Effect of Shirish (Albizia lebbeck Benth.) on Irritant Contact Dermatitis: A Pharmaco-Ayurvedic Appraisal

DOI

https://www.doi.org/10.59256/ijrtmr.20260604045

Published In

Volume 6, Issue 4 (2026)

Published Online

July-August 2026

Pages

410-415

Article Type

Review Article

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Irritant Contact Dermatitis (ICD) is the most common occupational and environmental skin disorder, accounting for a large share of occupational dermatoses reported from Asian countries. Long-term reliance on topical corticosteroids, the current mainstay of treatment, is limited by adverse effects such as skin atrophy, striae, telangiectasia and, with extensive or occlusive use, suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Ayurveda's Agadtantra describes Kritrim Visha (artificial poisons) as a cause of Twak Vikara (skin disorders) closely resembling ICD, and prescribes Vishaghna Lepa among the Chaturvinshati Upakrama for its local management. Shirish (Albizia lebbeck Benth.), used as Panchang (root, bark, leaf, flower and seed), is classically regarded as Shreshtha Vishaghna and Raktashodhaka, and forms the basis of two candidate topical formulations - Shirish Panchang Lepa and Shirish Panchang Malahar - currently under experimental evaluation in a 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-induced ICD model in Wistar rats. This article reviews the pharmacological, phytochemical and classical Ayurvedic literature on Shirish/Albizia lebbeck relevant to ICD and correlates it with the pathophysiology of the DNCB model and the applied pharmaceutics of Lepa and Malahar Kalpana. Documented pharmacological actions include anti-inflammatory activity of up to 68.57% inhibition in the Freund's-adjuvant paw-oedema model, analgesic activity, potent mast-cell-stabilising and anti-histaminic action (IC50 = 85 μg/mL; suppression of histamine H1-receptor and histidine-decarboxylase gene transcription), antioxidant activity, and a rich saponin-tannin-flavonoid-catechin phytochemical profile - several of which parallel the mast-cell/histamine/Th2-cytokine axis activated by DNCB. No published study was found evaluating Albizia lebbeck specifically in a DNCB-induced dermatitis model, indicating a genuine literature gap that the underlying dissertation is positioned to address. On pharmaceutic grounds, the Siktha-Taila-based Malahar is expected to offer greater standardisation, spreadability and skin-contact stability than the classically prepared Lepa, though this remains to be confirmed experimentally. The review concludes that Shirish Panchang possesses a coherent, multi-target pharmacological rationale for use in ICD and represents a promising, cost-effective, steroid-sparing candidate warranting rigorous in vivo and histopathological validation.