FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF A HERBAL PURPLE TOOTHPASTE USING WRIGHTIA TINCTORIA, PONGAMIA PINNATA, AND SYZYGIUM CUMINI FOR OPTICAL COLOUR CORRECTION OF TEETH

Arjun S.*, Mohamed Arshak A., Mohamed Shafeek A., Madhan Kumar K., Meera Mahalakshmi R., Babu Thandapani, Ramkumar S.

Conventional toothpastes rely on synthetic antimicrobials, abrasives and artificial dyes that, with prolonged use, are associated with tooth sensitivity, mucosal irritation and altered taste, which has renewed interest in herbal dentifrices built around plant-derived bioactive compounds. “Purple” or “blue-light” toothpastes are a recent category that whiten teeth optically — by depositing a violet pigment on the enamel pellicle that counteracts the yellow tone of the tooth surface via complementary-colour theory — rather than by chemical bleaching. This review discusses the formulation and evaluation of a herbal purple toothpaste in which Syzygium cumini (Jamun) seed/fruit extract was used as a natural source of violet-purple pigment in place of synthetic dyes, combined with Wrightia tinctoria (Veppalai) leaf extract and Pongamia pinnata (Punga) seed/bark extract for their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and astringent activity against common oral pathogens responsible for dental caries, gingivitis and periodontitis. The formulated paste was screened for the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins by Dragendorff’s, Shinoda’s and ferric-chloride tests respectively, and was evaluated for pH, fineness, foaming index, extrusion, abrasivity, heavy-metal and arsenic limits, fluoride content, microbial load and thermal/packaging stability as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specification IS 6356:2021. The formulation satisfied all evaluated parameters and, being free of added fluoride, is classified as a Type-1 non-fluoridated herbal toothpaste. These findings support the feasibility of an entirely plant-based, dye-free purple toothpaste as a safe alternative to conventional whitening dentifrices, while indicating a need for further clinical validation of its long-term safety and whitening efficacy.