Research Article Development and Evaluation of Novel Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery Systems Based on a Homolipid from Capra hircus and Its Admixtures with Melon Oil for the Delivery of Indomethacin Nicholas C. Obitte, 1 Kenneth C. Ofokansi, 2 and Franklin C. Kenechukwu 2 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria 2 Drug Delivery Research Unit, Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria Correspondence should be addressed to Franklin C. Kenechukwu; chimafrankduf@yahoo.com Received 11 December 2013; Accepted 13 February 2014; Published 20 March 2014 Academic Editor: Fabiana Quaglia Copyright © 2014 Nicholas C. Obitte et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In this study, goat fat (Capra hircus) and melon oil were extracted and used to formulate self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) based on either goat fat alone or its admixture with melon oil by employing escalating ratios of oil(s), surfactant blend (1:1 Tween 60 and Tween 80), and cosurfactant (Span 85), with or without carbosil, a glidant, for the delivery of indomethacin. Te formulations were encapsulated in hard gelatin capsules and then assessed using isotropicity test, aqueous dilution stability and precipitation propensity, absolute drug content, emulsifcation time, in vitro drug release, and anti-infammatory activity. Te SNEDDS exhibited low precipitation propensity and excellent stability on copious dilution, as well as high drug release in vitro and in vivo. Te inhibition produced by the SNEDDS was comparable to that of indomethacin injection (positive control) for much of the 5h test period, indicating a high degree of bioavailability of the administered SNEDDS. Te absolute drug contents and emulsifcation times fell within narrow limits. Tis study has shown that a 1:1 ratio of melon oil and goat fat could confer favourable properties with respect to drug release and anti-infammatory activity on SNEDDS for the delivery of indomethacin, thus encouraging further development of the formulations. 1. Introduction Te nonsteroidal anti-infammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have remained the mainstay of the treatment and management of infammatory disorders. Despite enormous innovations in novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) through alternative routes, oral drug delivery of NSAIDs has been the most com- mon and preferred route of drug administration [1]. Its status is primarily a consequence of the wide acceptability of this “natural” route, better safety vis-` a-vis the parenteral route, low cost of therapy, and improved patient compliance. With an increasing number of lipophilic drugs under development, homolipids and heterolipids have gained renewed interests as excipients for myriads of drug delivery systems [2]. Lipid-based formulations have been shown to enhance the bioavailability of orally administered drugs [3–6]. Te oral delivery of lipophilic drugs presents a major challenge because of the low aqueous solubility. Te Biopharmaceutics classifcation system (BCS) [7] classifes drugs into four cate- gories depending on their solubility and permeability charac- teristics. According to this scheme, indomethacin belongs to class II drugs whose solubility is too low to be consistent with complete absorption. For this class of compounds, defned as “low solubility/high permeability class,” dissolution in the lumen environment is the rate-controlling step in the absorp- tion process [7]. Various formulation approaches have been Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Pharmaceutics Volume 2014, Article ID 340486, 9 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/340486