REVIEW ON OINTMENT

Ointments are semisolid dosage form which usually act as Visco-elastic materials when shear stress is applied. They generally contain medicinal ingredients and are used to be applied externally to the body for therapeutic effect. Many therapeutic agents used for topical application to intact or broken skin or to mucous membranes are presented in the form of semisolid consistency variously designated as ointments, creams, pastes etc. It is used mainly as protective or emollient for the skin. The first step towards the goal is screening of plants used in popular medicine. Along with other dosage forms, herbal drugs also used in the form of ointment. Ointments made with an emulsion type base are called creams. Ointment agents since the aspects of liquid formulations mainly protect wounds, lubricate the skin and local treatment, etc., some drugs can have a local onset of action after transdermal absorption and can also produce systemic therapeutic effects. Therefore, ointment formulations have attracted much attention for their advantages of convenient use, stable properties, good dissolution properties, and are also one of the important directions in modern pharmaceutics research.