In vitro and in-vivo Studies of Tolmetin Release from Natural Gel Base Extracted from Okra Seed (Abelmoschus esculentus) that Cultivated in Egypt

Tolmetin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug commonly used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and periarticular disorders. In this work, we prepared and evaluated tolmetin release from mucilage extracted from Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L) as a natural gel base. The in vitro release of tolmetin from natural gel base was studied using Franz diffusion cells with cellophane membrane placed between the donor and the receptor compartments. Possibility of solid state changes of Tolmetin with Okra seed mucilage (OSM) was studied using differential scanning calorimetery (DSC). The anti- inflammatory activity of tolmetin from natural gel base was evaluated using the carrageenan induced rat paw edema method. The results revealed that the in-vitro release of tolmetin from OSM without any additives was about 75 % after 180 minutes. The drug was transformed from solid state to amorphous one indicating that there is a physical interaction between tolmetin and OSM in gel form. At the same time there is no interaction was observed in case of physical mixture. Finally, tolmetin from OSM gel base gave a significant antiinflammatory activity when compared with reference.