Original Article
To study the antidandruff activity of rosemary oil, basil oil,coleus oil over selenium sulfide
Patil Trupti K1, S. S Gadekar2
Department of Cosmetics, R.C. Patel Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Shirpur - 425 405, Maharashtra, India, 2Department of Pharmacognosy, R.C. Patel
Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Shirpur – 425 405, Maharashtra, India

1

ABSTRACT

Correspondence:
Patil Trupti K. Department of B. Tech(Cosmetics), R.C. Patel Institute ofPharmaceutical Education & Research,
Near Karwand Naka, Shirpur - 425 405,Dhule, Maharashtra, India.
Phone: +91-9665442471.
E-mail: ptrupti081@gmail.com

Dandruff is caused by Malassezia (Pityrosporum) species. Dandruff is controlled by fungistatic ingredientsin Antidandruff shampoos. Comparative study on the effectiveness of chemical and herbal antidandruff
ingredients and their performance in shampoos was done in vitro against Malassezia furfur. Selenium
Sulfide has a good antidandruff activity along with the chemical ingredients. Herbal ingredients such as
rosemary oil, basil oil, and coleus oil also have an antidandruff activity, but their minimum inhibitory
concentration (MIC) values are much more than the synthetic ingredients. Essential oils can be great
allies in the fight against fungi/dandruff. Most of the essential oils are excellent antibacterial andantifungal treatment making an excellent fighter against dandruff.The antifungal activities of essential
oils and synthetic chemical, i.e., selenium sulfide were analyzed towards M. furfur. The data obtained
indicated that rosemary essential oil exhibited the strongest inhibitory activities. MIC of rosemary oilagainst M. furfur was at 0.5%. Basil oil is also possessed considerable antifungal activity, and MIC ofBasil oil against M. furfur was at 0.7%. Coleus essential oil exhibited the minimum inhibitory activity
at 0.9% while that of selenium sulfide possessed considerably lower antifungal activity than theseessential oils and was measured at 2.5%.The results of MICs revealed that the rosemary, basil, andcoleus essential oils exhibited the best antifungal activities toward M. furfur than that of selenium sulfide.
Keywords: Antidandruff activity, dandruff, Malassezia, pityrosporum, shampoos

INTRODUCTION
Dandruff is a common scalp disorder which affects almost half ofthe young population of both genders. The pathogenesis involves
hyperproliferation of dandruff which is resulting in deregulation ofkeratinization. The causative agents of dandruff are group of scalp
commensal lipophilic yeasts of the genus, Malassezia.[1] Exterminate orcontrolling the scarcity of yeasts appears to be the cleverest approachfor treating dandruff. Using different methods, clinical as well as
experimental protocols and distinct active ingredients, all signifythat applying antifungal based antidandruff (AD) shampoos lead toa stereotyped progression of events. Several fungistatic compounds
improve dandruff condition. The main active ingredients include
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E-ISSN: 2321-0125

DOI: 10.31555/jpbs/2018/6/2/36-39

How to cite this article: Trupti PK, Gadekar SS. To study theantidandruff activity of rosemary oil, basil oil, coleus oil overselenium sulfide. J Pharm BioSci 2018;6(2):36-39.
Source of Support: Nil, Conflict of Interest: None declared.

36

imidazole derivatives such as ketoconazole and other compounds suchas selenium sulfide also the AD products are to remove scales, reduce
Malassezia (Pityrosporum) observance of corneocytes and suppress
the yeast growth. In addition to that, there is a wide range of herbal
ingredients such as rosemary oil, basil oil, and coleus oil which havebeen known to have good antipityrosporum or AD activity.[2,3]There are numerous independent studies on these chemical or herbal
actives and their effectiveness in AD shampoos. Still, there is nocomprehensive comparative in vitro study on the AD efficacy of thechemical and herbal actives formulation (AD shampoo).
Hence, the present study was undertaken.The microbial strains, whichwere used in this experiment are Malassezia furfur.

MATERIALS AND METHODSAll natural and synthetic ingredients such as rosemary oil andcoleus oil were procured from Kingvish Kompany, Basil oil wereprocured from katyani exports, and Selenium sulfide were procured
from Croda Chemicals Pvt Ltd. M. furfur were procured from Rajiv
Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology, Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj
University.

© 2018 Journal of Pharmaceutical and BioSciences | Published by SPER Publications

Trupti and Gadekar: To study the antidandruff activity of rosemary oil, basil oil, coleus oil over selenium sulfide

Extraction of essential oils

Details of actives (Table 1):[6-9]

Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation. Other
processes include expression or solvent extraction. Essential oils
are produced from a different type of flowers, leaves, and herbs
by steam distillation or by solvent extraction process using organic
solvents, such as ethyl alcohol or hexane. Distillation temperature
varied for a different variety of herbs. Condensation of distillate
is depend on cooling temperature. Condensation of essential oil
vapor is controlled by cooling coil or jacketed on the steam reactor
vessel.The steam reactor vessel is made by mild steel or by stainlesssteel. Heat sources used as steam and sometimes solvent usedhexane or alcohol for the extraction of essential oil from leaves,
flowers, or herbs. Extracted oil is separated by low-temperaturevaccum distillation process.[4] Each essential oils consist of several,
sometimes hundreds of distinct natural chemicals. Many of thesehave antimicrobial and antifungal activity and show synergisticeffects. Essential oils can be great allies in the fight against fungi/
dandruff.The various natural essential oils are used in the treatment
for dandruff of their antifungal property. Most of the essential oils
are excellent antifungal properties.[5] The natural essential oils likerosemary oil, coleus oil, and basil oil are used to prevent dandruff.
Thus by proper type and the amount of essential oil in the productcan give most effective treatment against dandruff without causing
any side effect than synthetic chemicals.[6]Formulation and development of shampoo
For the incorporation of the active ingredients in the formulation,and for a proper release of the active from the formulation to
get desired therapeutic activity, base plays an importantrole.
Therefore, the base should possess the following properties.
• A base must have aesthetical appeal.
• It should not counteract to the properties of active.
• Being a vehicle for active ingredient base must be able to.
• Dissolve it or at least finely dispersed it well.
The raw material in the base should be compatible with each other,well as with active ingredient.[10,11]

Preparation of shampoo base (Table 2)
Procedure
1. Phase A and B were melt up to 75°C.
2. Continuous and slowly stirring was applied for both phases toavoid foaming during heating.
3. Phase A was mixed in phase B with constant and vigorous stirring.
4. At 45°C, phase C was added and mixed well.

Table 1: Details of actives
Rosemary oil

Basil oil

Coleus oil

Selenium sulfide

Synonym:
Flowering rosemary, prostratus
rosemary, romeo rosemary

Synonym:
Sacred basil, Holy basil, Sweet basil, Thaibasil

Synonym:Coleus Barbatus, Coleus Grandis,Coleus Penzigii, Coleus Vestitus, Wild
Oregano, Makandi

Empirical formula:
SeS2
Molecular weight: ‑ 143.09 g/mol

Biological source:
It is the volatile oil obtained from fresh
flowering tops of the plant Rosmarinus
officinalis Linn, belonging to the family
Labiatae
Chemical constituents:
The flower contains volatile oil, resin,
ursolic acid and bitter principle while
leaves, in addition to oil also containborneol, bornyl acetate, camphor
eucalyptol, pinene, d‑camphene,cineole and terpenes. The oil
contain terponeol, trans‑carveol,caryophyllene, caryophyllene dioxide,santalol etc.

Biological source:
Basil essential oil is extracted by steam
distillation from the leaves and flowering
tops of Ocimum basillicum to the family
Labiatae
Chemical constituents:
It has various chemical compounds
that include a‑pinene, camphene,b‑pinene, myrcene, limonene, camphor,linalool, citronellol, geraniol, methyl
cinnamate, and eugeneol. The oil containcineol, d‑linalool (about 40%) methylchavicol (about 25%), p‑cymene,
a‑terpinol and some sesquterpenes
hydrocarbons

Biological source
It is a diterpene isolated from roots ofColeus forskohlii, belonging to the family
Labiatae
Chemical constituents:
It contains forskolin (coleonol),thymol, terpene, eugenol, transcaryophyllene oxide and alpha ‑ cadinol.
The leaves contain methylenequinone,barbatusin and roots containcoleonol B, deoxycoleonol. The oilcontain 1, 3‑hexadiene, hexanol,
myrcene, p‑cymene linalool,
terpine‑4‑ol and carvacrol

Physical properties:
Selenium Sulfide is an inorganic salt
including of selenium and sulfur.
Naturally occurring Selenium ismineral element which is found inrocks and soil. In nature, Selenium
is usually combined with sulfide.
Selenium is an essential trace mineralfound in the active center of certain
enzymes

Cosmetic uses:
It has antifungal, antibacterial
properties to kill bacteria and fungi.
The rosemary is beneficial to skin
the same way it helps with dandruff,by relieving dryness and providing
nourishment.
It helps to treat dandruff because it has
antifungal properties.
It is used as a fragrant component ina creams, lotion, shampoo, soaps andperfumes

Cosmetic uses:
It helps to minimize dandruff and hairloss by stimulating hair follicles. It also
helps in relieving itching and flaking scalp
and dandruff. It encourages hair growththrough stimulating blood circulation andadds luster to dull looking hair. It is usedin various cosmetics such as lotions, soaps,
shampoo and perfumes.[6,7]

Cosmetic uses:
It has good antipityrosporum orantidandruff, antibacterial andanti‑inflammatory properties. It can beused as a flavouring agent. It is used invarious cosmetics such as lotions, soaps,
shampoo and perfumes. It helps to treat
dandruff and micro‑organism associatedwith acne and other skin infections.[7]Cosmetic uses:
Selenium Sulfide may increase
the appearance and feel of hair,by growing hair body, agilityor sheen, or by improving thetexture of hair that has beendamaged physically or by chemicaltreatment. Selenium Sulfide
also helps to manage dandruff,seborrhea dermatitis and psoriasis.
It controls dandruff via its anti
Malassezia effect rather than by its
antiproliferative effect

Journal of Pharmaceutical and BioSciences / Apr‑Jun 2018 / Vol 6 | Issue 237

Trupti and Gadekar: To study the antidandruff activity of rosemary oil, basil oil, coleus oil over selenium sulfide

Evaluation of anti-microbial and antifungal activitya) Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)

Table 2: Formulation of shampoo base
S. No.

The MIC or MIC test determines antifungal activity of a material against
specific fungi. Agar diffusion method is employed for the MIC or MIC.

Phase A

The MIC or MIC is the smallest concentration of an antibacterial andantifungal agent that inhibits the growth of bacteria or fungi.

Ingredients

Quantity in % (w/w)
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 33535

1

Sodium lauryl ether sulfate

33.5

2

Coco amido propyl betain

2.5

33

3

Coco diethanol amide

2.5

2.5

2.5

4

Ethylene glycol monostearate

2.2

2.5

2.7
2.5

Phase BPrinciple1Coco monoethanol amide

2.5

2.5

The agar well diffusion method has been used for evaluating
antibacterial and antifungal activities of a variety of compounds. The
activity of compounds is indicated by a clear zone around the “well,”a hole cut in the agar and filled with the test sample. The inhibitionzone around the compounds denotes resistance to microbial growth.

2Propylene glycol

4.5

553

Distilled water

55.3

50.2

47.8

4

Methyl paraben

0.4

0.4

0.4

1

Sodium chloride

0.5

0.8

1

2

Ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid

0.1

0.1

0.1Phase C

ProcedurePreparation of media M. furfur
The culture of M. furfur was cultivated and maintained on a growth
medium described below. The incubation was done at room
temperature for 7 days.
Potato dextrose agar (PDA)
39 g of PDA and 5 g agar-agar were weighed and transferred to 1000 ml
borosil beaker to this 1000 ml of distilled water was added and wasstirred on water bath for 20 min until frothing appears during heating.
Then sterilization was done in an autoclave at 121°C and 1.05 kg f/cm2
pressure for 20 min. After sterilization it was kept in refrigerator.[12]b) MIC of selected active against M. furfur
MIC of selected active against M. furfur was estimated by Agar welldiffusion method.

2.
3.
4.
5.

6.
7.

All the apparatus and media were sterilized in an autoclave at
121°C and 1.05 kg/cm2 pressure for 20 min.
The sterile and melted media were cooled at 45°C, then poured
in labeled Petri plates and allowed to solidify.
After solidification of media, the pure culture of M. furfur wasspread on the solidified media for respective species.
The wells were made in each Petri plates with the help of sterile
cork borer.
Now with the help of sterilized pipette different concentrationsuch as 0.1 ml, 0.2 ml, 0.3 ml …. of rosemary oil, basil oil andcoleus oil and 2 ml, 2.1 ml, 2.2 ml … of selenium sulfide werepoured in the well.
Then all plates were incubated at 37°C for 48 h.
The activity of actives is indicated by a clear zone of inhibition
around the discs. These zones were measured and recorded.

Antifungal activity of rosemary oil, basil oil, coleus oil and selenium
sulfide (Tables 3 and 4).[5,13]

38

S. No.

SampleMIC (ml)

ZOI (mm)

Selenium sulfide

2.571

Rosemary oil

0.572

Basil oil

0.773

Coleus oil

0.9

7

Synthetic ingredient
1Herbal ingredient

MIC: Minimum inhibitory concentration

Stability study for finished productAll the samples prepared were subjected to accelerated test conditions
and were kept at room temp in oven at 45±2°C and in refrigerator
at 4±2°C.
Stability studies were carried out by accelerated stability test for
60 days.

Procedure
1.

Table 3: MIC and ZOI of synthetic and herbal ingredients

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The essential oils, i.e., rosemary oil, basil oil, coleus oil possess
antifungal properties. An attempt was made to compare this naturalessential oil against synthetic chemical, i.e., selenium sulfide as anAD agent.
The antifungal activities of essential oils and synthetic chemical,
i.e., selenium sulfide were analyzed towards M. furfur.
The data obtained indicated that rosemary essential oil exhibited thestrongest inhibitory activities. MIC of rosemary oil against M. furfur
was at 0.5%.
Basil oil is also possessed considerable antifungal activity, and MIC ofbasil oil against M. furfur was at 0.7%.

Journal of Pharmaceutical and BioSciences / Apr‑Jun 2018 / Vol 6 | Issue 2

Trupti and Gadekar: To study the antidandruff activity of rosemary oil, basil oil, coleus oil over selenium sulfide
Table 4: Antidandruff activity of Shampoos with synthetic and herbal active ingredients
Antidandruff shampoo with
0.5% rosemary oil (mm)7Antidandruff shampoo with
0.7% basil oil (mm)

Antidandruff shampoo with
0.9% coleus oil (mm)

Antidandruff shampoo with
2.5% selenium sulfide (mm)575effect. Thus, after studying the antifungal properties natural essential
oil which shows comparable response with selenium sulfide foracting against M. furfur. Hence, it is consider to be a good option thansynthetic chemical.

ab

The essential oils were added in simple shampoo base which prevents
the dandruff from the hair.Thus after testing, they show better result
than selenium sulfide.
This result revealed that essential oils act comparable against dandruff
than selenium sulfide.

cdREFERENCES

Figure 1: (a) Formulation with 0.5% rosemary oil, (b) formulation with
0.7% basil oil, (c) formulation with 0.9% coleus oil, (d) formulation with
2.5% selenium sulfide

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Tortora GJ, Derrickson BH. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 12th ed.,Vol. 1. Hoboken, NJ: Universal Publishing Corporation; 2009. p. 157.

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Coleus essential oil exhibited the minimum inhibitory activity at 0.9%
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activity than these essential oils and was measured at 2.5%.

3.

Woods GL, Gutierrez Y. Diagnostic Pathology of Infectious Diseases. 1st ed.
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NIIR Board. Essential oils. Modern Technology of Perfumes, Flavor andEssential Oil. 2nd ed. New Delhi: NIIR Board of Technology. p. 37, 38.

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Lawrence B.M. The journal of oil research. The antimicrobial and biologicalactivity of essential oil; Published by Allured global information leader; P.213,214, 215.

10.

Wilkinson JB, Moore RJ. Harry’s Cosmeticology. 7th ed. New York: Chemical
Publishing Company Inc.; 1990. p. 19, 418, 419.

11.

Marvin BS, Edward S. Cosmetic Science & Technology. 2nd ed.Vol-II. NewYork:Interscience Publishers, Inc.; 1957. p. 183.

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Ananthanarayan R, Paniker JC. Textbook of Microbiology. New Delhi: Orient
Longman Ltd.; 1996. p. 566, 567.

13.

Chhavi S, Sushma D, Ravinder V, Anju D, Asha S. Int Res J Pharm IRJP 2011;2.

The results of MICs revealed that the rosemary, basil, and coleus
essential oils exhibited the best antifungal activities towards M. furfur
than that of selenium sulfide.

CONCLUSION
Dandruff is a condition of the scalp characterized by the massivedesquamation of small flakes of stratum corneum. The scales may beor trapped in film of sebum. It is caused by the fungus M. furfur that
occurs when the dead skin is dead, producing irritating white flakes
and itchy scalp.
Selenium sulfide is widely used nowadays because its popularity has
increased in recent years with the emergence of antibiotic-resistantstrains of M. furfur.
As this is a synthetic chemical and using it may show various side

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