Abstract
Background: Commiphora mukul widely known as Guggulu. An ethyl acetate
extract of guggul resin, obtained from Commiphora mukul (Fam.: Burseraceae) known as guggulipid
is official in Indian Pharmacopoeia 1. The active constituent of gugulipid is guggulsterone which
has been found to potently inhibit the activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), a critical
regulator of inflammatory responses. Commiphora mukul (Guggul extract) was found to be
efficacious and cheap anti-inflammatory drug with least side effects. Therefore it was selected for
the present study. Objective: Considering the above justification an attempt was made to design
and develop herbal anti-inflammatory topical drug delivery system wherein herbal drug in the form
of emulgel was formulated and its effect was compared to marketed preparation. Method: In the
study, topical emulgel of Commiphora mukul (Guggul extract) was formulated. The optimized
batch was evaluated for %EE and %DR followed by in vivo studies. Result: From the in vitro
studies, formulation S3 showed maximum release of 77.57 % in 6 hrs. The formulation S3 was
comparable with marketed tacrolimus ointment. The results indicated that the optimized batch
containing drug Commiphora mukul (Guggul extract) exhibited good results. Conclusion: Thus, the
results indicate that an effective biphasic herbal anti inflammatory formulation containing Commiphora
mukul (Guggul extract) can be prepared in the form of emulgel.

Key words: Anti inflammatory, Commiphora mukul, Gugulipid, Emulgel