The efficacy of many useful drugs can be improved by carrying out
certain pharmaceutical manipulations in delivery route e.g. by
transdermal drug delivery system. However, excellent impervious nature
of stratum corneum restricts both the type and number of drugs that can
be delivered to the systemic circulation by this route. A popular
approach for increasing the percutaneous permeation of drug is to
incorporate penetration enhancers into the formulations. The use of
synthetic chemical enhancers for enhancing the percutaneous permeation
of drugs is decreasing due to their long term effects and potential
systemic toxicity. Hence, the main objective of this study was to
evaluate the influence of triterpene and steroidal saponins on
percutaneous permeation of carvedilol and to understand the mechanism(s)
responsible for this effect.