English

Abstract

In the present work, oil in water (o/w) cream based drug formulations were designed and prepared for the treatment of psoriasis affecting 1% to 2% of people in general. In the study, fluocinolone acetonide is chosen as the drug which is an effective topical corticosteroid. These formulations were subjected to various physiochemical parameters like spreadability, tube extrudability, pH, drug content, viscosity, infra-red (IR) studies and In vitro drug release studies. Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) study revealed no interaction between the drug and exciepients. Totally nine formulations were prepared. Among the nine formulations, F8 was selected as the best formulation which is produced in three batches with process variables. The pH of all batches ranges from 6.5 to 6.7, drug content from 96% to 99%, spreadability and tube extrudability ranges from 17.02 gm.cm/sec to 17.84 gm.cm/sec and 98.10% to 98.71% respectively. The formulation F8 batch-II showed maximum drug release 97.42% when compared to other batches. Stability studies of selected formulations were also done at temperatures of 40 oC/ 75 RH and 25 oC/60 RH for the period of three months and results showed no significant changes in physico-chemical parameters. In vivo studies on wistar rats was performed and the result showed that the formulations are devoid of any primary skin irritation. Present study revealed that fluocinolone acetonide o/w cream formulation should be useful for treatment of psoriasis.