Effect of vehicles on yohimbine permeation across excised hairless mouse skin

Turchi et al. [Turchi, P., Canale, D., Ducci, M., Nannipieri, E., Serafini, M.F., Menchini Fabris, G.F. (1992). The transdermal route in the treatment of male sexual impotence: preliminary data on the use of yohimbine. Int. J. Impotence Res. 4, 45–50.] showed that the application on penile skin of an oil-in-water cream (cream I.G) containing yohimbine (YO) was successful in the treatment of male sexual impotence. The components of the cream were stearyl alcohol, isopropyl lanolate, white petrolatum, liquid petrolatum, sodium lauryl sulphate (NaLS), propylene glycol (PG) and water. In the present study, a number of creams were derived from the cream I.G by adding, eliminating or replacing one or more constituents, and the effects of such changes on YO permeation through excised hairless mouse skin were investigated. From the data emerged the possibility of improving YO permeation even through slight changes in I.G composition. The stratum corneum-vehicle interactions were investigated by analyzing samples of isolated hairless mouse stratum corneum by DSC.