Vol. 8, Issue 2 (2019)

Author(s):
Thiruppathi M, Lavakumar V, Natarajan P and Sowmiya C

Abstract:
The aim of the research was to prepare dexibuprofen emulsion for incorporation in Aloe vera gel base to formulate ‘Dexibuprofen – Aloe vera trans emulgel’ (DAE) and to carryout in-vitro pharmaceutical assessment and in-vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatory studies of the product. Dexibuprofen is a racemic enantiomer of ibuprofen and its more pharmacologically effective than ibuprofen. The drug loading capacity of transdermal gels is low for hydrophobic drugs such as dexibuprofen. Dexibuprofen can be effectively incorporated into emulgels (a combination of emulsion and gel). Aloe vera has a mild anti-inflammatory effect and in the present study Aloe vera gel was formulated and used as a gel base to prepare DAE. The prepared emulgels were evaluated for pharmaceutical parameters like viscosity, pH, in-vitro permeation, stability and skin irritation test. In-vivo anti-inflammatory studies were performed using fresh egg white albumin induced hind paw edema method and analgesic studies were performed by using tail flick method in Wistar rats. The results were compared with that of diclofenac gel. When applying the gel on skin leads no skin irritation. Stability studies proved the integrity of the formulation. The percentage of inhibition of edema was highest for the prepared DAE (60.94% inhibition after 180 min) compared to standard diclofenac gel (49.6%). From our results, it was concluded that the Aloe vera gel acts as an effective gel base to prepare dexibuprofen emulgel with high drug loading capacity (78% drug content) with significant anti-inflammatory effect.