International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research Publisher Duzce University Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Year: 2020 IJTCMR 2020;1(3): 125-130 125 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Use of Sunflower Seed Lecithin as an Emulsifier in Herbal Cream Preparation Tugba Turken Akcay 1 Beste Karadeniz 1 Neslihan Sirin 1 Gulsah Aydin 1 Haydar Goksu 2 * 1 Traditional and Complementary Medicine Application and Research Center, Duzce University, Duzce, Turkey 2 Kaynasli Vocational School, Duzce University, Duzce, Turkey *Corresponding Author: Haydar Goksu, e-mail: haydargoksu@duzce.edu.tr Received: 17.08.2020 Accepted: 05.10.2020 Abstract Objective: Lecithin is a commercially used emulsifier. Generally, lecithin used in foodstuffs is obtained from soybean oil. In recent years, lecithin obtained from sunflower seeds is also used as an emulsifier in the food industry. In this study, the use of lecithin obtained from sunflower seeds was tested the cosmetics industry. Material-Method: Considering the widespread production of sunflower oil, together with lecithin obtained from this source the aim of this study is a) To produce a cream containing sunflower lecithin and St. John’s Wort oil b) To bring a new product to the market by performing microbiological tests of the produced cream. Lecithin can be separated from crude oil by the method of hydration. In addition to antimicrobial efficacy test, the artificial contamination created on the sample, the logarithmic calculation of the number of viable microorganisms remaining in the product is performed on the 7 th , 14 th and 28 th days and the antimicrobial effectiveness of the sample is determined. The products obtained have been dermatologically tested in accredited laboratories whether they cause irritation or not. Results: Dermatological, antimicrobial and microbiological tests of the herbal cream that the products have been tested and its reliability and authenticity have been proved. As a result of the evaluations and calculations made at the end of the 72 th hour, it was evaluated as "not an irritant/not a cause of irritation" dermatologically. According to the results of the antimicrobial analysis, the sample was determined to be protected against microbial growth. Conclusion: A commercial emulsifier was used in the herbal cream formulation with St. John's Wort, which was previously developed by our group. In this study, lecithin obtained from sunflower seeds was used instead of commercial emulsifiers. The dermatological tests and the antimicrobial efficacy tests of the obtained herbal cream were carried out in accredited laboratories. It has been proven by tests that the resulting cream formulation meets the necessary criteria. Keywords: Lecithin, Sunflower Oil, Cream, Formulation/Stability INTRODUCTION Lecithin is a compound commonly derived from egg yolk, soybeans and recently sunflower, with another name being phosphatidylcholine (Figure 1). Lecithin is essentially a phospholipid, and phospholipids are generally substances that form, protect, and maintain cell building blocks and keep them healthy 1,2 . It is also reported that they prevent hardening of the cell membrane and protect cells against oxidation. Sunflower is a good source of lecithin in countries where it is grown 3,4 . Lecithin released during degumming is one of the important industrial wastes in the oil industry during the production of refined oils. The adhesive materials separated from the crude oil by degumming process are treated as ‘process waste’. The most important component in this waste is lecithin. Lecithin is widely used in the food, textile, paint and cosmetic industries. Lecithin has been recognized by the FAO in “GRAS” (generally recognized as safe) status, meaning no limitation has been imposed for the amount of lecithin to be used in foods 5-7 . Because of its molecular structure, commercial lecithin has both lipophilic and hydrophilic properties, and its use as an emulsifier depends on this property 8 . The most important function of lecithin, which is emulsification, is holding two different liquids together and forming oil in water or water emulsions in oil. With these amphoteric