Preparation of strong antidandruff shampoo using medicinal plant extracts: A clinical trial and chronic dandruff treatment

Background: Nowadays more than half of the populations in the world are suffering from dandruff. Malassezia fungus is an important factor in causing dandruff as it may stimulate cytokine production by keratinocytes (epidermal cells that synthesize keratin) and inflammatory pathways. As dandruff is a hurting issue for people, a lot of efforts are being done for treatment. Many reports based on medicinal plants, seem to be more effective in curing mentioned concern. Objectives: The aim of this research was to investigate a clinical trial for dandruff therapy by Zinc L-pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (Zinc-PCA) and pirocton olamine in combination with six medicinal plant extracts. Patients and Methods: In this study, the combination of Punica granatum L, Rosmarinus officinalis L, Matricaria chamomilla L, Urtica dioica L, Mentha piperita L., and Salvia officinalis L. methanolic extracts with Pirocton Olamine and Zinc-PCA in the shampoo form were tested on 30 patients with dandruff on hair within a period of two months. Chronic dandruff of 15 patients were highly removed in the second week, 12 other patients suffering from dandruff were seen with dandruff removal after 28 days, while remaining sufferers expressed satisfaction at the end of the fifth week. Results: Based on the results, medicinal plant extracts have marvelous effects on dandruff removal with fewer side effects, though it takes long time to treat the mentioned concern. Conclusions: The results show that applying the combination of medicinal plant extracts and natural ingredients with chemical compounds in pharmaceutical industry can optimize treatment.