The systemic use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (
NSAIDs) which act by inhibiting
cyclooxygenase (COX) is severely hampered by gastric and
peptic ulcers. The topical delivery of
NSAIDs has the advantages of avoiding gastric and
peptic ulcers and delivering the
drug to the
inflammation site. Importance of
aceclofenac as a new generational
NSAID has inspired the development of topical
dosage forms. This mode of administration may help to avoid typical side effects of
NSAIDs associated with oral and systemic administration such as gastric irritation, particularly diarrhoea,
nausea,
abdominal pain and
flatulence. The aim of this study was to formulate topical gel containing 1% of
aceclofenac in
carbopol and PEG base and to evaluate it for
analgesic and antiinflammatory activity using
carrageenan-induced
thermal hyperalgesia and paw oedema in rats.
Carrageenan administration into the hind paw produced a significant
inflammation associated with
hyperalgesia as shown by decreased rat paw withdrawal latency in response to a thermal stimulus (47+/-0.5 degrees C) 4 h after
carrageenan injection. Topical application of AF1 significantly attenuated the development of
hypersensitivity to thermal stimulus as compared to control (P<0.05) and other formulation treated groups (P<0.05). All the AF semisolid formulations, when applied topically 2 h before
carrageenan administration, inhibited paw
edema in a timedependent manner with maximum percent
edema inhibition of 80.33+/-2.52 achieved with AF1 after 5 h of
carrageenan administration However, topical application of
AF2 markedly prevented the development of
edema as compared to other formulation (
AF2 and AF3) treated groups (P<0.05). Among all the semisolid formulations,
Carbopol gel base was found to be most suitable dermatological base for
aceclofenac.