Design of a cinnamon essential oil cream-based formulation as an analgesic for headache topical management

Headache is one of the most common types of pain that approximately every individual experiences at some point in their life. Due to unknown pathophysiology, identification of the exact origin and causes of headache are challenging. Headache is a chronic condition that disturbs a person ̓s life. Various intervention such as including medication, massage therapy, aromatherapy, and herbal treatments are used to alleviate headaches. Medication is administered orally, intranasally, via injection, or topically through skin absorption. Traditional Persian medicine (TPM) introduces various herbal remedies to manage headaches. Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum J.Presl), belongs to Lauraceae family, mentioned for the alleviation of headaches in TPM. Accordingly, current study was carried out to design and prepare a new topical herbal dosage form from Cinnamon essential oil. Following essential oil extraction, volatile constituents were analyzed via a Gas chromatography/Mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). Cinnamaldehyde was found as the major compound. Subsequently, appropriate amounts of the oil were subjected to cream formulations to check the pharmaceutical parameters. The final preparation underwent evaluations, including macroscopic and microscopic tests for odor, color, appearance, phase separation, as well as pH, rheology, centrifugation, microbial limits, and texture analysis. Finally, based on the quantification via GC, cinnamaldehyde was determined as 3982.68±116.04 µg in a 50 mg tube of 2.5% of the cinnamon bark essential oil. This investigation can be introduced to be examined as an herbal topical medication in the management of headache and cephalic pain.