Chapter 124 - Skin Creams Made with Olive Oil

Abstract

Olive oil and its derivatives are extensively used in the preparation of many pharmaceutical formulations for therapeutic or cosmetic applications. When a drug is included in these preparations, a local or systemic effect is achieved. Because of its properties, olive oil can act as an active agent by itself or as an excipient of several formulations. Oleic acid and the unsaponifiable fraction are two components of olive oil very important in health care. The unsaponifiable fraction of olive oil can be considered as an active agent by itself, and oleic acid is used in the elaboration of topic formulations as excipient but can also act as a percutaneous absorption enhancer of several drugs. Olive oil also contains oleocantal, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor with anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties similar to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen. Furthermore, olive oil and oleic acid have been tested in the preparation of drug delivery systems with very promising results.