Acharya Balkrishna
Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Institute, Roorkee-Haridwar Road, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249405 India
Kanchan Singh
Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Institute, Roorkee-Haridwar Road, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249405 India
Swati Haldar
Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Institute, Roorkee-Haridwar Road, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249405 India
Anurag Varshney
Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Institute, Roorkee-Haridwar Road, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249405 India
Keywords:
Herbal-based spray, Germicidal, Fomite-based infection, Hand and mobile sanitizer, Surface contamination
Abstract
Inanimate objects/surfaces become fomites upon contacting infectious agents such as disease-causing bacteria, fungi and viruses. Smartphones are one of the most prominent among these fomites. COVID-19 pandemic has raised the awareness on mobile sanitization, as an active measure to curb fomite-mediated viral transmission. Available mobile sanitizers and ultraviolet (UV) ray mediated mobile sanitization have their own sets of pros and cons, often being less user-friendly. This study explored the germicidal efficacy of an herbal-based sanitizer, Germi-X spray, on hands and mobiles, through microbiological techniques of micro-broth dilution and Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion assay, thumb print assay and swab test. Notably, Germi-X spray was found to be 6–67% more effective against surface pathogens, like, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as compared to a very popular product in the Indian market, which was taken as a control for this study. The observed anti-bacterial activity of the spray from disc-diffusion assay suggests its greater surface retentivity as compared to the control. Germicidal potency of Germi-X spray, when used to sanitize hands, was found to be greater than 80%. There was ~ 17-fold reduction in microbial counts after sanitizing smartphones with Germi-X spray. The novelty of this study lies in providing experimental evidence for this herbal-based surface sanitizer in efficiently disinfecting one of the super contaminated fomite, the smartphones. In conclusion, having an herbal base with a high germicidal efficacy against surface pathogens, together with longer surface retention, Germi-X spray appears to be an eco-friendly and cost-effective sanitizer for the surfaces of electronic gadgets like smartphones.
Keywords: Herbal-based spray, Germicidal, Fomite-based infection, Hand and mobile sanitizer, Surface contamination
Author Biographies
Acharya Balkrishna, Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Institute, Roorkee-Haridwar Road, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249405 India
Department of Allied and Applied Sciences, University of Patanjali, NH-58, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249405 India
Anurag Varshney, Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Institute, Roorkee-Haridwar Road, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249405 India
Special Centre for Systems Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067 India
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