ABSTRACT
Curcumin is one of the commonly used dietary supplements with wide pharmacological activities but the main hindrance in the commercial exploitation of curcumin is the issue with its solubility and stability. Hence, the aim of the present study was to formulate curcumin silver nanoparticles (CSNP) by chemical reduction method and to evaluate its solubility, stability as well as diffusion properties. The CSNP was combined with potent anti-inflammatory drug Diclofenac sodium (DS) to prepare gels (F1-F7), cream (F8) and ointment (F9). The DS-CSNP was subjected to in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity by albumin denaturation method and carrageenan-induced paw oedema method using albino rats, respectively. Results of the present study revealed that CSNP possess good solution stability in different pH solutions compared to pure curcumin, and the particle size as well as zeta potential were found to be 115 nm and - 5.69 mV, respectively for CSNP. Based on the results of in vitro release study and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, formulation F4, F5, F9 and marketed product were subjected for in vivo anti-inflammatory activity. Among the three formulations, formulation F9 showed the maximum inhibition of the oedema (82.25%) at the end of 90 min followed by F5 and F4. In addition, formulations F4, F5, and F9 exhibited better in vivo anti-inflammatory activity in comparison with the marketed product which might be due to synergistic effect of the combination of curcumin silver nanoparticles and DS. In conclusion, CSNP-incorporated DS semisolid preparations were stable and can yield promising anti-inflammatory activity compared to marketed formulation; hence, these formulation can be exploited commercially in the preparation of anti-inflammatory dosage forms.
