DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALOE VERA-BASED EMULGEL FOR THE TOPICAL DELIVERY OF ANTIFUNGAL DRUG Authors: Bhise MR , VASU SN, KANDALKAR AM, BURAKLE PV, PAHUJA SR AND BHAJIPALE NS
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Terbinafine HCl (TB) is a widely recommended drug for the topical treatment of
plaque psoriasis. However, low water solubility and short half life of Terbinafine present major
obstacles in the development of an effective topical formulation. Thus, there is a demand for the
development of a safe and effective topical system to deliver hydrophobic Terbinafine. The
present study aimed to develop an Aloe vera-based emulgel formulation to ensure enhanced skin
deposition of Terbinafine for effective treatment of plaque psoriasis. Materials and Methods:
Different formulations (TE1-TE4) of Aloe vera emulgel were prepared using dispersion
technique, wherein varying concentrations of propylene glycol (6-14% w/w) and carbopol 934
(0.5-1.0% w/w) were used. Results: Zetasizer measurements revealed that the globule size of the
formulations ranged from 10.34 µm±0.9 to 14.60 µm±1.4 (n=50). Extrudability analysis for the
TE3 and TE2 formulations revealed an extrudability of 5.6±0.11 g/cm2 and 5.8±0.13 g/cm2,
respectively. The pH of the formulations was recorded in the range of 5.8-6.8. Among these
formulations, TE3 showed a maximum drug content of 94.64%±0.29 (n=3), and thus was used
for further in vitro evolutions. A texture analyzer showed that an optimized DE3 formulation was firmer and exhibited optimal spreadability in comparison with the TE2 formulation. For TE3, the
mean max force that represented “firmness” was recorded to be 833.37 g, where as the mean
area, denoting “work of shear”, was 324.230g.sec. The TE3 formulation exhibited (TB)
permeation of 95.40±1.6% over a period of 7 h, as determined using an in house fabricated
Franze diffusion cell. Evaluation of in vitro release kinetics revealed that the release of (TB)
fitted into the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. Conclusion: Physicochemical characteristics and
enhanced in vitro permeation of (TB) from Aloe vera emulgel highlight its suitability to be
efficiently employed for the topical treatment of skin ailments.
Key words: Aloe vera, Terbinafine HCl, plaque psoriasis, emulgel, skin diseases, kinetic models
Publication date: 01/10/2021 https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2021/October/MS_IJBPAS_2021_OCT_SPCL_1046.pdfDownload PDFhttps://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2021/10.10.1046