Novel Psoriasis Treatment: Development and Evaluation of a Thermo-Sensitive Pro-Penetrating Hydrogel Based on Coptis chinensis and Phellodendron amurense

Psoriasis is a chronic papulosquamous skin disease whose current treatments have severe side effects, which limits their long-term application. Developing effective treatments for psoriasis is an important and challenging task. Coptis chinensis Franch., Ranunculaceae, and Phellodendron amurense Rupr., Rutaceae, are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat psoriasis. Therefore, this article aims to construct a thermo-sensitive local administration system based on multiple alkaloids from C. chinensis and P. amurense . The methods of extracting the effective components of C. chinensis and P. amurense were screened by single-factor experiment and orthogonal experiment. Furthermore, the optimal gel formulation was determined, and the obtained CPG-S hydrogel ( C. chinensis and P. amurense gel with S -nitrosated acetylpenicillamine as a penetration promoter) exhibited thermo-sensitivity and excellent transdermal ability. Then, the therapeutic effect of the CPG-S hydrogel was examined in a psoriasis mouse model. The effectiveness of the CPG-S hydrogel in reducing the symptoms of redness, swelling, and squamous epidermis, as well as downregulating the related inflammatory factors IL-17A and IL-23, was confirmed. The CPG-S hydrogel was found to be more effective than the commercially available psoriasis treatment drug mometasone furoate cream, indicating its potential application as an effective psoriasis treatment drug. Graphical abstract