Transdermal delivery of Rauvolfia serpentina root extract for anxiety management

Abstract

Rauvolfia serpentina is a well-established herbal medicine for anxiety management for several years in Bangladesh. In attempted work, six patch formulations of Rauvolfia serpentina root extract were formulated usingEthyl Cellulose (EC), Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC), Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Polyvinyl acetate (PVA) in different ratios. Physicochemical characteristics and constant release profile was tested for all six formulations of four polymers. In-vivo tests such, marble burying behavior (MBBT), locomotor activity (LAT), and skin irritation tests performed by applying the patches on rats for assays the anxiety management activity. Physicochemical characteristics such, weight uniformity, thickness, folding endurance, moister content, surface pH, swell ability, percent elongation of all the six formulations were 508.7 mg, 1.53 mm, 115.1, 4.91%, 6.06, 49.21% and 20% on an average of different formulations respectively with constant release of extract from each formulations. In MBBT, PF-I showed (p<0.05) and PF-II -PF-IV showed (p<0.01) significance, on the other hand in LAT, PF-II -PF-IV showed (p<0.001) significance with zero skin irritation. Throughout the experiment, we developed herbal transdermal patches of Rauvolfia serpentina root extract using different polymeric combinations, which reduced anxiety on rat models. As concluded, with further research herbal transdermal patch can be emerging as new and much convenient way of management anxiety.