Abstract

ALOE VERA GEL CONTAINING FLUCONAZOLE SOLID DISPERSION: FORMULATION AND EVALUATION FOR TOPICAL ANTIFUNGAL ACTION

Deepak Sing Aswal*, Vishal Kumar Biswkarma, Swati Wadhawan and Prashant Kumar

Abstract

Traditionally, Aloe vera species have been used in traditional medicine and for ornamental purposes in many countries. In India, Aloe vera gel has been evaluated for its wound healing properties. Fluconazole is a synthetic triazole with antifungal activity. Several studies found to be reported the antifungal activity of fluconazole gel formulated by using different polymers either alone or in combination with other drugs. In this study, we have reported the formulation development and evaluation of topical antifungal action of Aloe vera gel containing fluconazole solid dispersion. We have evaluated the prepared formulation for various parameters such as pH, viscosity, spreadability, extrudability, stability study, drug content, In-vitro release study. The formulation was also evaluated for polymer-drug interaction. In this study, we also have evaluated the antifungal activity of prepared gel using Candida albicans strain. The optimized formulation (GF2) was obtained as the best formulation which represents higher aqueous solubility, higher drug content, and faster dissolution rate. This study found that the solubility of a poorly soluble drug (Fluconazole) can be enhanced by preparing its solid dispersion using β-cyclodextrin. The inclusion of fluconazole solid dispersion in gel (Aloe vera gel) formulation exhibits better antifungal action that could be used for the treatment of various fungal diseases.

Keywords: Aloe vera gel, Fluconazole, Solid Dispersion, Antifungal, Candida albicans.