Desenvolvimento e avaliação de uma formulação tópica contendo Curcuma longa e seu estudo de eficácia em pacientes com lesões psoriáticas.

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin, autoimmune, non-transmissible and is characterized by generating a response against the cells present in the epidermis. It can present different clinical forms, being the psoriasis in plaques the most frequent and manifesting by reddish, scaly and whitish plaques that lead to pruritus. There are three options for conventional treatments prescribed according to severity: topical medications, phototherapy and systemic. Natural assets can offer a safe and low-cost treatment option. Curcuma longa (C. longa) presents substances that confer its use in the medicinal area, because its mechanism of action is involved in different molecular targets, acting on the inflammatory response. When delivering the active in a topical formulation, one has the advantage of offering a local effect on the skin, thus seeking an anti-inflammatory effect. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the daily use of a gel containing C. longa 2% in patients with psoriatic lesions. For this purpose, the gel was produced and subjected to a stability test, including assessment of organoleptic characteristics, centrifugation, pH and microbiological evaluation. The formulation remained stable during the tests performed and without altering the organoleptic characteristics (color, odor and appearance) and microbiological evaluation. The pH after the freeze-thaw cycle and after 30 days under normal temperature conditions did not show significant variations within the physiological pH of the skin. Seven volunteers with mild to moderate psoriasis, residents of Santa Cruz do Sul/RS and environs, who met the inclusion criteria of the study, were approved by the CEP - UNISC under opinion nº 3.044.190. At the end of the eight weeks of treatment, with daily use twice a day, volunteers presented reduction in desquamation, erythema and lesion thickness, with a 35% reduction in PASI (Psoriasis Area Severity Index).