Preparation, Characterization and Pharmacological Evaluation of Inavasome of Vesicular System of Tridax procumbens: A Comprehensive Review

Tridax procumbens (L.) R.Br. ex Griseb., often called Coat buttons or Tridax daisy is a perennial herb of the Asteraceae family that has been widely used in traditional medicine systems in many cultures, especially in India, Africa and Latin America. Due to its plentiful phytochemical content consisting of flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids and phenolic compounds, the plant has impressive pharmacological effects such as wound healing, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial and hepatoprotective properties. Although T. procumbens extracts have therapeutic potential, its clinical utility has been hampered by low bioavailability, instability and lack of skin penetration when delivered using standard dosage administration routes. There is a new category of elastic vesicular drug delivery systems called inavasomes that have come up as promising vehicles of improving transdermal delivery of phytochemicals. These ultra deformable vesicles that contain phospholipids, ethanol and terpenes or essential oils as penetration enhancers have better skin permeation, better drug deposition and better therapeutic efficacy than the traditional liposomes and niosomes. This thorough review is a critical analysis of the present state of knowledge on the preparation, characterization and pharmacological assessment of invasomal formulations of T. procumbens extracts. The review will include discussions on phytochemical constituents of T. procumbens, different preparation methods of invasomes, more sophisticated characterization, as well as pharmacological analysis of these new formulations. Moreover, the presented review will point out the gaps in the current research and suggest future avenues of the formation of clinically viable invasomal drug delivery systems in T. procumbens with a particular focus on the work of Indian researchers and comparative international views.