Integrating Herbal Science and Nanostructured Emulgel Technology for Enhanced Topical Anti-Inflammatory Action

The current study was led to advance an Emulgel formulation encompassing budding herbal anti-inflammatory agent viz., tea tree oil, lemongrass oil, ginger oleoresin & capsaicin. Inflammation and rheumatism remain serious problem in the present era. Although there are number of allopathic formulation available in market for the treatment of inflammation, but these suffer from side effects like heartburn, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, liver damage, fluid retention, nephrotoxicity etc. It is considered that the herbal medication as safer as compared to that of allopathic medicine in the market. The herbal components like Tea tree oil, Capsaicin, Ginger oleo-resin, Lemon grass oil has been selected for the development of anti-inflammatory formulation, as from literature review it revealed that these are effective in the treatment of inflammation. Carbopol 940 can be used as gelling agent. Tea tree oil, lemon grass oil, linseed oil & capsaicin were incorporated for topical delivery system in the gel form and cow ghee was used as a permeation enhancer. The gels were subjected for evaluation on the basis of appearance, pH, spreadability, extrudability, rheological behavior, in vitro release performance, anti-inflammatory study. Two different formulations of with and without permeation enhancer were screened at preliminary level and were compared with marketed preparation containing diclofenac sodium. The anti-inflammatory study suggests that formulation with cow ghee emulgel is superior to that of all formulation including marketed gel. Factors Affecting Topical Drug Delivery System: Physiological factors are Skin condition, Lipid content, Blood flow, Skin hydration, Skin temperature and Physiochemical factors are partition coefficient, Molecular weight, Drug concentration, Effect on vehicles. Physiology of Skin: Skin consists of Epidermis Dermis Subcutaneous Tissue. Epidermis is composed basically of: Keratinocytes, Melanocytes, Langerhans cells. Introduction: Emulgels are emulsions oil-in-water or water-in-oil that are combined with an emulsifying agent to form gels. Emulgel is made up of two components: Emulsion: An emulsion is a biphasic system made up of two immiscible liquids, which is one of finely and consistently propagated as globules throughout the other to form an emulsion. Gel: According to the U.S.P., gels are semisolid systems made up of a dispersion whether large organic molecules or small inorganic particles that are encased and penetrated by liquid. Characterization and Evaluation of Herbal Emulgel: Physical Appearance, pH, Viscosity study, Spreadability, Total Ash Value, Loss on drying, In-vitro Diffusion Study. Conclusion: The dosage forms are enhancing topical drug delivery of natural drugs for various topical problem.