Title:

Synergistic Herbal–Synthetic Nanoemulgel of Colchicine and Nigella sativa for Enhanced Skin Permeation and Sustained In Vitro Drug Release in Gout Therapy

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Author:

Iram Jahan¹*, Garima Garg¹, Gaurav²

¹Department of Pharmaceutics, IIMT College of Medical Sciences, IIMT University, O-Pocket, Ganganagar, Meerut, 250001, Uttar Pradesh, India

²Department of Pharmacognosy, Jamia Hamdard Laboratories (India), Meerut Road, Ghaziabad-201003, Uttar Pradesh, India

Received: 24^th July, 2025; Revised: 15^th Aug, 2025; Accepted: 27^th Sep, 2025; Available Online: 30^th Nov, 2025

 

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ABSTRACT
Aims: The objective of this study was to formulate and characterise a synergistic nanoemulgel that integrates colchicine and Nigella sativa oil to enhance transdermal distribution and sustain the release of medicine for gout therapy.

Background: Colchicine, a conventional therapy for gout, suffers from low oral bioavailability and gastrointestinal side effects. Nigella sativa oil, with bio-enhancing and anti-inflammatory properties, offers potential to improve drug permeation and therapeutic efficacy when integrated into nanoemulgel systems.

Methods: We used a Box–Behnken experimental design to identify optimal nanoemulsion formulations using PEG 200, Tween 20, and Nigella sativa oil. Nanoemulgels were synthesised by combining the optimised nanoemulsion with Carbopol 940 gel. Franz diffusion cells were used to evaluate the formulations for droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), pH, viscosity, spreadability, drug content, and in vitro release. FTIR spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to examine the structure.

Results: The optimised nanoemulgel exhibited a droplet size of 62.23 ± 1.68 nm, a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.40 ± 0.05, a pH of 6.6 ± 0.34, and a drug content of 99.12 ± 1.12%. In vitro studies of drug release showed that colchicine was released consistently throughout six hours at a rate of 89.4 ± 4.0%, whereas the colchicine solution exhibited rapid release. Nigella sativa oil facilitated enhanced absorption and potential synergistic effects.

Conclusion: The synergistic herbal–synthetic nanoemulgel combining colchicine and Nigella sativa oil presents a promising strategy for enhanced transdermal delivery and sustained drug release in gout management.

Keywords: Nanoemulgel, colchicine, Nigella sativa, gout, transdermal delivery, sustained release, synergistic therapy

How to cite this article: Jahan I, Garg G, Gaurav G. Synergistic herbal–synthetic nanoemulgel of colchicine and Nigella sativa for enhanced skin permeation and sustained in vitro drug release in gout therapy. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2025;15(4):53–65

Source of support: Nil.

Conflict of interest: None

 

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