Phytoconstituent Based Microemulgel: A Novel Topical Drug Delivery Approach

A huge amount of Indian medicinal plants are accredited with various pharmacological activities. Extract of medicinal plant and extracted oil have more or less pharmacological property, some natural penetration enhancers have advantages such as low cost, better safety profile hence they increase their acceptances in the formulation of microemulgel. Some of oil may assist the therapeutic action of API. It is convenient, cost-effective to use of herbal oil as oil phase or API, penetration enhancer, surfactant or other constituent in microemulgel formulation.  Microemulgel is a microemulsion and gel combination with herbal ingredient, with small sized globule present in an emulsion. Microemulsion consists of delivering a drug dissolved in a mixture of one or more excipient like mono, di, and triglycerides, lipophilic and hydrophilic co surfactant. Microemulsion is formed when entropy changes in that dispersion is greater than the free energy require increasing the surface area between oil and aqueous phase of dispersion.  Microemulgel has a dual action of micro-emulsion and gel. Emulsion based gel, the drug get entrapped in cross linkage network of gelling agent. In that small drug get entrapped and release in controlled manner. Microemulgel have other advantages like good uniformity, easily spreadable, greaseless as well as bio-friendly, detachable, non-staining, emollient, longer shelf-life, transparent, pleasant appearance, the ability of patients for self-medication, termination of medications will be easy.