Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

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Original Research Article

Skin Depigmentation Activity of Crocus sativus Extract Cream

Naveed Akhtar¹, Haji Muhammad Shoaib Khan¹, Shoaib Ashraf¹, Imran Shair Mohammad²* and Atif Ali³

Department of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

2Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, PR China, 3Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan

*For correspondence: Email: imranshairmohammad@gmail.com Tel: +92-3458012087

Received: 12 June 2013 Revised accepted: 7 September 2014

Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, November 2014; 13(11): 1803-1808

http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v13i11.5

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the antioxidant activity of Crucus sativus extract and its effect on human skin using a non-invasive probe mexameter.

Methods: The antioxidant activity of C. sativus extract was determined using DPPH method. Water in oil (w/o) topical cream of C. sativus extract (3 %) was formulated and compared with the base (cream without extract). Both creams (formulation and base) were applied to the cheeks of 10 healthy human volunteers for a period of 8 weeks. Melanin and erythema values of skin were measured with a mexameter.

Results: The antioxidant activity of the extract was 81 %. Change in the levels of skin melanin and erythema was -24.04 ± 3.23 and -13.57 ± 2.28, respectively, indicating that unlike the base, the formulation containing Crocus sativus extract produced significant (p ≤ 0.05) depigmentation and anti erythemic effect on human skin.

Conclusion: Application of the formulation containing 3 % C. sativus extract to human skin may be useful in the management of melanoma. However, further studies are still required to ascertain this.

Keywords: Antioxidant, Crocus sativus, Cream, Skin, Melanin, Erythema, Depigmentation