ANTIINFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF KETOPROFEN GEL ON CARRAGEENAN-INDUCED PAW EDEMA IN RATS

The anti‐inflammatory activity of a 1% ketoprofen gel containing 20% Pluronic F‐127 was evaluated using the carrageenan‐induced rat paw edema method. The activity of the gel was compared with that of other topical nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NSAID) preparations. The Pluronic gel formulation was significantly more effective against edema formation than other ketoprofen gels used. The 1% ketoprofen gel in the Pluronic base inhibited 53% of the carrageenan‐induced edema formation as compared with 38% inhibition obtained with a 3% ketoprofen gel in a Carbopol‐based formulation. The topical ED50 of the 1% ketoprofen gel was 2.2 mg/kg whereas the oral ED50 of ketoprofen in a suspension was 6.1 mg/kg, indicating that the relative equiponderal availability of the topical gel was nearly three times that of the oral suspension. The application of 50 mg of the 1% ketoprofen gel on the rat hind paw at various time intervals from 0 to 24 h prior to the carrageenan injection significantly inhibited edema formation in all groups of dosed rats. A significant correlation was found between the percent inhibition of rat paw edema and the log dose of ketoprofen injected subplantarly for the dose range between 0.1 and 10 μg/paw. Copyright © 1990 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company