DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF CURCUMIN-LOADED TRANSDERMAL CREAM: FORMULATION, OPTIMIZATION, SKIN PERMEATION ENHANCEMENT, AND ANTICANCER ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT

Abstract

Objectives: The research aims to develop and optimize transdermal cream containing curcumin, using Shata-Dhauta-Ghrita (SDG) as a traditional lipid base and α-bisbolol as natural permeation enhancer in order to enhance skin absorption and deliver anticancer activities. Methods: The formulation was assessed for its drug-excipient compatibility to ensure no chemical interactions between curcumin and the selected excipients. To assess transdermal drug transport Ex vivo skin permeation studies were conducted using excised pig skin. In vitro diffusion conducted to evaluate release data. To determine the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of the formulation MTT cell line assays were also carried out. Results: In drug excipient compatibility assay, it was found that curcumin assay value in sample was more than 90% and compatible with all excipients. In vitro diffusion showed that optimized batch (F4) has sustained drug release profile and fitted to Hixson–Crowell model (R² = 0.9722), while ex vivo pig skin permeation followed first-order kinetics (R² = 0.9894), indicating concentration-dependent absorption. Further evaluation of the optimized formulation (F4) using SSE and AIC demonstrated that the Hixson–Crowell model best fit for the drug release profile, with the lowest AIC value (−57.04). Skin histopathology demonstrated optimized formulation F4 intact dermal architecture with mild stratum corneum changes, indicating safe permeation. Complementary cell line assays validated the non-toxic nature and effectiveness of the formulation. Conclusion: Overall, the SDG-based transdermal cream using α-Bisbolol as permeation enhancer exhibited favourable release, permeation, and formulation characteristics, supporting its potential as a promising carrier for curcumin in treating cutaneous cancers.