Formulation of Hand Sanitizers from Herbs: A Review

Hand sanitizer is an alternative to the hand washing with soap and water. Hand sanitizer is the most important measure to avoid the transmission of harmful microbes and prevent the infections, to keep the skin safe from harmful microorganisms and to prevent spreading of many infectious diseases. Hand sanitizers are available in the form of liquid, foam or easy flowing gel formulation. Both alcohol and alcohol-free hand sanitizers are available in the market. But the regular use of alcoholic sanitizer destroys your hand skin; therefore, there is a need to prepare alcohol-free sanitizer and herbal hand sanitizer which is mild to skin and effective at killing germs. Plants are rich source of vast variety of secondary metabolities such as tannins, terpeoids, alkaloids and flavonoids etc. and which have been found to possess antimicrobial properties. The current review work attempts to summarize the work of researchers in India and worldwide who are engaged in the studies of herbs as potential antimicrobials for the development of herbal hand sanitizers. Method: Extensive electronic search was used to collect and analyze relevant data on herbal sanitizers using PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane. Result: Various relevant studies were obtained that threw light on the herbal antimicrobial properties and their potential use as hand sanitizers. Some herbs that are used to prepare herbal hand sanitizers are Ocimum sanctum ( tulsi leaves), Eugenia caryophyllus ( clove), Cymbopogon flexuous ( lemon grass), Aloe baarbadensis (aloe), Mentha arvensis ( mint), Azadirachata indica ( neem), Eucalyptus globulus ( eucalyptus). In the current era of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, the applications of these sanitizers have become double fold and these are much needed. Several herbal sanitizers are being introduced in the market such as Puro herbal hand sanitizer gel, Himalaya pure hand sanitizer, and Feel Alive hand sanitizer etc.