From Weed to Wonder Herb: Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L) in Traditional and Modern Medicine

In current scenarios the dermatological problems have emerged to be one of the major concern across the globe. Eczema, or atopic dermatitis is the most common types of prevalent dermatological conditions. Topical corticosteroids are majorly used for the testing eczema hut due to many adverse reactions there is a need for exploring an adjuvant therapy for treating eczema.(1) The extract of plant Portulaca Oleracea of family Portulacae had shown the potential towards eczema and other dermatological diseases. One of the more advanced methods of topical drug delivery is topical gel formulation. The manufacture of gels using the extract of the Portulaca Oleracea plant, which belongs to the Portulacae family. In this study formulation of gel with aqueous extract of Portulaca Oleraca L was done. The gel was prepared at various combinations of aqueous extract (5% & 10%) from Portulaca oleracea leaves were tested with the polymers of Carbopol 940. The formulated gel was then evaluated on various parameters. Firstly, the aqueous extract of Portulaca Oleraca L was evaluated for its organoleptic properties, pH determination was done, melting point was assessed. After formulation of gel evaluation of different parameters such as UV spectroscopy, FTIR analysis, viscosity and spreadebility were assessed. After the formulation preparation it was noticed that aqueous extract was of light greenish yellow to green solid colour, odorless, slightly fussy in taste with pH 6.13. Its Spreadability was found as 19.79 for 5 % aqueous concentration and 22.5 for 10% aqueous extract of Portulaca Oleraca L. The gel formulated was found stable for thermal stress test and no separation of phase were reported. Since Portulaca Oleraca L has shown potential anti-inflammatory, anti-analgesic and anti-microbial activities, this plant can be a future boom towards treating different dermatological diseases. Previous research had shown the effectiveness of extract of Portulaca Oleraca L towards different dermatological diseases also many animal models had also shown beneficial effects towards dermatological diseases like atopic dermatitis. Preparation of gels with Portulaca Oleraca L has shown good stability. This study thus opens up the doors for further research on plant Portulaca Oleraca L to assess different pharmacological activity and different formulation can be developed for further research.