The aim of this study was to fabricate and characterize a pharmaceutical emulgel co-loaded with naproxen/eugenol for transdermal delivery to improve the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects and to eliminate GIT adverse reactions. Emulgel was prepared using a slow emulsification method and evaluated for physical appearance, thermodynamic stability, viscosity, pH, spreadability, extrudability, in-vitro drug release, drug content, ex-vivo permeation, drug retention studies and in-vivo studies. The emulgel exhibited good physical attributes, being thermodynamically stable with no phase separation, having excellent homogeneity, and pH 5.5 to 6.5. Slight changes in viscosity, spreadability and extrudability with respect to high temperature were observed (p > 0.05). The drug content was 96.69 ± 1.18% and 97.24 ± 1.27% for naproxen and eugenol, respectively. The maximum release of naproxen after 12 h was 85.14 ± 1.11%, whereas eugenol was 86.67 ± 1.23% from emulgel following anomalous non-Fickian mechanism. The maximum % permeation of naproxen across skin was 78.5 ± 1.30, whereas maximum % permeation of eugenol was 83.7 ± 1.33 after 12 h. The skin retention of eugenol and naproxen was 8.52 ± 0.22% and 6.98 ± 0.24%, respectively. The optimized emulgel inhibited the carrageenan induced paw edema. The pain reaction times of optimized emulgel and standard marketed product (Voltral^®) were 11.16 ± 0.17 and 10.36 ± 0.47, respectively, with no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). This study concluded that transdermal delivery of naproxen-eugenol emulgel synergized the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of naproxen and eugenol.

Urticaria affects all age groups of a population. It is triggered by allergens in foods, insect bites, medications, and environmental conditions. Urticaria is characterized by itching, a burning sensation, wheals and flares, erythema, and localized edema. The aim of this study was to develop a polymeric dosage form of ebastine using Carbopol 940 and mixture of span and tween. The emulsion was prepared, the gelling agent was added and the desired emulgel loaded with active drug was formulated. The formulations were subjected to physical stability, pH, viscosity, spreadability, drug content analysis, thermal analysis, in vitro drug release, and in vivo anti-allergic activity in animal model. The formulated emulgel exhibited good physical stability. The pH of the formulation was in the range of 5.2 ± 0.17 to 5.5 ± 0.20 which is suitable for topical application. Insignificant changes (p > .05) were observed in viscosity and spreadability of stored emulgels. The drug content was in the official limit of Pharmacopeia (i.e. 100 ± 10%). DSC measurements predicted that there is no interaction between the active moiety and excipients in emulgel formulation. The optimized formulation (ES3) released 74.25 ± 1.8% of ebastine after 12 h. The ebastine emulgel showed significant (p < .05; ANOVA) in vivo anti-allergic activity as compared to commercial product Benadryl^® in histamine-induced allergy in rabbits. This study concluded that a topical drug delivery of ebastine-loaded emulgel could be well tolerated and safe for the treatment of urticaria/hives.

The genus Salsola L. (Russian thistle, Saltwort) includes halophyte plants and is considered one of the largest genera in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus involves annual semi-dwarf to dwarf shrubs and woody tree. The genus Salsola is frequently overlooked, and few people are aware of its significance. The majority of studies focus on pollen morphology and species identification. Salsola has had little research on its phytochemical makeup or biological effects. Therefore, we present this review to cover all aspects of genus Salsola, including taxonomy, distribution, differences in the chemical constituents and representative examples of isolated compounds produced by various species of genus Salsola and in relation to their several reported biological activities for use in folk medicine worldwide.

Fungal eye infections are largely disseminated, especially in developing countries where they may leave over half a million people blind per year. The current study aims to boost the voriconazole antifungal efficiency via loading it as cubosomes (VZ-Cub) into hyaluronic acid and poloxamer-based ocular in situ gel. VZ-Cub were fabricated applying Box-Behnken design and employing phytantriol, poloxamer F127, and VZ amounts as independent variables. The produced nano vesicles were evaluated for the dependent variables of particle size (PS), entrapment efficiency (EE%), and transcorneal steady-state flux (Jss) of the VZ, and, the obtained optimal VZ-Cub was loaded into an in situ gel base to enhance its ocular residence time. The in situ gel formulation was tested for its gelation temperature, drug release behavior, transcorneal permeation effects, and antifungal activity. The optimized VZ-Cub consisted of 100 mg of phytantriol, 60 mg of poloxamer F127, and 21 mg of VZ. This formulation led to a minimum PS of 71 nm, an EE% of 66%, Jss value of 6.5 µg/(cm²·min), and stability index of 94 ± 2%. The optimized VZ-Cub-loaded in situ gel released 84% VZ after 12 h and yielded a 4.5-fold increase in drug permeation compared with the VZ aqueous dispersion. The antifungal activity, which was obtained by measuring the fungal growth inhibition zones, revealed that the VZ-Cub-loaded in situ gel formulation had a 3.89-fold increase in antifungal activity compared with the VZ dispersion. In summary, an ocular in situ gel loaded with VZ-Cub could be an effective novel nano-paradigm with enhanced transcorneal permeation and antifungal properties.

In oral administration systems, mucoadhesive polymers are crucial for drug localization and target-specific activities. The current work focuses on the application of thiolated xanthan gum (TXG) to develop and characterize a novel mucoadhesive nanocrystal (NC) system of simvastatin (SIM). Preparation of SIM-NC was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) coupled with statistical applications. The concentration of Pluronic F-127 and vacuum pressure were optimized by central composite design. Based on this desirable approach, the prerequisites of the optimum formulation can be achieved by a formulation having 92.568 mg of F-127 and 77.85 mbar vacuum pressure to result in EE of 88.8747% and PS of 0.137.835 nm. An optimized formulation was prepared with the above conditions along with xanthan gum (XG) and TXG and various parameters were evaluated. A formulation containing TXG showed 98.25% of SIM at the end of 96 h. Regarding the mucoadhesion potential evaluated by measuring zeta potential, TXG-SIM-NC shoed the maximum zeta potential of 16,455.8 ± 869 mV at the end of 6 h. The cell viability percentage of TXG-SIM-NC (52.54 ± 3.4% with concentration of 50 µg/mL) was less than the plain SIM, with XG-SIM-NC showing the highest cytotoxicity on HSC-3 cells. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies confirm the enhanced bioavailability of formulated mucoadhesive systems of SIM-NC, with TXG-SIM-NC exhibiting the maximum.

Fungal infections of the paranasal cavity are among the most widely spread illnesses nowadays. The aim of the current study was to estimate the effectiveness of an in situ gel loaded with voriconazole‒clove oil nano-transferosomes (VRC-CO-NT) in enhancing the activity of voriconazole against Aspergillus flavus, which causes rhinosinusitis. The nephrotoxic side effects of voriconazole may be reduced through the incorporation of the clove oil, which has antioxidant activity that protects tissue. The Box‒Behnken design was applied to formulate the VRC-CO-NT. The particle size, entrapment efficiency, antifungal inhibition zone, and serum creatinine concentration were considered dependent variables, and the soybean lecithin, VRC, and CO concentrations were considered independent ones. The final optimized formulation was loaded into a deacetylated gellan gum base and evaluated for its gelation, rheological properties, drug release profile, permeation capabilities, and in vivo nephrotoxicity. The optimum formulation was determined to be composed of 50 mg/mL lecithin, 18 mg/mL VRC, and 75 mg/mL CO, with a minimum particle size of 102.96 nm, an entrapment efficiency of 71.70%, an inhibition zone of 21.76 mm, and a serum creatinine level of 0.119 mmol/L. The optimized loaded in situ gel released 82.5% VRC after 12 hours and resulted in a 5.4-fold increase in drug permeation. The in vivo results obtained using rabbits resulted in a nonsignificant differentiation among the renal function parameters compared with the negative control group. In conclusion, nasal in situ gel loaded with VRC-CO-NT is considered an efficient novel carrier with enhanced antifungal properties with no signs of nephrotoxicity.