Abstract:
The invention relates to novel, transdermally applicable pharmaceutical preparations including sterolines or spiroketalines, a solvent selected from the group consisting of ethoxylated sterols and C12-C30 alcohols, and lipophilic ointment base. Methods of treatment using same.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to novel, transdermally applicable pharmaceutical preparations having a steroline and/or spiroketaline content. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The glycosides of phytosterols, including cholesterol, are called sterolines. Phytosterols and their glycosides occur in nature in small amounts in all plants and often in microorganisms. It is possible to produce sterolines synthetically in relatively large yields by means of the known Konigs-Knorr synthesis with the use of the corresponding aglycones and a sugar acetate bromided at the C-1 position with the use of silver or cadmium catalysts. In nature, sterolines mostly occur in the form of monoglycosides, although some oligoglycosides are known. Additionally, sterolines occur in natural vegetable matter, partially also in the form of esters, namely in monobasic monocarboxylic acids. 
     Mono- to triglycosides, derived from steroid saponine alcohols, which have a spiroketaline grouping connected in the C-16 and C-17 position of the steroid shell of aglycone, are called spiroketalines. The aglycones can be classified either as 5-En-steroid sapogenines or as 5-α-steroid sapogenines. In natural saponine material the aglycones are mainly present as glycosides and contain 3 or possibly more coupled monosaccharide units and can be hydrolytically decomposed to spiroketalines by means of enzymes. Synthesis of spiroketalines by the Konigs-Knorr method is also possible with good yields. It has been known for a long time that both sterolines as well as spiroketalines exhibit a multitude of pharmacological activities because they interact at the prostaglandinesynthetase level, as known from British Patent 2 039 217, as well as at the lipoxygenase level, as known from German Published, Non-examined Application DE-OS 34 16 112, for example. Thus sterolines and spiroketalines can be used not only for the treatment of inflammatory conditions, but also wherever it is necessary to normalize the arachidonic acid balance, for example with asthma, acne, psoriasis, abdominal rheumatism, gastric and intestinal ulcers, and thrombophlebitis. 
     Up to now, in the use of sterolines in particular, it has been shown that excellent results in the course of in vitro testing could not be reproduced in vivo. In J. Pharm Sci., 1985, 74, pp 1259, J. Seki et al have noted an intestinal absorption of sitosterol glycoside of only 1 to 2%. This often occurs because the extremely poor water solubility of the sterolines and the poor water solubility of spiroketalines makes it impossible to achieve sufficient resorption and thus blood levels. For this reason there has been a previous attempt to improve resorption, for example by reducing the particle size, by using more highly water-soluble derivatives such as hemiesters, or by using solubilizers, such as recited, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,918. Tests using substances marked with  14  C, however, clearly show that resorption can only be slightly improved by use of a micronizer or other reduction of the particle size, and that this is also true when an attempt is made to increase the amount of the compounds in the aqueous solution by using solubilizers. 
     Thus there is still a need for pharmaceutical preparations containing sterolines and/or spiroketalines and having better resorptivity. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the invention, pharmaceutical preparations which are administered transdermally are provided, which have a content of sterolines and/or spiroketalines with ethylene oxide addition compounds having approximately 20 to 30 ethylene oxide units of sterols or alcohols. 
     In a completely surprising way, it is possible to dissolve the sterolines and spiroketalines, which are hard to dissolve not only in water, but as a rule also in lipophilic solvents, in an oil phase with the id of solubilizers and even if they are in the form of emulsions, to bring them to resorption transdermally, and this at a far higher resorption than has ever been possible orally or intravascularly. 
     In accordance with the invention, the active ingredients are mixed together with ethoxylated sterols or C12-C30 alcohols, which had been reacted with ethylene oxide, and were dissolved in multivalent alcohols, such as 1,2-propanediol or glycerine, with slight heating. All ethoxylated sterols or C12-C30 alcohols can be used as solubilizers and carriers, either in mixture or as mono compounds. These compounds which can be easily manufactured by reacting the free alcohols with ethylene oxide, are partially already known as solubilizers and commercially available as for example the products sold by Henkel KGaA under the name &#34;Generol-E&#34;. They are mostly sitosterol or sterol mixtures with a degree of ethoxylatation between 20 to 30. Preferably an ethoxylated sitosterol with a chain length of 25 EO units is used. It is possible to use fatty alcohols, in particular, as alcohols with approximately 12 to 30 C atoms, but of course also naturally occurring branched, alicyclic or aromatic alcohols such as squalene or phytol derivates, for example, are usable. 
     The solutions of sterolines or spiroketalines in solubilizers and multivalent alcohols in turn dissolve clearly in oil or melted fat. The customary ointment bases are mainly used for this such as, for example, central chain triglycerides, glycerol monostearate, lanolin, lard, etc. It has also been shown in a completely surprising manner that it is possible, after working the active ingredients into the fatty bases, to continue by making the latter into emulsion ointments, because the mixture can be readily emulsified with an equal amount of water. Regardless of whether the active ingredients are present in a water-free or aqueous fat base, tests with  14  C marked active ingredients have shown that penetration into the skin and permeation follow at approximately the same amounts. Not only do the active ingredients penetrate the skin, they even permeate through the skin so that, with an application over a large area, it is possible to attain plasma levels to a degree not possible via the intestinal route. Surprisingly, in spite of the different chemical structure of sterolines and spiroketalines there is hardly any difference in respect to the transdermal resorption. As shown by the  14  C tests, twenty-four hours after application approximately 10% of the active ingredients have permeated through the skin and approximately 6% have penetrated into the skin. 
     The average composition for transdermal application is approximately 0.1% active ingredients, 1% ethylene oxide addition compounds and 10% multivalent alcohol. After dissolving, the clear solution is either mixed with a corresponding amount of waterless ointment base or, in a manner known per se, is mixed with approximately one half of the amount of ointment base with the addition of the customary amount of non-iogenic emulsifying agents as well as water and is emulsified in the customary way with the remaining amount under stirring. 
     During clinical tests it has been possible to obtain particularly fast and persuasive results with the pharmaceutical preparations according to the invention in connection with those diseases, where an elevated leucotriene level is the basis or at least a mediator of the pathological event such as, for example, with allergies, eczemas, chronic itching, certain types of psoriasis, acne, but also with rheumatoid diseases and thrombophlebitis. 
    
    
     The invention is described in detail below by means of the examples. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Example 1 
     0.1 g cholesterol glycoside, 80.0 g ethoxylated palmytilstearyl alcohol were dissolved in 100.0 g 1,2-propanediol. This solution, heated to 70° C., was added to a melt of 120.0 g adeps solidus, 100.0 g of central chain triglyceride and 120 g glycerine monostearate at a temperature of 70° C. and was emulsified with water, also heated to the temperature indicated above, into a total amount of 1,000.0 g. Then the emulsion was stirred until cool. 
     Example 2 
     1.0 g diosgenin glycoside was dissolved in a mixture of 10.0 g ethoxylated soybean sterol (25 EO units) and 100.0 g 1,2-propanediol. This solution, heated to 70° C. was then added to a melt, also heated to 70° C., of 100.0 g cetyl palmitate, 250.0 g stearyl heptanoate, 100.0 g sorbitan monostearate and 60.0 g polyethylene sorbitan monostearate and was emulsified with water, also heated to 70° C., to a total amount of 1,000.0 g. The emulsion was then stirred until cool in a manner known per se. 
     Example 3 
     1.0 g sitosterol glycoside was dissolved in 10.0 g ethoxylated soybean sterol (25 EO units) and 100.0 g 1,2-propanediol and was added at the temperatures indicated to a melt of 300.0 g hydrated coconut oil, 50.0 g central chain triglycerides, 120.0 g glycerine monostearate and 80.0 g ethoxylated cetyl stearyl alcohol (25 EO units). An emulsion was made with water heated to 70° C. to a total amount of 1,000.0 g. The emulsion was then stirred until cool as usual. 
     Example 4 
     1.0 g sitosterol glycoside was dissolved in 10.0 g ethoxylated soybean sterol (25 EO units) and 100.0 g 1,2-propanediol and was added at the temperatures indicated to a melt of 300.0 g hydrated coconut oil, 50.0 g central chain triglycerides, 20.0 g glycerine monostearate and 80.0 g ethoxylated cetyl stearyl alcohol (25 EO units). An emulsion was made with water heated to 70° C. to a total amount of 1,000.0 g. The emulsion was then stirred until cool as usual. 
     Example 5 
     Penetration or Permeation Measurements 
     Male rabbits, about 10 weeks old and weighing approximately 2 kg, were used as test animals. On a shaved area of 10×5 cm on the back of the rabbit 1.0 g ointment having a radioactivity of 20 μ Ci of the respective ( 14  C-4) marked glycoside was applied, covered with aluminum foil and fixed with a waterproof bandage. After 24 hours the rabbits were put to sleep and the application area was repeatedly washed with ethanol moistened swabs. The radioactivity of the occlusive dressing and the swabs was measured after extraction with ethanol. The skin of the application area was treated for 24 hours with 2 m lye/methanol/triton X 405 (6:3:1 v/v) at 55° C. and was then washed with ethanol at 40° C. The radioactivity, measured with a liquid scintillation counter (Philips PW 4700), is a measurement for the percentage of penetration of the applied amount of the substance. Permeation during 24 hours is calculated as follows: 100%--(activity of the washing liquid+activity of the penetration amount)=% permeation. Under the test condition cited, the result for cholesterol glycoside was a penetration of 4.9% of the applied dosage and a permeation of 7.8% of the applied dosage. The results for diosgenin glycoside were 5.2 and 10.3% and for sitosterol glycoside the results were 6.2 and 10.6%.