Ethnopharmacological Survey on Medicinal Plants Used for Cosmetic Treatments in Traditional and Ayurveda Systems of Medicine in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Medicinal plants have been used for therapeutic and beauty applications in Sri Lanka with documented history of over 2,500 years. This inherited knowledge, which has been handed down from generation to generation, provides a largely unexplored source for the potential development of active ingredients for cosmetic formulations. Therefore, the present comprehensive survey was conducted to identify cosmetic potential medicinal plants species in Sri Lanka. Personal interviews were conducted via a semistructured questionnaire with randomly selected 30 traditional practitioners and 90 Ayurveda physicians in Sri Lanka. Data were collected on plants and specific plant parts used for the treatment of skin care, hair care, and oral care topically. The acquired data were verified using the Ayurveda authentic books and quantitatively analyzed using relative frequency of citation (RFC), use value (UV), relative importance (RI), and factor informant consensus (FIC). Results revealed about the usage of 133 different plant species belonging to 64 families in cosmetic treatments under the categories of skin care, hair care, and oral care. Majority of medicinal plants were used in skin care treatments (39%) followed by hair care (20%) and oral care (17%). Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. reported the highest RFC value (0.83) and UV (3.66). The highest RI value was reported from Asparagus racemosus Willd. and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. (1.67). The dominant plant family was reported as family Fabaceae. The most utilized plant part was stated as leaves (34%) followed by bark (14%). The survey further revealed about treatments for 17 skin-related, 9 hair-related, and 2 oral-related beauty issues. All RFC values were comparatively high for identified different beauty issues. Many herbal preparations were prepared using water as the medium whilst most common mode of application was reported as paste (37%). In conclusion, acquired information could ultimately be utilized for the development of the herbal cosmetic industry through the isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds from the documented plants while preserving the traditional knowledge.

Contribution of edible indigenous woody plants as a coping strategy during drought periods in the southeast lowveld of Zimbabwe: a review

“…Utilizing the indices proposed by Tardío and Pardo-de-Santayana (2008), secondary data was used to compute the local significance of edible indigenous woody plant species in the area (Table 2). Frequency of citation (FC) and Relative frequency of citation (RFC) were adopted in this study (Youmsi et al, 2017;Semenya and Maroyi, 2020;Gamage et al, 2021). Plants that were commonly reported as being utilized during drought periods in Zimbabwe's southeast lowveld were identified using the Species Frequency of Citation (FC) method.…”

Natural alternatives from your garden for hair care: Revisiting the benefits of tropical herbs

“…In addition, the growing preference for shampoos using natural ingredients is also due to the strong heritage of traditional and plant-based medicines. Plants and herbs have been traditionally used in hair care and hair growth since ancient times in Ayurveda, Chinese and Unani systems of medicine [ 57 , 58 ]. Many botanical extracts and formulations have been used in daily hair care routine.…”

Global Perspective of Plant-Based Cosmetic Industry and Possible Contribution of Sri Lanka to the Development of Herbal Cosmetics

“…However, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration report issued in 2015 clearly indicates that developing cosmetic products and cosmetic product markets based on indigenous ingredients is one of the major challenges [133]. e lack of ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological surveys to identify the cosmetic potential plants, insufficient or absence of continuous supply of raw materials for production in line with the existing demand, lack of quality control of raw materials and finished cosmetic products, improper systematic cultivation systems for medicinal plants, poor postharvest practices, lack of innovations, and the lack of efficacy tests (in vivo and in vitro) to ensure the safety are the major challenges found in Sri Lanka for the development of the herbal cosmetic industry [12,104,123,124,134].…”