Antiinflammatory Activity of Tenoxicam Gel on Carrageenan-Induced Paw Oedema in Rats

Tenoxicam is a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, used in the treatment of inflammatory and degenerative disorders of the musculoskeletal system. It is from the oxicam group of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents. It is widely prescribed for the treatment of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gout, extraarticular disorders, bursitis, tendonitis, and nonarticular rheumatic condition. Tenoxicam has some side effects when taken orally, viz., epigastric pain, heartburn, nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, peptic ulcer, and hepatic impairment. The aim of this study was to formulate topical gel containing 1% of tenoxicam in 1% carbopol-940 and PEG-4000 and to evaluate it for antiinflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced paw oedema in rats. The studies were conducted on Wistar rats of either sex (160-180 g). The change in oedema volume of the rat hind paw was measured using mercury plethysmometer. The readings were measured in terms of volume displaced in millimetre using a micropipette that has mark to 10 divisions in 1 ml. The carbopol gel formulation of tenoxicam containing 15% of ethanol and 5% of sodium lauryl sulphate was significantly more effective against oedema formation than the other formulation of tenoxicam gel and compared to the marketed product of piroxicam gel. Results suggest that the 1% tenoxicam gel in carbopol-940 inhibited 52% of carrageenan-induced oedema formation as compared with the 44% inhibition obtained with marketed product of piroxicam gel.