the present invention involves the selection and identification of the herbs and obtaining the extract by subjecting the same to solvent extraction . the present invention also involves the bioassay guided fractionation of the extract to identify the active markers or active fraction and to develop effective and safe composition for use in human beings in cases of severe hair fall and regulation of hair growth . butea frondosa syn monospermal , is a deciduous tree with a somewhat crooked trunk , up to 15 m in height and 1 . 6 - 2 . 0 m ( sometimes up to 3 . 8 m ) in girth ; commonly found throughout india , except in the arid regions . bark bluish gray or light brown ; leaves long - petioled , 3 - foliolate , leaflets coriaceous , broadly obovate from a cuneate or deltoid base , glabrescent above , densely finely silky below ; flower buds dark brown , flowers bright orange - red , sometimes yellow , in 15 cm long racemes on bare branches . the fresh juice from stem bark is applied to ulcers and in relaxed , congested , and septic sore throat . the gum is a powerful astringent ; it is given internally for diarrhoea and dysentery , phthisis and haemorrhage from stomach and bladder ; its infusion is occasionally employed as a local application in leucorrhoea . a solution of the gum is applied to bruises and erysipelatous inflammations and ringworm . [ wallis , 454 ; i . p . c ., 134 ; dastur , useful plants , 54 ; kirtikar & amp ; basu , 1 , 187 ; billore & amp ; audichya , j res indian med , yoga , 1978 , 13 ( 2 ), 104 ]. the gum contains leucocyanidin , its tetramer , procyanidin , gallic acid and mucilaginous material . it is edible , rich in riboflavin ( 138 . 8 μg / g ) and also contains thiamine ( 4 . 3 μg / g ). on dry distillation it gives pyrocatechin . the bark is reported to possess astringent , bitter , pungent , alternative , aphrodisiac and anthelmintic properties . it is useful in tumours , bleeding piles and ulcers . the decoction is prescribed in cold , cough , fever , various forms of haemorrhages , in menstrual disorders and in the preparation of tonics and elixirs . a fraction containing the sodium salt of phenolic constituents isolated from the bark has shown potential as an anti - asthmatic agent in experimental animals . analysis of the bark gave : total water - sol extr , 13 . 80 ; tannins , 5 . 82 ; and non - tannins , 7 . 98 %; and colour ( lovibond ). r - 6 , y - 7 . 8 ( mooss , 57 ; rama rao , 121 ; puri , quart j crude drug res , 1970 , 10 , 1555 ; kurup , j sci industr res , 1956 , 15c , 153 ; biol abstr 1983 , 76 , 90469 ; singh et . al ., indian for , 1958 , 84 , 571 ). the flowers are reported to possess astringent , diuretic , depurative , aphrodisiac and tonic properties ; they are used as an emmenagogue . they are also effective in leprosy , leucorrhoea and gout . an alcoholic concentrate of the petals showed anti - estrogenic activity at a dose of 3 . 2 mg / kg body - wt per day , in mice . a decoction of the flowers is given in diarrhoea and to puerperal women . the aqueous extract of the flowers show significant anti - implantation activity at a dose of 300 mg / kg body - wt in rats ( stewart , 60 ; kirtikar & amp ; basu , 1 , 787 ; srivastava & amp ; kumar , loc . cit . ; laumas & amp ; uniyal , indian j exp biol , 1966 , 4 , 246 ; prakash & amp ; mathur , ibid , 1976 , 14 , 623 ; bhatnagar et al , indian j med res , 1961 , 49 , 799 ; khanna & amp ; choudhury , ibid , 1968 , 56 , 1575 ). the flowers contain butin , butein , butrin , isobutrin , palasitrin , coreopsin , isocoreopsin ( butin - 7 - glucoside ), sulphurein , monospermoside ( butein - 3 - β - d - glucoside ) and isomonospermoside . the major glycoside of the flower is butrin . the bright colour of the flowers is attributed to the presence of chalcones and aurones . the aqueous extract of the flowers , containing mainly the chalcone , isobutrin . ( dastur , useful plants , 54 ; gupta , 180 ; puri & amp ; seshadri , j chem soc , 1955 , 1589 ; gupta et . al ., phytochemistry , 1970 , 9 , 2231 ; seshadri in geissman , 9 ; shimokoriyama in geissman , 305 ; oke et al , j fd sci , 1980 , 45 , 746 ). alcoholic extracts of the flowers exhibit significant antioestrogenic activity in mice . the ethyl acetate extract showed inhibition of uterus weight gain and vaginal epithelium cornification . the flowers and seeds are used against antifertility and anthelmintic properties . the dry powder of flowers is applied for healing wounds of camel and oxen . the poultice of flowers is applied to cure swollen and hanging testicles of children . an aqueous extract of flowers showed hepato - protective activity against ccl 4 induced liver injury in albino rats ( shah et . al ., indian j pharm sci , 1990 , 52 , 272 ; vohra , indian drugs , 1989 , 26 , 526 ; sharma et . al ., int j pharmacogn , 1992 , 30 , 129 ; nazimuddin et . al ., indian j unani med , 1991 , 1 , 1 ). the petroleum and ethyl acetate extracts of the stem bark contain an anti - fungal compound (−)- 3 - hydroxy - 9 - methoxy ptero carpan also known as (−)- medicarpin , which was isolated as the acetate . both (−)- medicarpin and its acetate were active against cladosporium cladosporioides ( fres .) de vries . the petroleum ether extract of the stem bark also yield lupenone , lupeol , sitosterol and the two isoflavons , 5 - methoxy - genistein and prunetin ( bandara et . al ., j nat sci coun , sri lanka , 1990 , 18 , 97 ). butea parviflora , is a gigantic , woody climber , 24 m in length and 90 cm or more in girth , common throughout india including the andamans , ascending up to an altitude of 900 m . it is reported to be one of the most injurious climbers to trees on which it grows in the forest . bark smooth , but rough on old stems , reddish brown ; leaves 3 - foliolate ; leaflets sub - coriaceous , 10 - 23 cm × 4 cm , variable in shape ; flowers bright red to white or cream with a pink tinge , covered with feruginous tomentum , in large , terminal panicles ; pods 7 - 10 cm × 2 . 5 cm , 1 - seeded . butea superba is a large , deciduous , woody climber , 90 cm in girth , found in the forests of karnataka , maharashtra , gujarat , andhra pradesh , orissa , madhya pradesh , uttar pradesh , bihar and west bengal . leaflets 30 - 45 cm , sometimes up to 50 cm ; flowers orange or orange scarlet , borne in great profusion along leafless branches , on 30 cm long racemes ; pods 12 . 5 - 15 cm long . the bark is reported to be used in tonics , elixirs and in poultices . it exudes a reddish juice or gum . the dried material of flowers of butea frondosa is pulverized to coarse powder and about 10 kg of powdered material is placed in each of different flasks and extracted with chloroform , ethyl acetate , acetone , methanol , ethyl alcohol , water , mixture of methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) at room temperature for 24 h to 48 h , then plant extracts are filtered and concentrated to dryness on rotatory evaporator or on steam bath at optimum temperature and under reduced pressure . preparation of extract from butea frondosa by hot soxhalation method the coarse powdered material of flowers of butea frondosa is subjected to hot soxhalation using solvents , chloroform , ethyl acetate , acetone , methanol , ethyl alcohol , water , mixture of methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) at optimum temperature and recycled until extraction is complete , then plant extracts are filtered and concentrated to dryness on rotatory evaporator or on steam bath at optimum temperature . all extracts , such as chloroform extract ( pcpb - 1 ), ethyl acetate extract ( pcpb - 2 ), acetone extract ( pcpb - 3 ), methanol extract ( pcpb - 4 ), ethyl alcohol extract ( pcpb - 5 ), water extract ( pcpb - 6 ), methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 7 ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 8 ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) extract ( pcpb - 9 ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 10 ), prepared from the flowers of butea frondosa by using percolation method or hot soxhalation method were subjected to hptlc ( high performance thin layer chromatography ) and hplc ( high performance liquid chromatography ) respectively for qualitative and quantitative estimation of marker compounds and active principles . it was found that the extracts pcpb - 1 to pcpb - 10 obtained from both methods were qualitatively and quantitatively similar to each other respectively . the dried material of stem bark of butea parviflora is pulverized to coarse powder and about 10 kg of powdered material is placed in each of different flasks and extracted with chloroform , ethyl acetate , acetone , methanol , ethyl alcohol , water , mixture of methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) at room temperature for 24 h to 48 h , then plant extracts are filtered and concentrated to dryness on rotatory evaporator or on steam bath at optimum temperature and under reduced pressure . preparation of extract from butea parviflora by hot soxhalation method the coarse powdered material of stem bark of butea parviflora is subjected to hot soxhalation using solvents , chloroform , ethyl acetate , acetone , methanol , ethyl alcohol , water , mixture of methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) at optimum temperature and recycled until extraction is completed , then plant extracts are filtered and concentrated to dryness on rotatory evaporator or on steam bath at optimum temperature . all extracts , such as chloroform extract ( pcpb - 1p ), ethyl acetate extract ( pcpb - 2p ), acetone extract ( pcpb - 3p ), methanol extract ( pcpb - 4p ), ethyl alcohol extract ( pcpb - 5p ), water extract ( pcpb - 6p ), methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 7p ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 8p ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) extract ( pcpb - 9p ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 10p ), prepared from the flowers of butea frondosa by using percolation method or hot soxhalation method were subjected to hptlc ( high performance thin layer chromatography ) and hplc ( high performance liquid chromatography ) respectively for qualitative and quantitative estimation of marker compounds and active principles . it was found that the extracts pcpb - 1p to pcpb - 10p obtained from both methods were qualitatively and quantitatively similar to each other respectively . the dried material of exudates of stem and root of butea superba is pulverized to coarse powder and about 10 kg of powdered material is placed in each of different flasks and extracted with chloroform , ethyl acetate , acetone , methanol , ethyl alcohol , water , mixture of methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) at room temperature for 24 h to 48 h , then plant extracts are filtered and concentrated to dryness on rotatory evaporator or on steam bath at optimum temperature and under reduced pressure . preparation of extract from butea superba by hot soxhalation method the coarse powdered material of exudates of stem and root of butea superba is subjected to hot soxhalation using solvents , chloroform , ethyl acetate , acetone , methanol , ethyl alcohol , water , mixture of methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) at optimum temperature and recycled until extraction is completed , then plant extracts are filtered and concentrated to dryness on rotatory evaporator or on steam bath at optimum temperature . all extracts , such as chloroform extract ( pcpb - 1s ), ethyl acetate extract ( pcpb - 2s ), acetone extract ( pcpb - 3s ), methanol extract ( pcpb - 4s ), ethyl alcohol extract ( pcpb - 5s ), water extract ( pcpb - 6s ), methanol and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 7s ), acetone and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 8s ), acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) extract ( pcpb - 9s ) and ethyl alcohol and water ( 1 : 1 ) extract ( pcpb - 10s ), prepared from the flowers of butea superba by using percolation method or hot soxhalation method were subjected to hptlc ( high performance thin layer chromatography ) and hplc ( high performance liquid chromatography ) respectively for qualitative and quantitative estimation of marker compounds and active principles . it was found that the extracts pcpb - 1s to pcpb - 10s obtained from both methods were qualitatively and quantitatively similar to each other respectively . eight - day old rat pups of sprague - dawley strain of either sex , bred in experimental animal facility of r & amp ; d center , the himalaya drug company , were used for the experiment . the animals were maintained at 22 ± 3 ° c ., 50 - 60 % of humidity , 12 hours light and dark cycle . three groups of 8 rat pups are used . group i served normal control and received saline at a dose of 10 ml / kg i . p . group ii & amp ; group iii animals received cyclophosphamide ( cp ) at a dose of 50 mg / kg i . p . as a single dose . test extracts pcpb - 1 to pcpb - 10 , pcpb - 1p to pcpb - 10p and pcpb - 1s to pcpb - 10s were applied topically to group iii animals everyday from day one after cyclophosphamide administration till the end of the study . on the 12 th day of post cyclophosphamide injection , the animals were graded for alopecia as given below . among different extracts screened for hair growth effects in chemotherapy induced alopecia model , pcpb - 9 , pcpb - 9p and pcpb - 9s have shown promising results and the details are given in table — 1 as follows . the preliminary results have prompted us to carry out the study of the effects of combining extracts of the flowers of butea frondosa , stem bark of butea parviflora and stem and root exudates of butea superba . interestingly , acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) extraction of all three plant material have showed excellent hair growth response . the dried material of herbal blend comprising flowers of butea frondosa ( bf ), stem bark of butea parviflora ( bp ) and exudates or resins from stem and root of butea superba ( bs ) are mixed in different combinations ( table 2 ) and pulverized to coarse powder . about 20 kg of powdered material is placed in each of different flasks and extracted with acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) at room temperature for 24 h to 48 h , then plant extracts are filtered and concentrated to dryness on rotatory evaporator or on steam bath at optimum temperature and under reduced pressure . preparation of aqueous acetone extract of herbal blend by hot soxhalation method the dried material of herbal blend comprising flowers of butea frondosa ( bf ), stem bark of butea parviflora ( bp ) and exudates or resins from stem and root of butea superba ( bs ) are mixed in different combinations ( table 2 ) and pulverized to coarse powder . about 20 kg of powdered material is placed in each of different flasks and extracted with acetone and water ( 7 : 3 ) at optimum temperature till extraction is completed and recycled again for the second time , then plant extracts are filtered and concentrated to dryness on rotatory evaporator or on steam bath at optimum temperature and under reduced pressure . the combined extracts pcpb - 20 to pcpb - 110 were subjected to screening as above in chemotherapeutic agent induced alopecia and results are summarized in table 3 as below . the most effective extract pcpb - 80 was subjected to hptlc , hplc and chemical methods to identify the nature of marker compounds and for its quantitative estimation . high performance thin layer chromatography was performed over precoated silica gel plates ( merck ) and run in different mobile phases for separation of compounds and identified different nature of compounds by spraying reagents like dragon droff &# 39 ; s reagent , ferric chloride reagent , vanillin - sulphuric acid reagent and anisaldehyde and sulphuric acid reagents etc . the quantitative estimation of each marker compounds is summarized in table 4 . a clinical trial with pcpb - 80 hair cream was conducted at seth vadilal sarabhai gen . hospital , ahmedabad , india between january 2004 and march 2004 in 42 patients . out of these , 35 patients were of diffuse hair loss and 7 patients were of alopaecia greata . the response to treatment was based on subjective and objective evaluation . subjective evaluation criteria was number of hairs lost in 1 minute combing as follows : objective evaluation criteria was number of hairs in selected 1 cm scalp as follows : all 35 patients of diffuse hair loss had excellent clinical results judged by the subjective and objective evaluation . 7 patients of alopaecia greata observed both subjectively and objectively 25 % hair regrowth . none of the patients observed any untoward side effect . “ plant extract ” means and includes extracts of all plant parts of any of the herbs described herein .
disclosed is a natural hair care composition comprising extract of flowers of plant butea frondosa and / or stem bark of plant butea parviflora , and / or the exudates of stem and root of plant butea superba , and a cosmetically acceptable carrier . also disclosed are methods for obtaining the plant extract and use thereof in regulation of hair growth and prevention of hair loss in all kinds of hair disorders .