Abstract

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF GHAZA - A UNANI COSMECEUTICAL FORMULATION FOR SKINCARE

Farheen Begum* and Mohammad Idris

Abstract

Natural remedies are more acceptable in the belief that they are safer with fewer side effects than the synthetic ones. Demands of herbal cosmeceutical formulations are growing in the world market. In Unani system of Medicine, numerous cosmeceutical formulations for skincare are found which contain all natural ingredients. Ghaza is one of them. It is a Unani cosmeceutical dosage form for skincare and enhancement of skin complexion. The present work deals with the development and evaluation of ghaza. The fourteen (14) ingredients were selected after an exhaustive search of Unani classical literature. They possess the jali (detergent) and tehseen-e-laun (complexion enhancer) properties. In the current literature, all ingredients have been reported as having significant anti-microbial and anti-oxidant activity. The ghaza was evaluated by a battery of physico-chemical tests, viz., organoleptic characteristics, feel or consistency, ph, particle size, solubility, bulk density and tapped density, Hausner’s ratio (hr), compressibility index, loss of weight on drying, ash value, moisture content, volatile oil content, determination of crude fibres, skin sensitivity, qualitative analysis and heavy metal analysis. Based on the observations and results of the undertaken study, it is concluded that ghaza based on Unani single drugs is a best Unani cosmeceutical formulation for skincare.

Keywords: Ghaza, Unani cosmeceutical formulation, jali, tehseen e laun.