Medicaments and cosmetics comprising Zizyphus spina-christi extracts

Methods utilising extracts of the leaves of Zizyphus spina-christi are disclosed. These comprise cosmetic treatment and use in the manufacture of a medicament for treating psoriasis.

This invention relates to medicaments and cosmetics comprising extracts of 
Zizyphus spina-christi. The invention has utility in cosmetic hair 
treatment by reversing greying. 
Psoriasis causes much distress. Those afflicted suffer from discomfort and 
pain occasioned by the disease. The degree of discomfort is perhaps not 
fully appreciated by those not having the misfortune to suffer. Psoriasis 
is characterised by unsightly circumscribed red skin patches covered with 
white scale. Those affected suffer not only from as it were the medical 
effects of the complaint but also the physical effects. Sufferers can be 
very upset by their physical appearance in that damage is done to the 
self-image and also the sufferer feels he or she is being stared at by 
others. The stress occasioned by loss of self-image and real or imagined 
looks from passers-by leads to further spreading and so on. 
Greying of hair so far as is known causes no damage to the body. The damage 
to the ego can be notoriously severe. 
The invention seeks to alleviate the symptoms of these complaints in at 
least some cases. It must however be appreciated that psoriasis may not 
properly be considered to be a single disease. A more accurate analysis is 
that the complaint is a constellation of similar symptoms invoked by a 
variety of causes. Accordingly alleviation can not be expected in all 
cases. Nevertheless the invention has more than a placebo effect. 
According to one aspect, the invention provides the use of an extract of 
dried leaves of Zizyphus spina-christi for use in the manufacture of a 
medicament for the treatment of psoriasis. 
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a cosmetic 
method of improving the appearance of mammal afflicted by age-related grey 
air which is characterised by topical application of a composition 
comprising an extract of dried leaves of Zizyphus spina-christi. 
The compositions derived from Zizyphus spina-christi are also effective in 
reducing skin inflammation, non specific erythema and itching. It may be 
desirable to apply them for example to sun-burn as cooling compositions. 
These compositions are also usable as skin cleansers for sensitive skin 
and are effective as excortication agents. 
Zizyphus spina-christi is primarily found in the Middle East, including 
Iran and Iraq. The leaves are dried at low temperature and crushed to give 
a fine, pale green powder. Because zizyphus spp are not deciduous and 
leaves are always in a range of states of development the time of 
harvesting is not of crucial importance. A decoction of the powder 
prepared with hot water is pale coloured. When applied on the skin it has 
been found to reduce inflammation especially when caused by psoriasis. 
Application may be required daily or thrice weekly for some time before a 
significant improvement is noted.

The following composition is a non-limiting example: 
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Ingredient Amount/ml 
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Powdered dried leaves of 
5 
Zizyphus spina-christi 
Deionized water 200 
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Warm water at 45.degree. C. is poured over the powder and stirred. The 
liquor rapidly acquires some colour but is allowed to cool by standing. 
The liquor is decanted from the powder. Afflicted skin areas are bathed 
with liquor. After allowing contact for about five minutes the skin is 
patted dry. 
The Zizyphus extract may be incorporated into a conventional shampoo or 
cream base for application. Ethanolic or other organic extraction of the 
leaves results, after removal of the solvent, in an oil which is 
efficacious. The oil or powder or decoction may be incorporated in any 
base for topical treatment. Examples include the shampoo base described 
with preservative or citrate. Application to the hair can reduce or 
reverse age-related greying of the hair. 
Suitable strengths of decoction can be found by routine experiment. It is 
unlikely that any significant extra benefit can be obtained by using more 
than 20% Zizyphus (based on dry powder to final composition by volume). 
Similarly less than 0.5% is unlikely to have significantly greater than 
placebo effect. Preferred amounts are in the range of 1 to 15%, more 
preferably 2 to 10%, especially 3 to 6%. 
The Zizyphus spina-christi leaves may be presented in other forms.