Assessment of Subchronic Dermal Toxicity of Ziziphus oenoplia extract incorporated Carbopol hydrogel on New Zealand White Rabbits

Since the ancient times herbal formulations have been used in the ailment of various diseases. The plant Ziziphus oenoplia is also known for its various pharmacological activities including wound healing property. But evaluation of the safety of the herbal formulations after application is necessary for their acceptance in the scientific community. As a result, in the current research work sub-chronic dermal toxicity of Ziziphus oenoplia extract incorporated herbal hydrogel was conducted to evaluate its safety profile upon application on the skin. Three different doses of extract loaded hydrogel (1g/kg, 2g/kg and 4g/kg body weight of animals), blank (4g/kg body weight) and control (0.9% NaCl solution) was applied on 15 adult healthy New Zealand White Rabbits in groups of 3 animals each. Application was done on the dorso-ventricular trunk of the rabbits and the animals were observed for 28 days for any clinical signs of intoxication, food consumption and change in body weight gain. After completion of the experiment no skin irritation such as erythema, edema or eschar formation was observed in all the animal groups. No signs of mortality or morbidity was seen. Food consumption was found to be normal and no drastic increase in body weight gain of the rabbits was observed in the control, blank and test groups of rabbits. From this study it was concluded that the Ziziphus oenoplia extract loaded Carbopol hydrogel was non-toxic and could be safely used as a dermal formulation.