in flexure mode at 37°C with a frequency of 0.1 to 10Hz. Storage modulus, loss modulus and loss tangent data were subjected to normality testing and statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA/Scheffe's post-hoc test and Ttest at significance level p<0.05.
RESULTS: Mean storage modulus ranged from 1.39 ± 0.36 to 10.80 ± 0.86 GPa while mean loss modulus varied from 0.13 ± 0.03 to 0.70 ± 0.14 GPa after conditioning in the different mediums. Values for loss tangent ranged from 39.4 ± 7.75 to 213.2 ± 20.11 (x10 -3 ). Significant differences in visco-elastic properties were observed between mediums and materials. When conditioned in distilled water and artificial saliva,storage modulus was significantly improved when ZR, EQ and RV were uncoated. Significantly higher values were, however, observed with resin coating when the materials were exposed to citric acid.
CONCLUSION: The visco-elastic properties of HVGICs were influenced by both resin coating and chemical environment.