Formulation and in vivo evaluation of the extract of flower of corpo gel for topical aplication

Abstract

The flowers of Thrypodanthus acutifolius (corpo) are commonly used in folk medicine for the treatment of pain and inflammation associated with musculoskeletal disorders. Recently, we demonstrated antinflammatory and antinociceptive activities. The aim of the present research was to develop a transdermal gel formulation of the flower aqueous extract. The in vivo antinflammatory activity of the gel formulation was studied using a rat model. The gel was prepared with carbopol 940. The physical appearance, homogeneity, stability, extensibility and pH were tested. The antinflammatory activity was performed using carrageenan induced rats hind pawoedema model. From the results it is evident that the gel formulation showed good homogeneity, extensibility and stability for 60 days. The physical appearance of the gel formulation was bright and brown like the extract. The pH was in the range of 5,5 to 6,5 which lies within the normal pH range of the skin and would not produce skin irritation. The antinflammatory topical activity in rats revealed that the corpo extract inhibited the inflammation sited at a controlled level over a period of 4,5 hours of treatment. These results suggest the feasibility of the topical gel formulation of the flower of Thrypodanthus acutifolius.