Anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of ketoprofen in palm oil esters nanoemulsion

Ketoprofen is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug has been used in the treatment of various kinds of pains, inflammation and arthritis. However, oral administration of ketoprofen produces serious gastrointestinal adverse effects. One of the promising methods to overcome these adverse effects is to administer the drug through the skin. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects from topically applied ketoprofen entrapped palm oil esters (POEs) based nanoemulsion and to compare with market ketoprofen product, Fastum® gel. The novelty of this study is, use of POEs for the oil phase of nanoemulsion. The anti-inflammatory and analgesic studies were performed on rats by carrageenan-induced rat hind paw edema test and carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia pain threshold test to compare the ketoprofen entrapped POEs based nanoemulsion formulation and market formulation. Results indicated that there are no significant different between ketoprofen entrapped POEs nanoemulsion and market formulation in carrageenan-induced rat hind paw edema study and carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia pain threshold study. However, it shows a significant different between POEs nanoemulsion formulation and control group in these studies at p<0.05. From these results it was concluded that the developed nanoemulsion have great potential for topical application of ketoprofen

Once daily long-acting beta2-agonists and long-acting muscarinic antagonists in a combined inhaler versus placebo for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory condition causing accumulation of mucus in the airways, cough, and breathlessness; the disease is progressive and is the fourth most common cause of death worldwide. Current treatment strategies for COPD are multi-modal and aim to reduce morbidity and mortality and increase patients’ quality of life by slowing disease progression and preventing exacerbations. Fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) of a long-acting beta 2 -agonist (LABA) plus a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) delivered via a single inhaler are approved by regulatory authorities in the USA, Europe, and Japan for the treatment of COPD. Several LABA/LAMA FDCs are available and recent meta-analyses have clarified their utility versus their mono-components in COPD. Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of once-daily LABA/LAMA FDCs versus placebo will facilitate the comparison of different FDCs in future network meta-analyses. Objectives We assessed the evidence for once-daily LABA/LAMA combinations (delivered in a single inhaler) versus placebo on clinically meaningful outcomes in patients with stable COPD. Search methods We identified trials from Cochrane Airways’ Specialised Register (CASR) and also conducted a search of the US National Institutes of Health Ongoing Trials Register ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov) and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (apps.who.int/trialsearch). We searched CASR and trial registries from their inception to 3 December 2018; we imposed no restriction on language of publication. Selection criteria We included parallel-group and cross-over randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing once-daily LABA/LAMA FDC versus placebo. We included studies reported as full-text, those published as abstract only, and unpublished data. We excluded very short-term trials with a duration of less than 3 weeks. We included adults (≥ 40 years old) with a diagnosis of stable COPD. We included studies that allowed participants to continue using their ICS during the trial as long as the ICS was not part of the randomised treatment. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently screened the search results to determine included studies, extracted data on prespecified outcomes of interest, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies; we resolved disagreements by discussion with a third review author. Where possible, we used a random-effects model to meta-analyse extracted data. We rated all outcomes using the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) system and presented results in’Summary of findings’ tables. Main results We identified and included 22 RCTs randomly assigning 8641 people with COPD to either once-daily LABA/LAMA FDC (6252 participants) or placebo (3819 participants); nine studies had a cross-over design. Studies had a duration of between three and 52 weeks (median 12 weeks). The mean age of participants across the included studies ranged from 59 to 65 years and in 21 of 22 studies, participants had GOLD stage II or III COPD. Concomitant inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use was permitted in all of the included studies (where stated); across the included studies, between 28% to 58% of participants were using ICS at baseline. Six studies evaluated the once-daily combination of IND/GLY (110/50 µg), seven studies evaluated TIO/OLO (2.5/5 or 5/5 µg), eight studies evaluated UMEC/VI (62.5/5, 125/25 or 500/25 µg) and one study evaluated ACD/FOR (200/6, 200/12 or 200/18 µg); all LABA/LAMA combinations were compared with placebo. The risk of bias was generally considered to be low or unknown (insufficient detail provided), with only one study per domain considered to have a high risk of bias except for the domain’other bias’ which was determined to be at high risk of bias in four studies (in three studies, disease severity was greater at baseline in participants receiving LABA/LAMA compared with participants receiving placebo, which would be expected to shift the treatment effect in favour of placebo). Compared to the placebo, the pooled results for the primary outcomes for the once-daily LABA/LAMA arm were as follows: all-cause mortality, OR 1.88 (95% CI 0.81 to 4.36, low-certainty evidence); all-cause serious adverse events (SAEs), OR 1.06 (95% CI 0.88 to 1.28, high-certainty evidence); acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD), OR 0.53 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.78, moderate-certainty evidence); adjusted St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score, MD -4.08 (95% CI -4.80 to -3.36, high-certainty evidence); proportion of SGRQ responders, OR 1.75 (95% CI 1.54 to 1.99). Compared with placebo, the pooled results for the secondary outcomes for the once-daily LABA/LAMA arm were as follows: adjusted trough forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), MD 0.20 L (95% CI 0.19 to 0.21, moderate-certainty evidence); adjusted peak FEV1, MD 0.31 L (95% CI 0.29 to 0.32, moderate-certainty evidence); and all-cause AEs, OR 0.95 (95% CI 0.86 to 1.04; high-certainty evidence). No studies reported data for the 6-minute walk test. The results were generally consistent across subgroups for different LABA/LAMA combinations and doses. Authors’ conclusions Compared with placebo, once-daily LABA/LAMA (either IND/GLY, UMEC/VI or TIO/OLO) via a combination inhaler is associated with a clinically significant improvement in lung function and health-related quality of life in patients with mild-to-moderate COPD; UMEC/VI appears to reduce the rate of exacerbations in this population. These conclusions are supported by moderate or high certainty evidence based on studies with an observation period of up to one year. Copyright © 2019 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Modification and Validation of an HPLC Method for Quantification of Piroxicam

Piroxicam is a NSAID that is widely used in the treatment of joint pain and osteoarthritis. The objectives of the study were to modify and validate HPLC method so as to obtain an accurate, sensitive and precise method to quantify piroxicam concentrations without interference from the other ingredients presence in the formulation. The method published by Owen et al. was adapted and modified to suit the above requirements. The modification was carried out on the mobile phase as the mobile phase used by the authors was not able to separate the drug peak from the interference of the formulation excipients. The modified mobile phase consisted of 5 mM of disodium hydrogen phosphate adjusted to pH 3 with concentrated ortho phosphoric acid, methanol, acetonitrile and glacial acetic acid at ratios of 27:20:52:1 respectively. The method was validated and found to be specific, precise, accurate and reproducible even when run at different times of the same day or on different times on different days. The limit of detection and quantification were determined to be 0.035 μg/ml and 0.0625 μg/ml respectively. It could be concluded that this method could be used to determine piroxicam concentration in the samples collected from in vitro study of permeability through the synthetic membrane and excised rat skin.Keywords: Piroxicam, HPLC, Quantification analysis, Modification

Topical piroxicam in vitro release and in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects from palm oil esters-based nanocream

During recent years, there has been growing interest in use of topical vehicle systems to assist in drug permeation through the skin. Drugs of interest are usually those that are problematic when given orally, such as piroxicam, a highly effective anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, and analgesic, but with the adverse effect of causing gastrointestinal ulcers. The present study investigated the in vitro and in vivo pharmacodynamic activity of a newly synthesized palm oil esters (POEs)-based nanocream containing piroxicam for topical delivery

Study of Pseudoternary Phase Diagram Behaviour and the Effect of Several Tweens and Spans on Palm Oil Esters Characteristics

Palm oil esters are high molecular weight esters oil that has been newly synthesized by University Putra Malaysia researchers. It has received a lot of attention for its pharmaceutical and chemical application. The aim of this study is to study the effects of the palm oil esters with different HLB surfactant mixture on the ternary diagrams behaviour and to confine the various systems resulted from these combinations. These systems include traditional emulsion, gel area, transpernat micro-emulsion area, O/W and W/O emulsions. In this study, pseudoternary phase diagrams of water, POEs and non-ionic surfactant mixture of several HLB values were constructed using water titration method. The resultant mixtures collected after each addition and mixing of water were analysed visually, along with conductivity, dilution in water and dye test (methylene blue) to classify them as O/W emulsion (transparent and opaque) or W/O (opaque) and liquid or gel. As a conclusion, palm oil esters were found to be suitable for the formulation of different types of emulsion. Additionally, different HLB value of non-ionic surfactant(s) exhibited different pseudoternary phase diagram characteristics.Keywords: palm oil esters, Tween, Span, Pseudoternary phase diagram, O/W emulsio

Stability Studies of Nano-Scaled Emulsions Containing Ibuprofen for Topical Delivery

Biphasic systems, like emulsions and nano-scaled emulsions, are naturally unstable. The extent and rate of the destabilization process differ from system to another. The stability of such systems upon storage is an important aspect to ensure their abilities to exert the expected effects and consequently render them pharmaceutically acceptable. In the present study, the stability of the nano-scaled emulsion containing newly synthesized palm oil esters (POEs) was assessed under different storage conditions and over specified durations. Three nano-scaled emulsion formulae were chosen for this investigation. They basically comprised ibuprofen as the active ingredient, triethanolamine aqueous solution pH 7.4 as the external phase, POEs as the oil phase, Tween 80 as an emulsifier, Carbopol® 940 as the rheology modifier and menthol or limonene as penetration promoters. The evaluation processes were carried out at several temperatures (4, 25 and 40 °C) with factors, such as droplets size, electrical conductivity, drug content, pH and flow properties were relatively held constant. The data collectively showed that all formulations were stable over an observation period of three months.Keywords: Ibuprofen, nano-scaled emulsion, palm oil esters, stabilit

Stability Studies of Nano-Scaled Emulsions Containing Ibuprofen for Topical Delivery

Biphasic systems, like emulsions and nano-scaled emulsions, are naturally unstable. The extent and rate of the destabilization process differ from system to another. The stability of such systems upon storage is an important aspect to ensure their abilities to exert the expected effects and consequently render them pharmaceutically acceptable. In the present study, the stability of the nano-scaled emulsion containing newly synthesized palm oil esters (POEs) was assessed under different storage conditions and over specified durations. Three nano-scaled emulsion formulae were chosen for this investigation. They basically comprised ibuprofen as the active ingredient, triethanolamine aqueous solution pH 7.4 as the external phase, POEs as the oil phase, Tween 80 as an emulsifier, Carbopol® 940 as the rheology modifier and menthol or limonene as penetration promoters. The evaluation processes were carried out at several temperatures (4, 25 and 40 °C) with factors, such as droplets size, electrical conductivity, drug content, pH and flow properties were relatively held constant. The data collectively showed that all formulations were stable over an observation period of three months.Keywords: Ibuprofen, nano-scaled emulsion, palm oil esters, stabilit

Modification and Validation of an HPLC Method for Quantification of Piroxicam

Piroxicam is a NSAID that is widely used in the treatment of joint pain and osteoarthritis. The objectives of the study were to modify and validate HPLC method so as to obtain an accurate, sensitive and precise method to quantify piroxicam concentrations without interference from the other ingredients presence in the formulation. The method published by Owen et al. was adapted and modified to suit the above requirements. The modification was carried out on the mobile phase as the mobile phase used by the authors was not able to separate the drug peak from the interference of the formulation excipients. The modified mobile phase consisted of 5 mM of disodium hydrogen phosphate adjusted to pH 3 with concentrated ortho phosphoric acid, methanol, acetonitrile and glacial acetic acid at ratios of 27:20:52:1 respectively. The method was validated and found to be specific, precise, accurate and reproducible even when run at different times of the same day or on different times on different days. The limit of detection and quantification were determined to be 0.035 μg/ml and 0.0625 μg/ml respectively. It could be concluded that this method could be used to determine piroxicam concentration in the samples collected from in vitro study of permeability through the synthetic membrane and excised rat skin.Keywords: Piroxicam, HPLC, Quantification analysis, Modification

Study of Pseudoternary Phase Diagram Behaviour and the Effect of Several Tweens and Spans on Palm Oil Esters Characteristics

Palm oil esters are high molecular weight esters oil that has been newly synthesized by University Putra Malaysia researchers. It has received a lot of attention for its pharmaceutical and chemical application. The aim of this study is to study the effects of the palm oil esters with different HLB surfactant mixture on the ternary diagrams behaviour and to confine the various systems resulted from these combinations. These systems include traditional emulsion, gel area, transpernat micro-emulsion area, O/W and W/O emulsions. In this study, pseudoternary phase diagrams of water, POEs and non-ionic surfactant mixture of several HLB values were constructed using water titration method. The resultant mixtures collected after each addition and mixing of water were analysed visually, along with conductivity, dilution in water and dye test (methylene blue) to classify them as O/W emulsion (transparent and opaque) or W/O (opaque) and liquid or gel. As a conclusion, palm oil esters were found to be suitable for the formulation of different types of emulsion. Additionally, different HLB value of non-ionic surfactant(s) exhibited different pseudoternary phase diagram characteristics.Keywords: palm oil esters, Tween, Span, Pseudoternary phase diagram, O/W emulsio

Stability studies of nano-cream containing piroxicam

The aim of this study is to study the stability of the nano-cream formula containing the newly synthesized palm oil esters when stored for reasonable storage duration. The prepared 0.5% piroxicam nano-cream formula contained phosphate buffer as external phase, palm oil esters as the oil phase and a combination of (80:20) of Tween 80 and Span 20 as emulsifier at a ratio of 37:25:38, respectively. Piroxicam is a hydro-lipophobic drug. Stability on storage is an important aspect which ensures the dosage form can exert the effects it is supposed to exert for the duration of storage. Droplets size, electrical conductivity, drug content, pH and rheological parameters are the parameters that have been assessed under different temperature to evaluate the stability of nano-cream preparation. Thus, experiments which measure the above parameters were conducted at storage temperatures of 4, 25 and 40οC.The data obtained from the stability study conducted on nano-cream formula showed that this formulation was stable for the whole 3 months period of the study when stored at tested several temperatures.Keywords: Palm oil esters; Nonionic surfactant; Piroxicam; Nano-crea