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Formulation of Hand Sanitizers from Herbs: A Review
Article in International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) · January 2018
DOI: 10.21275/SR20618124801
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International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
ResearchGate Impact Factor (2018): 0.28 | SJIF (2019): 7.583
Formulation of Hand Sanitizers from Herbs: A
Review
Jyotsana Singh Chandravanshi1, Alibha Rawat2, N. Ganesh3
1, 2, 3
Department of Research, JNCHRC, Idgah Hills, Bhopal, India
Abstract: Hand sanitizer is an alternative to the hand washing with soap and water. Hand sanitizer is the most important measure to
avoid the transmission of harmful microbes and prevent the infections, to keep the skin safe from harmful microorganisms and to
prevent spreading of many infectious diseases. Hand sanitizers are available in the form of liquid, foam or easy flowing gel formulation.
Both alcohol and alcohol-free hand sanitizers are available in the market. But the regular use of alcoholic sanitizer destroys your hand
skin; therefore, there is a need to prepare alcohol-free sanitizer and herbal hand sanitizer which is mild to skin and effective at killing
germs. Plants are rich source of vast variety of secondary metabolities such as tannins, terpeoids, alkaloids and flavonoids etc. and
which have been found to possess antimicrobial properties. The current review work attempts to summarize the work of researchers in
India and worldwide who are engaged in the studies of herbs as potential antimicrobials for the development of herbal hand sanitizers.
Method: Extensive electronic search was used to collect and analyze relevant data on herbal sanitizers using PubMed, EMBASE and
Cochrane. Result: Various relevant studies were obtained that threw light on the herbal antimicrobial properties and their potential use
as hand sanitizers. Some herbs that are used to prepare herbal hand sanitizers are Ocimum sanctum (tulsi leaves), Eugenia caryophyllus
(clove), Cymbopogon flexuous (lemon grass), Aloe baarbadensis (aloe), Mentha arvensis (mint), Azadirachata indica (neem),
Eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus). In the current era of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, the applications of these sanitizers have become
double fold and these are much needed. Several herbal sanitizers are being introduced in the market such as Puro herbal hand sanitizer
gel, Himalaya pure hand sanitizer, and Feel Alive hand sanitizer etc.
Keywords: Alcohol, alcohol-free, alkaloids, antimicrobial properties, flavonoids, hand sanitizer, herbal hand sanitizer, microbes, tannins,
terpenoids
1. Introduction These products are generally used by the doctors, surgeons
before and after the surgery, pathologists and researchers
Hands are the first and the most important mode of and also at restaurants, toiletries, etc. The medical and
transmission of microbes and infections. Hand hygiene is applied life science colleges in their laboratories also have
the most important measure to avoid the transmission of hand sanitizers, which the students use after every practical
harmful microbes and prevent the infections. To keep the class (Ali et al., 2015).
skin safe from harmful microorganisms and to prevent
spreading of many infectious diseases, proper hand washing Several studies have been done in the field of antimicrobial
and hand sanitizing is absolutely an important precaution. activities of herbs. One such important work done by
People working in hospitals and laboratories need to keep Balakrishna et al., (2018) to evaluate the antibacterial
their hands clean to avoid infections, so hand washing and efficacy of various herbal oils such as Cinnamon oil,
hand sanitization play important role (Ghosh et.al., 2018). Eucalyptus oil, menthol oil and lavender oil and found that
cinnamon oil showed better antibacterial activity. They also
Hand sanitizers decrease the level of microorganisms by formulated and evaluated poly-herbal hand wash gel
killing them chemically, just like disinfectants kill the germs containing Azadirachta indica, Ocimum sanctum and Citrus
on environmental surfaces. The hand sanitizers are available lemon extracts. The anti-microbial activity of the
in the form of liquid, foam or easy flowing gel formulation formulated herbal hand wash gel was tested against
(Ali et al., 2015). Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella by
spread plate techniques and the results obtained were
The alcoholic gel-based sanitizers have gained successful compared with commercial antibacterial standards and found
profit in consumer markets. The products are effective and to be very effective and supported the use of herbs in the
appropriate to use but regular use of these sanitizers destroys formulations of hand sanitizers to give a better effect1.
your hand skin; therefore, the need for non-flammable hand
sanitizer, mild to skin and effective at killing germs were Another relevant study involves the preparation of herbal
required. To fulfill the needs of the demanding market for hand sanitizer using leaves extracts of Ocimum sanctum,
herbal softer sanitizers, various non-alcohol hand sanitizers Eugeniacaryophyllus and Cymbopogon flexuous by
effective against bacteria came into being. Thombare et al., (2015)4. The prepared herbal hand
sanitizer gave better results than the commercially available
Herbal hand sanitizer prepared from herbs consist of synthetic hand sanitizer against Staphylococcus aureus and
combination of alcoholic extracts of Ocimum sanctum , Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It also showed better efficacy in
Eucalyptus globules , Azadirachta indica , Cuscuta reflexa , reducing higher number of microorganisms from the hands
Mentha arvensis showed potent antimicrobial activity as compared to commercial synthetic hand sanitizer. Thus,
(Wani et.al., 2013). the study supported the use of herbal extracts in
the preparation of herbal hand sanitizers on commercial
scale.
Volume 9 Issue 6, June 2020
www.ijsr.net
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: SR20618124801 DOI: 10.21275/SR20618124801 1399
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
ResearchGate Impact Factor (2018): 0.28 | SJIF (2019): 7.583
In a study done by Yousaf Ali (2015), the effectiveness of
both Alcohol/ non-alcohol based hand sanitizers were tested
against the standard Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. The
evaluation of the hand sanitizer is done by Kirby-Bauer
technique. In the study, the non-alcoholic sanitizer viz.
Alemlaq (Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium chloride) was
found to be more effective than other alcoholic sanitizer
against Staphylococcus aureus. Similarly Lux (Sodium
laurate) was found to be more effective than other alcoholic
sanitizer against E. coli.
Thus, the various studies done to prepare herbal hand
sanitizer incorporating the leaves extracts of various selected
plants with multidimensional activities with their respective
antimicrobial efficacy and efficiency supported the use of
herbs for the formulation of hand sanitizer. These were
evaluated against specified microorganisms like (Bacteria-
E. coli, Pseudomonas aeuroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus,
Bacillus subtilis and Fungi- Sacchromyces cerevisiae and
Candida albicans) by culture sensitivity test. The
significance was found to be more in comparison to the
standard reference.
2. Conclusion
It is concluded from the various studies that herbs are very
useful agents that can be used as hand sanitizers with lesser
side effects and long lasting effects. These herbal
formulations have shown even better results than the
commercially available alcohol-based sanitizers. Some
useful Indian herbs that can be used for sanitizer making are
Cuscuta reflexa, Eucalyptus globulus, Ocimum sanctum,
Ocimum grarissum, Azadirachata indica, aloe, Mentha
arvensis, Ocimum sanctum, Eugeniacaryophyllus and
Cymbopogon flexuous as some of these have been found to
be effective against pathogenic bacteria like Staph aureus,
E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with no side effects on
human tissue.
References
[1] Balakrishna Acharya, Saradindu Ghosh, Giriraj Yadav,
Kavita Sharma, Sirsendu Ghosh, Sushil Joshi,
“Formulation, Evalution and Antibacterial Efficiency of
Water-based Herbal Hand Sanitizer Gel”;
ResearchGate, July-2018.
[2] Yousaf Adam Ali, “To study the effect of Hand
Sanitizers used In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Against the
common Bacterial Pathogens. International research
journal of natural and applied sciences, Volume -
2,Issue-2, Februry 2015,ISSB No:22349-4077.
[3] Nand Kishore S. Wani, Ashish K. Bhalerao,Vikram P.
Ranaware, Rahul Zanje. Formulation and Evaluation of
Herbal Sanitizer. International Journal of Pharm Tech
Research, Volume-5, No.1, pp 40-43, January-March
2013.
[4] Mithun A. Thombare, babaso V. Udugade, Tushar P.
Hol, Manoj B. Mulik, Dnyaneshwar A. Pawade.
Formulation and evaluation of novel herbal hand
sanitizer. Indo american journal of pharm
research.2015:5(01).
Volume 9 Issue 6, June 2020
www.ijsr.net
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: SR20618124801
View publication stats DOI: 10.21275/SR20618124801 1400
