Formulation of Anti-Fungal Cream to Treat Onychomycosis

Pharmaceutical Sciences-Microbiology for Health Care

Abstract

Onychomycosis a common nail infection caused by a fungi affects the farmers of age group between 16-30 years. The main reason for farmers to acquire this infection is that they spend a lot of time in field doing various activities which includes land preparation, plowing, manuring, spraying pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, sowing seeds, seed transplantation and harvesting etc is the main reason for them to acquire cutaneous mycoses. It can cause pain, discomfort and disfigurement and may produce serious physical and occupational limitations, as well as reducing quality of life. Onychomycosis can be initiated by three major groups of fungi: dermatophytes, yeasts, and non-dermatophytic filamentous fungi. It is a fungal infection of the nail unit, more common in toe nails than in fingernails. Up to 10% of cases of onychomycosis are caused by non-dermatophyte moulds and these are becoming more common worldwide. The aim of this study is to prepare and formulate an anti-fungal cream to treat onychomycosis infection among farmers. The methodology includes subjecting the collected samples for patch test followed by histological procedures and anti-fungal susceptibility test. An anti-fungal cream was formulated to treat this fungal nail disease. This formulation was prepared based on the traditional knowledge using different herbs. The prepared antifungal formulations showed good consistency and no evidence of phase separation during the study period.