Evaluation and Formulation of the Methanol Extract and Oil of Nigella Sativa Linn into Suppositories with Potentials in the Management of Vaginal Candidiasis

Background: A focus on the need to develop alternative treatment protocols, especially from natural sources like plants, to circumvent the antimicrobial resistance experienced with synthetic products has become imperative. Objective: This research focused on the evaluation of the antifungal activities of Nigella sativa and the formulation of a vaginal suppository in a bid to provide therapeutic solutions to vaginal candidiasis. Methods: Antifungal activities of the methanol extracts of seeds and commercial oil from Nigella sativa were examined by the agar well diffusion method against ten clinical isolates of Candida albicans and one reference standard Candida albicans ATCC 3147. Clotrimazole was used as a positive control. Vaginal suppositories were formulated with 20% of the alcohol extract and commercial oil using cocoa butter and shea butter as bases. The suppositories were assessed for their physicochemical and in-vitro dissolution properties. Agar well diffusion method was used to examine the antifungal activities of the Nigella sativa suppositories. Results: The zones of inhibition of the extract ranged between 12.00 +/- 1.73 and 32.33 +/- 3.21 mm. After formulation, both cocoa butter and shea butter bases were found to be compatible with the extract. They exhibited a relatively high disintegration time (8.56 +/- 0.42 to 12.39 +/- 0.98 min). The cocoa butter base gave stable suppositories and a faster release rate (56.95 +/- 1.37 min) of the extract. The zones of inhibition of the suppositories incorporated with the extract ranged between 10.00 +/- 1.00 and 23.67 +/- 2.08 mm. Conclusion: These outcomes showed that the extract possesses antifungal activities, and when incorporated into suppositories, activities vary according to the bases employed, with the cocoa butter base being the more effective of the two bases.