Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Triphala Constituents and Nanoformulation

The prevalence of nosocomial infections due to multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial strains is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Folk medicine and ethnopharmacological data can provide a broad range of plants with promising antimicrobial activity. Triphala, an Ayurvedic formula composed of three different plants: Terminalia chebula Retz., Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. (Combretaceae), and Phyllanthus emblica L. (Phyllanthaceae), is used widely for various microbial infections. Various extraction techniques were applied in the extraction of the biologically active constituents of Triphala in order to compare their efficiency. Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was shown to be the most efficient method based on yield, extraction time, and selectivity. The Triphala hydroalcoholic extract (TAE) has been chemically characterized with spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques. Triphala hydroalcoholic extract was evaluated alone or with carvacrol. Different drug formulations including cream and nanoemulsion hydrogel were prepared to assess the antimicrobial activity against selected microorganism strains including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. We used a lipophilic oil of carvacrol (5 mg/mL) and a hydrophilic TAE (5 mg/mL) ingredient in a dosage form. Two solutions were created: hydrogel containing nanoemulsion as a lipophilic vector dispersed in the gel as a hydrophilic vehicle and a cream formulation, an oil-in-water emulsion. In both cases, the concentration was 250 mg of active ingredient in 50 mL of final formulation. The formulas developed were stable from a physical and chemical perspective. In the nanoemulsion hydrogel, the oil droplet size ranged from 124 to 129 nm, with low polydispersity index (PdI) 0.132 ± 0.013 and negative zeta potential −46.4 ± 4.3 mV. For the cream, the consistency factor (cetyl alcohol and white wax) induced immobilization of the matrix structure and the stability. Triphala hydroalcoholic extract in drug nanoformulation illustrated might be an adjuvant antimicrobial agent for treating various microbial infections.