EFFECT OF TERPENES AS PENETRATION ENHANCERS ON THE RELEASE AND PERMEATION KINETICS OF MELOXICAM GELS FORMULATIONS

Abstract

Introduction: The transdermal route of administration has been extensively accepted as one of the potential route for the local and systemic delivery of drugs. The greatest obstacle in drug absorption is the highly organized stratum corneum (SC), which hinder drug transport. The probable solution leads to inclusion of penetration enhancers for reversibly disorganizing the barrier characteristic of stratum corneum. Objective: The main objective of the research work was to study the influence of peppermint oil, lemongrass oil, clove oil and turpentine oil as penetration enhancers on the percutaneous absorption of Meloxicam (ME) from a Carbopol 934 based gel formulation. Materials and Methods: ME gel sample was divided into 5 batches i.e., F1, F2, F3, F4, F5. Except F1, all other batches were incorporated with penetration enhancers (5% w/w) namely peppermint oil, clove oil, lemongrass oil and turpentine oil. The formulations were further evaluated for in-vitro drug release studies using a standard cellophane membrane at 37± 0.5˚ C in phosphate buffer pH 7.4 and a comparative anti-inflammatory activity was conducted using rat paw edema method. Result and Discussion: In-vitro permeation studies using a standard cellophane membrane showed that the rank order of enhancement ratio (ERflux) for Meloxicam as peppermint oil (1.414) > clove oil (1.353) > lemongrass oil (1.326) > turpentine oil (1.272) proving peppermint oil as the most competent penetration enhancer for Meloxicam. Further In- vivo anti-inflammatory activity were carried out using the standard rat paw edema method. The in vivo studies revealed that gel containing peppermint, clove, lemongrass and turpentine exhibited 2.53, 2.0, 1.9 and 1.38 times higher anti-inflammatory effect as compared to meloxicam (standard). Conclusion: It can be concluded from the study that all the 4 terpenes significantly increases the permeation of meloxicam gels and can be used as effective penetration enhancers.