Title:  Use of plant extracts for treatment of acne and furuncle

United States Patent:  6,379,718

Assignee:  Ren; Kaijun (Sugar Land, TX)

Filed:  December 21, 2000

Novel herbal extracts provide potent efficacy in the treatment of acne and furuncle. The formulated extracts of Momordica charantia L. are from either the whole plant or parts of the plant. The extracts have been formulated into aqueous solution, pads, and/or lotion. These formulations have been provided to treat acne and furuncle 2 to 3 times a day. It has demonstrated the ability to manage various grades of acne, from mild, moderate to severe, which include comedos, papules, pustules and nodules. Significant improvement is visible within five days. There are no observed either long-term or short-term side reactions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a process of preparing herbal medicine comprises treating fresh material, dried raw material, different parts of the plant, and different formulations. The typical processes are listed in the following pages.

200 g fresh plant was collected and washed. The washed plant was left so the surface water could dry. It was then grinded to an almost pulp-like texture and squeezed through a gauze to obtain as much liquid as possible. All of the liquid was collected and then centrifuged at high speed, which was not less than 3500 rpm. The upper clean liquid was collected. The solution was about 120 ml and its pH was between 6to 6.5.

The formulation of the extracts was performed with organic and inorganic acids. The typical sample used was glycolic acid. The acid was dissolved in water and the pH was adjusted to about pH 3.8 with saturated sodium hydroxide solution. The final concentration of glycolic acid was 50%. Under room temperature and stirring, the glycolic acid solution was added drop by drop to the centrifuged clean solution until the final concentration of glycolic acid in the extract was 5% or the pH of the extraction was above 4. There was a lot of precipitate and the formulated solution was allowed to stand overnight. The formulated solution was centrifuged to remove the precipitate. The concentration of the solution can be increased by lyophilization or evaporation under vacuum.

Dried raw materials are easier to store and solve the seasonal problem of obtaining natural products. 100 g of the fresh plant was dried naturally to form 15.3 g dry powder of the plant. 100 g of fresh root resulted in 12.1 g of dry root.

In a 450 ml beaker, 160 ml of water were added to 20 g of the dry powder raw material. The mixture was boiled for 20 minutes. The solution was filtrated and the residue was squeezed to near dry while the mixture still was warm. The combination of the solutions was about 110 ml. If the volume was greater than 110 ml, part of the water was evaporated to reach that volume. This volume is similar to that of the fresh material. The pH of the solution was around 8. The HPLC and UV results were almost identical between the fresh and dry materials. The HPLC conditions are as follows:

Column: C18, 300 .ANG., 5.mu., 4.6 mm.times.2500 mm

Solvent A: 100% water

Solvent B: 5% water in acetonitrile

Gradient: 0-30% of B in 30 min.

Flow rate: 1 ml per min.

Detector: UV 214 nm

The formulated extract from the dried plant was treated by the same procedure as in the fresh material. The amount of acidity did not have a significant difference. The HPLC and UV demonstrated the similarity in both.

The extracts have a natural herb smell. It is uncomfortable for some people. To remove the smell, 3 g of active carbon were added to 100 ml of the formulated solution and stirred at room temperature for 5 min. The active carbon was filtrated to obtain a clean solution. This solution did not have the strong smell but a slightly comfortable, sweet smell. The UV spectra showed that the absorbency after 460 nm had disappeared. If the de-smell time had lasted to 1 hour, the solution had de-colored and had turned to a light yellow tone. The UV spectra showed that the absorbency after 340 nm had disappeared.

In the present invention, the best part or the whole plant is necessary to serve the treatments that had been investigated. Each part of the plant, leaf, melon, root, and vine, had been studied by HPLC and UV spectra. All of them were fresh parts of the plant and were grinded. The liquid was squeezed out from the grinded material through gauze. The liquids were centrifuged and the upper solutions served as the samples for HPLC and UV spectra. By the results of HPLC, leaf, root and melon most likely contained the same components. Based on the strength of absorbency, the vine extraction contained less of the components than that of the before mentioned three. In the results of UV spectra, the melon had no strong absorbency after 340 nm. The root had no strong absorbency after 380 nm. The vine had no strong absorbency after 426 nm. The leaf had the highest absorbency in the group. It had no strong absorbency after 470 nm. Therefore, all of the plant could be used as raw material for the treatment of acne and furuncle. The order of the best parts for the treatments is: leaf, root, melon, and vine.

In the present invention, the different formulations have also been described. The acidified solution could be directly used for acne and furuncle treatment. The concentration can be increased for different levels of the diseases. Generally speaking, the more severe the form of acne and furuncle, the higher the concentration used. The normal concentration levels range from 1 to 2 times the original concentration.

For convenience, pads had been made by addition of the solution to 21/8 inch cotton pads. This formulation was much more convenient for people to use, specifically for young adults. To confirm that the pads release a solution which contains the same quality and quantity of material as the original aqueous solution, the solution in the pads was squeezed out and compared with original aqueous solution by HPLC and UV spectra. Both results indicated that the both solutions contained exactly the same components in both quality and quantity.

In the present invention, the other formulation of the extract was a lotion preparation. The formulated extract could be added to normal skin care cream or lotion. To maintain the same concentration of the solution in the lotion, the extract needed to be concentrated. It can be performed under a normal boiling evaporation procedure. To avoid possible overheating, which may destroy some components, the best procedures are either lyophilization or evaporation under vacuum. The final volume of the solution depends on the concentration of the lotion. The final solution should be a clean solution with no precipitate. This is important in making a homogenous lotion and achieving the expected treatment.

THE TREATMENT AND RESULTS

For a normal acne and furuncle case (mild or moderate level), the skin treatment composition described herein may be used twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. A thin layer is applied on the problem areas after the face is washed and dried. For more severe cases, one may increase the application times. Significant improvement will occur in 3-5 days after the treatment. Some results are summarized in the following tables.

Claim 1 of 12 Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A process for producing a skin treatment composition for treating acne and furuncle containing an extract of Momordica charactia L., comprising:

grinding one or more parts of Momordica charactia L. plant to a pulp-like texture;

pressing liquid from the ground plant;

centrifuging the pressed liquid;

collecting upper clean centrifuged liquid; and

formulating a solution by adding an effective amount of an acid to the clean centrifuged liquid to produce a skin treatment composition.

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