Development and evaluation of neem herbal hand wash

Abstract

Hands are the main transmission route for microorganisms and infectious diseases. Hand washing is very important in food health, home cooking, and day care. The purpose of hand washing in the health care is to remove pathogenic microorganisms ("germs") and avoid transmitting them. Hand washing removes visible dirt from hands and reduce the number of harmful microorganisms. In the present study herbal handwash was developed using ethanolic extract of Azadirachtaindica (Neem). This plant is historically known to have many therapeutic uses. Herbal handwash was developed by using Carbopol-930 as Jelling agent, methyl paraben used as neutralizer and Sodium lauryl sulphate as surfactant. The Hand wash showed a multipurpose effect and all these herbal ingredients showed significant different activities. The ingredient use in herbal hand wash having properties cleaning, remove dirt as well as promote healing. The prepared formulation were evaluated based on number of criteria including consistency, pH test, spread ability, stability test, cleansing test, foam ability and grittiness.