THERMOREVERSIBLE IN-SITU NASAL GEL FORMULATIONS AND THEIR PHARMACEUTICAL EVALUATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALLERGIC RHINITIS CONTAINING EXTRACTS OF MORINGA OLIFERA AND EMBELIA RIBES Original Article RICHA SRIVASTAVA 1 , SAJAL SRIVASTAVA 2 , SATYA PRAKASH SINGH 3 1 Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University Gomti Nagar Extention, Lucknow UP, 226028 India, 2 Deputy Director, Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University, Gomti Nagar Extention, Lucknow UP, 226028 India, 3 Pharmacy Department Integral University, Lucknow UP 226026 India Email: Received: 30 Mar 2017, Revised and Accepted: 10 Oct 2017 richa0306@rediffmail.com ABSTRACT Objective: The present study was planned to develop thermo-reversible in-situ gel for the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR). The objective of the present investigation was to develop a mucoadhesive in-situ gel with reduced nasal mucocilliary clearance to improve the local effect of the polyherbal extract in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR). The prolonged residence of drug formulation in the nasal cavity is one of utmost importance for intranasal drug delivery. The prepared formulations were subjected for gelling temperature, gelling time, viscosity, gel strength, pH, drug content, mucoadhesive strength, spread ability and irritancy studies. Methods: In the study the pluronic F127 (PF127) based mucoadhesive in-situ nasal gels containing Moringa olifera (MO) and Embelia ribes (ER) extracts were used having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect. A polyherbal thermosensitive in-situ hydrogel was designed and evaluated by the mixing of pluronic F127, poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG400) and Xanthan gum with a small amount of (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) HPMC K4M and Carbopol 934. Total 13 thermosensitive in-situ gels of extracts were prepared through combination of HPMC K4M or Carbopol or xanthan gum and PF127. All the preparations were investigated, and the selected method for gel formation underwent the thermal transition from sol to hydrogel. Results: The mucoadhesive gel after being administered into the nasal cavity, get transformed into the viscous hydrogel at body temperature, which diminished nasal mucociliary clearance and prolonged the duration of action. The in-situ nasal herbal gel prepared by combination of different concentration of to HPMC K4M or carbopol or xanthan gum with PF127 (10% w/v) produces the better and effective gel. The findings of evaluation parameter indicate that the in-situ gel prepared by combination with corbopol were better quality compared to HPMC K4M and xanthan gum. Conclusion: From these findings, it can be concluded that in-situ herbal nasal gels may be potential drug delivery systems for Moringa olifera and Embelia ribes extracts to overcome first-pass metabolism and thereby to improve the bioavailability. The mucoadhesive in-situ gel system is a promising approach for the intranasal delivery of polyherbal extracts for the therapeutic effects improvement of Allergic rhinitis. Keywords: Moringa olifera, Embelia ribes, HPMC, Carbopol, In-situ, Pluronic F127 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2017v9i6.18780 INTRODUCTION Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a heterogeneous disorder, which is often characterized by mucosal infiltration and actions of eosinophils, plasma cells, and mast cells. This disorder is extremely widespread but its diagnosis and prevention is very poor. Presently, various types of drug formulations for Allergic rhinitis are available. The practices of nasal formulation are limited due to associate constraints with drug delivery systems poses a major drawback. The factors affecting the drug delivery system comprise volume of the nasal cavity for the drug volume (<0.2 ml), mucociliary clearance, and anterior discharge [1-3]. Generally synthetic antihistamines are used to provide symptomatic relief to allergic symptoms due to histamine release. The synthetic drugs are associated with various types of side effects [4]. Herbal medicines have been widely used all over the world since ancient times and have been recognized by physicians and patients for their better therapeutic value as they have fewer adverse effects as compared with modern medicines. Natural molecules derived from plant extracts offer a particularly exciting avenue for further research. Plant extracts, however, are often ill-defined as to the method of extraction, plant-to-solvent ratio and the content of active ingredients. Moreover, the stability of the colour, odour, transparency and/or active ingredients with time is also often a limiting factor [5, 6]. Plant extracts are different in several respects from purified therapeutic agents. Firstly, they are more dilute than the pure chemicals that are familiar to us; secondly herbs often contain additional active principles that may be closely related both chemically and therapeutically to the constituent primarily responsible for its effects . In recent years, the novel in-situ gelling formulations are progressing rapidly especially in the field of nasal drug delivery. There is an increase in the number of in-situ forming systems has been formulated and developed for the various biomedical parameters out of the different preparations the thermally induced gelling systems had to be the most challenging one, for the development of nasal drug delivery systems. The nasal mucosa has seriously emerged as a therapeutically viable route for the systemic drug delivery. In addition, intranasal absorption avoids the gastrointestinal and hepatic presystemic metabolism, enhancing drug [8]. Phytotherapeutics need a scientific approach to deliver the components in a sustained manner to increase patient compliance and avoid repeated administration [7]. Among the different nasal drug delivery systems, in-situ gel formulations have been explored for both local and systemic drug delivery. These drug delivery systems exist in sol form before their administration; however, once administered, they undergo gelation to form a gel. The factors regulating the in-situ gel formation process include microenvironment temperature, changes in pH, presence of ions, ultraviolet irradiation, and polymers. Rheological properties of gels, which are critical to their efficacy, are important in retaining the gel at the site of application or absorption [9]. The plant used in formulation was selected based on scientifically reported property. In the present study we have selected Moringa olifera (MO) and Embelia ribes (ER) for the formulation of herbal nasal gel. Therefore, International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutics ISSN- 0975-7058 Vol 9, Issue 6, 2017