Therapeutic Potential of Cow Ghee as a Natural Ointment Base in Ayurvedic Formulations

Cow ghee, a pure animal fat from milk, is commonly known as clarified butter and is valued in Ayurvedic medicine for its ability to penetrate tissues and facilitate absorption. It exhibits antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic properties that make it effective for the management of skin issues. 

Externally applied ointment bases made of ghee are further classified into four categories: hydrocarbon, absorption, water-removable, and water-soluble. This study focused on formulating and evaluating ointment bases using cow ghee alongside traditional bases.

Various ointment including ingredients such as cetostearyl alcohol and stearic acid, glyceryl monostearate, soft white paraffin, soft yellow paraffin, paraffin wax, white beeswax, and wool fat were analysed along with cow ghee. Stability tests were conducted according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines, assessing multiple physicochemical parameters such as color, consistency, pH, and solubility.

The results demonstrated the following findings:

• The cow ghee-based ointment formulations showed stability with desirable characteristics, including an appealing appearance and non-greasy texture. 
• They also exhibited good spreadability, extrudability and solubility suggestive of their effectiveness as carriers for active ingredients.

The findings thus, suggested that cow ghee, owing to their stability and favorable physicochemical properties, can serve as a valuable natural ointment base for Ayurvedic formulations, which indicates that they could be a cost-effective and accessible option for therapeutic applications. 

Source: Wawre MB, Khobragade D, Mundhada D. An Emerging Approach for Optimization of Cow Ghee as an Ointment Base in Combination With Selected Conventional Bases. Cureus. 2023 Mar 22;15(3):e36556. doi: 10.7759/cureus.36556. PMID: 37095810; PMCID: PMC10122110.