Effect of L-menthol on Two Compounds With Different Characteristics in Percutaneously Penetrating Isolated Rabbit Skin

OBJECTIVE:Indomethacinum(Ind) and diclofenac sodium(Dcs) were taken as model drugs to study the enhancing effect of l-menthol on percutaneous absorption of two compounds with different characteristics,and to probe into the effect of combined use of l-menthol with azone.METHODS:Percutaneous penetration experiment was performed on in vitro device and deposit effect was observed with vivoperception.RESULTS:l-menthol could significantly enhance the percutaneous absorption and shorten the lag times(T1ag) of both Ind and Dcs.The enhancing effects of l-menthol,used either alone or in combination with azone,were several times stronger on Ind than on Dcs.Combined use of two enhances was more effective in enhancing penetration and longer in T1ag than single use of l-menthol,especially for Dcs.The study on deposit effect showed that l-menthol could increase the penetration rate than control agent(P0.05) and prolong the Tlag(P0.01).Combined use of both enhances was more effective in penetration than single use of l-menthol but markedly decreased the penetration rate of Dcs in comparison with control agent(P0.01) and obviously shorten the Tlag compared with single l-menthol.CONCLUSION:l-menthol has stronger enhancing effect on fat soluble compound than on water soluble compound and shows marked deposit effect.Combined use of l-menthol with azone can further increase the enhancing effect on fat soluble compound.