ABSTRACT

There are several requirements for the safe and effective delivery of therapeutic agents for human use. Drug permeation to the normal regions of the body is the main drawback of conventional Drug delivery system. To avoid unwanted side effects of drug the approach like targeted drug delivery is preferred. In particular, carrier drug delivery system posses some structures which are attached the drug molecule for targeted delivery. Layer-by-Layer approach also offers a delivery of drug in a targeted fashion to avoid its unintentional effects on normal tissue. LbL self-assembly systems involve simple alternative adsorption of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes on core materials. Here, in this review we have discussed the latest findings from research into LbL systems, with special emphasis on drug delivery systems.

Keywords: Layer-by-Layer, Stimuli-responsive release, Ultrasonication.

ABSTRACT

Beeja, Beejabhaga & Beejabhagaavayava are the fundamental factors responsible for the genesis of human being. Ayurvedic Acharyas explained the genetic concept to a greater extent and which simulate with the contemporary concept of genetics mentioned in modern science. Vandhya, Putipraja, Varta and Trina putrika are the diseases manifest due to defect in genes(Beeja, Beejabhaga & Beejabhagaavayava). Phenotypic sex determination begins with genetic sex and which determines phenotypic sex. The nature of gonad present determines the differentiation/regression of the internal ducts (ie, müllerian and wolffian ducts) and ultimately determines the phenotypic sex. Gender identity is determined by the phenotypic appearance of the individual and it is also determined by the brain's prenatal and postnatal development as influenced by the environment.  Any defect in Beeja, Beejabhaga & Beejabhagaavayava causes genetic abnormalities. A diet, behaviours, psychological factors, injuries and iatrogenic factor causes abnormalities in Shukra. Vandhya, klaibya, putipraja, varta, shanda, dwireta etc. are the diseases develop due to shukradushti. It may be  due to Chromosomal problems, hormone imbalance, illness in the mother, disorders of the immune system, abnormalities in the uterus, and environmental and lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, and exposure to high levels of radiation are often among the  reasons.

Keywords- Beeja, Beejabhaga, Beejabhagaavayava, Vandhya, HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

ABSTRACT

Excipients are components of a finished drug product other than the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and are added during formulation for a specific purpose.  In contrast to active ingredients, minor components of an excipient may have significant impact on its pharmaceutical performance. They are included in dosage forms to aid manufacture, administration or absorption. Excipients as like other active pharmaceutical ingredients need to be stabilized and standardized. They act as protective agents, bulking agents and can also be used to improve bioavailability of drugs in some instances. Specific excipients are best suited for a particular dosage form; the selection criterion for excipients and various interactions that an excipient can undergo during its course of stay in formulation has been discussed in this review.

Keywords: Excipients, Direct compressible diluents, Fillers and binders.

ABSTRACT

The depiction of Sanjeevani booti in the great Indian epic “Ramayana” as a “life saving herb” which could save the life of Lakshman led to its exploration enthusiasm among the researchers. Its exploration directed to the discovery of an herb having characteristics similar with this magical herb “Sanjeevani booti”. This herb scientifically known as Selaginella bryopeteris is found in the Arawali Mountain of the Himalayan which ranges from east to west in India retaining the ability to resurrect life. Its ability to treat wounds and bleeding during menstruation, uterine disorders, and other internal injuries as well as its activity as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-allergic, antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral etc due  to the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, phenol and terpenoids etc increases its applicability as a tonic to improve fitness and hence to expand life span. Recent investigations explore another herb in the mountain ranges of Himalayas, which is scientifically known as “Rhodiola” possessing properties similar with Sanjeevani. Scientists called it as “Modern Sanjeevani”. Thus the present review article encompasses the general characteristics, habitat, therapeutic properties of Selaginella bryopeteris and the recent findings on Rhodiola.

Keywords: Sanjeevani, Therapeutic properties, Rhodiola, Curing Jaundice.

ABSTRACT

Insomnia is a serious medical and social problem, its prevalence in the general population ranges from 9 to 35% depending on the country and assessment method. Often, patients are subject to inappropriate and therefore dangerous pharmacotherapies that include prolonged administration of hypnotic drugs, benzodiazepines and other GABAA receptor modulators. This usually does not lead to a satisfactory improvement in patients’ clinical states and may cause lifelong drug dependence. Orexins/hypocretins are key neuropeptides responsible for regulating central arousal and reward circuits. Due to their interaction with the sleep–wake regulating neuronal population, they can activate vigilance-promoting regions and prevent unwanted sleep intrusions. Understanding the multiple orexin modulatory effects is crucial in the context of pathogenesis of insomnia and should lead to the development of novel treatments. An important step in this process was the synthesis of dual antagonists of orexin receptors. Two receptors respond to orexin signaling, orexin 1 receptor (OX₁R) and orexin 2 receptor (OX₂R) with partially overlapping nervous system distributions. Suvorexant (MK-4305) is a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable antagonist of OX₁R and OX₂R currently under clinical investigation as a novel therapy for insomnia. This new pharmacological approach might be the most appropriate to treat insomnia. Consistent cross-species sleep/wake architecture changes produced by Suvorexant highlight a unique opportunity to develop dual orexin antagonists as a novel therapy for insomnia. This article reviews the management procedure of insomnia by using this novel drug Suvorexant.

Keywords: orexins, sleep disorders, suvorexant, insomnia, benzodiazepines, sleep.

ABSTRACT

Herbal medicine is currently in demand not only in developing countries but also in developed countries because of their easy availability, low cost and minimum side effects. Long time traditional use of most of the herbs for therapeutic purposes provides a data regarding their safe clinical usage. Piper longum linn is one among such herbs mentioned in various Unani pharmacopeia’s and is indicated for various ailments of human body. It belongs to family piperacea. In Unani system of medicine it is commonly known as Filfil daraz and from last hundreds of years the drug piper longum linn  been accepted to  be as good therapeutic agent particularly for cough, spasmodic pain, inflammation and flatulence.  on the other hand recent Bioavailability enhancing and antioxidant property  has increased it importance for further clinical research . In the present review it has been tried to give a comprehensive data regarding its ethenobotonical particularly of Unani background and phytopharmacological profile of the drug so that to provide a bird eye view presentation of its historical and modern research aspect.

Key words:  Herbal medicine, Filfil daraz, piper longum linn, phytopharmocology

ABSTRACT

Capsicum (Capsicum annuum) of different ripening stages contains different biochemicals that might be altered by the cooking processes practiced in the different part of this country. The present study was designed to analyze their in vitro antioxidant profile before and after thermal processing in water at different temperatures and pH. Thermal processing was done at 60^oC, 80^oC and 100^oC, whereas pH 5.0 and 9.0 were also used for extraction. The assays performed included DPPH radical decolorization assay, reducing power assay and assay for total phenolic contents. It was observed that the reducing power and total phenolic content improved in case of all the three different maturity stages of the vegetable after thermal processing and pH dependent extraction. DPPH radical scavenging ability, however, was diminished. This indicated that non-polar antioxidants were not extracted in the extraction conditions. Improved antioxidant profile in aqueous assay systems was probably due to better solublization of the polar antioxidants in hot water and different acid-base conditions. Improvement in the total phenolic contents substantiated the radical scavenging abilities of the three variants after aqueous extraction.

Keywords: Antioxidant, Capsicum, Capsicum annuum, DPPH, Polyphenols

ABSTRACT

ICU patients are at high risk of drug-drug interactions. In Middle East there is no sufficient data about the incidence of drug interactions. To explore the frequency and pattern of potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs)and to study the impact of clinical pharmacist educational intervention on the (PDDIs) in surgical intensive care unit. A three phases study,phase (1) (pre-intervention phase)wasaretrospective cohort study of the frequency of potential DDIsin 500 prescriptions of patients in surgical ICU using Lexi-Interact interaction database. Phase (2) (intervention phase) involved the implementation of DDIs reducing measures. Phase 3 (post-intervention phase) was a prospective study of the frequency of potential DDIs in the 500 prescription collected after intervention phase (phase 2). A total of 2228 PDDIs were identified during phase 1 and 2139 PDDIs were identified during phase 3. In both phases most of the PDDIs encountered were of ‘Moderate’ severity (89%) of the PDDIs during the pre-intervention phase and 91.5% during the post-intervention phase were of risk rating C. There was no statistical difference between mean number of PDDIs in pre-intervention and post-intervention phases (P=0.859). There was no statistical difference in percent of PDDIs in the different degrees of severity between pre-intervention and post-intervention phase (Z=-1.4, P= 0.153). The present study demonstrated a relatively high frequency of occurrence of PDDIs among patients in surgical ICU. However, most of them were of minor-to-moderate clinical significance.

Keywords: Clinical pharmacist, intensive care, drug interactions.

ABSTRACT

To investigate the profile of potential users of the Brazilian Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting System that take care of the pharmaceutical product information, concerning to the their knowledge of its regulatory authorities safety and effective use of drugs. This was an observational cross-sectional study with descriptive and analytical characteristics. Four hundred and fourteen people were surveyed in 2013 from May to August, and after gathering the data. A high percentage of lack of knowledge about the Brazilian Drugs Reporting System was observed regarding consumers with 95.37% (n = 309) (95% CI: 93.08- 97.66) and professionals who deal with medications and drugs with 68.89% (n = 62) (95% CI: 59.32- 78.45). Considering the population who knows about the System, only a few number of notifications were observed, consumers with 0.93 % (n = 3) (95% CI: 0.12 - 1.97) and health professionals with 8.89 % (n = 8) (95% CI: 3.01-14.77). Three Adverse Drugs Reactions cases were observed: Steven Johnson disease (due to phenobarbital use), drug-induced diabetes (betamethasone), and partial loss of voice (chloramphenicol). None of them were reported to the System. The results obtained indicate an elevated percentage of lack of knowledge and underutilization of the Brazilian Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting System. Therefore, it is necessary for educational interventions to be adopted in order to increase notifications.

Keywords: Rational Use of Medicines (RUM), Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting System (ADRRS / NOTIVISA), Adverse Drugs Reactions (ADR), Unified Health System (UHS / SUS), National Healthy Surveillance System (NHSS / ANVISA), Pharmacovigilance.

ABSTRACT

Preeclampsia (PE) is a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Our aim of the study was to evaluate the association of oxidative stress and antioxidant defence systems with preeclampsia during pregnancy and after delivery. The study comprises a total of 52 subjects including PE women (n=27) and uncomplicated pregnant women (n=25) matched by age. Serummalondialdehyde (MDA), phospholipid hydroperoxide (PHP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), vitamin C and total antioxidant status (TAS) were estimated by spectrophotometric methods. Serum levels of MDA and PHP were significantly higher (p<0.001, respectively) while SOD, vitamin C and TAS were significantly lower (p<0.001, respectively) in patients both during and after delivery. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased among patients after delivery. On the other hand, the MDA and PHP concentrations non-significantly decreased in PE women after delivery whereas the antioxidant system non-significantly increased. Our results suggested that the raise in oxidative stress and reduction in antioxidant defence systems persisted after delivery for 1 to 3 days. Therefore, evaluation of oxidative status and antioxidant defence systems may be a useful tool for diagnosis and treatment of preeclampsia during and after pregnancy.

Keywords: Preeclampsia, Perinatal morbidity, Oxidative stress, Antioxidant system.

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to identify the high dose antipsychotic drug prescriptions in hospitalized schizophrenic patients. Antipsychotic drug dosing data of 200 patients were investigated during the study. The three methods applied were Chlorpromazine equivalents (CPZeq), percentages of the British National Formulary (BNF) maximum and Defined Daily Doses (DDDs). Of the 200 patients who had been prescribed antipsychotics during the study period, 13.5% (n=27) were identified as receiving either more than 100% of the BNF maximum or more than 1000mg CPZeq/day. Eight of these patients taking high doses were identified by both methods; seventeen were identified by the percentage BNF maximum method only and another two by the CPZeq method only. Average dose of antipsychotics according to CPZeq were found to be 472.85 mg. Average doses of antipsychotics according to the BNF were found to be 61.39%. Depicting total antipsychotic dose by this way helps to ensure patients at the risk of antipsychotic toxicity. Regular monitoring of patients is essential especially those are prescribed with combination of antipsychotics and high dose of antipsychotics to avoid dangerous side effects.

Keywords: schizophrenia, antipsychotics, High dose.

ABSTRACT

The ethanolic extract of Abrus precatorius leaves was screened for Wound Healing potential in normal and diabetic rats using excision and incision wound model. In excision wound model, normal and alloxan induced diabetic group of animals treated with AP 5% and 10% ointment showed significant increase in wound contraction and decrease in epithelization period as compared to control. In incision wound model, normal and alloxan induced diabetic group of animals treated with AP 5% and 10% ointment showed significant increase effect on breaking strength compared with control group. Histopathological findings of AP 5% and 10% ointment also showed, less inflammatory changes, increase tissue proliferation as well as remodelling along with re-epithelization, increase collagen fiber along with low scar formation as compared to control group. Findings of the results thus revealed that the ethanolic extract of Abrus precatorius (AP) has showed significant effect on wound healing activity in both normal and diabetic group of rats by minimizing the undesired consequences and shortening the period of wound healing.

Keywords: Abrus precatorius wound healing, excision, incision.

ABSTRACT

Recent approaches in molecular modeling simulation techniques and interaction studies have allowed accurate predictions of dendrimer dimensions, contour, and relations with drugs, biosensors, and conformational behavior of peptides, vectors as well as many others. This paper shows docking and dynamics of pharmacological screening of dendrimers in different therapeutic studies from various peer reviewed published data. Anti-inflammatory studies enable the computational learn of connections of the unchanged dendrimer, glucosamine, and of the partially glycosylated dendrimer with Toll-like receptor and Myeloid differentiation factor. Anti-tumor studies including biogenic polyamines, show stronger similarity toward dendrimers than those of artificial polyamines suggesting that dendrimers can act as transporter vehicle for deliver antitumor polyamine analogues to goal tissues. Ployamidoamine modified Gallium nitride nanowires provide great density of docking location to immobilize crucial number of probe Deoxyribonucleic acid covalently. Molecular docking studies exposed that the β-sitosterol can bind in the great hydrophobic hollow of Human Serum Albumin. Simulation have manifested that the hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen-bond interactions, and electrostatic appeal play critical roles in the pattern of dendrimer–drug complexes. In case of Small interfering Ribonucleic acid simulations reveal that the time taken for the dendrimer-gene complex (dendriplex) to reach equilibrium is appreciably longer at low pH and this is accompanied by more compact packaging of the dendriplex, as compared to simulations performed at neutral pH. Due to their possible use in various disease studies, molecular modeling with dendrimer complex configuration are chief choice in manipulating better drug carriers and tackle issues that are difficult in laboratory experiment.

Keywords: Dendrimer, Molecular Dynamics, polyamidoamine Dendrimer, Simulation

ABSTRACT

A pH sensitive hydrogel using Carbopol-PEG 400 combination was prepared and loaded with amoxicillin trihydrate drug to study its sustained release. The hydrogel prepared was of physical nature. Two types of hydrogel were prepared with and without drug. The drug used was amoxicillin trihydrate. This drug is used to treat peptic ulcer in gastrointestinal tract. This drug becomes unstable in acidic environment of stomach. A pH sensitive hydrogel can be designed which can retain the drug in the polymer core at low pH values and release it at high pH value environment like gastrointestinal tract. Characterization of the hydrogel was done by SEM and FTIR and performance was studied by swelling method and in vitro drug release. FTIR studies gave the backbone structure of hydrogel carrying the drug. The surface morphology study by SEM showed that the prepared hydrogel was porous in nature. The swelling studies showed that the hydrogel swelled more in basic medium as the components were anionic in nature. The release profile showed 83.93% sustained drug release after 10hours. The carbopol-PEG400 hydrogel is suitable for the delivery of amoxicillin trihydrate as the drug is not stable in the stomach and can be delivered satisfactorily to the intestine where the pH is favourable.

Keywords: Carbopol 934P, PEG-400(Polyethylene glycol), Hydrogel, Intestinal drug delivery, sustained release

ABSTRACT

The plant Gmelina arborea has been traditionally used in India for several medicinal purposes like anthelmintic, diuretic, antibacterial, antipyretic, antioxidant and antidiabetic. The aim of the present study is to explore the antipyretic activity of G. arborea fruit extracts using ethanol, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and petroleum ether as solvents. The antipyretic activity was evaluated by inducing fever in experimental animals by injection of Brewer’s yeast at single dose of 300 mg/Kg, b.w. All data are verified for statistically significant by using one way ANOVA at 1 % level of significance (p < 0.01). All extracts showed antipyretic activity at 300 mg/Kg b.w., and the activity is well comparable with the standard drug, Aspirin. Petroleum ether is more effective as compared to other solvent extracts. It could be concluded that G. arborea fruits possess antipyretic activity.

Keywords: Gmelina arborea, Verbenaceae, Brewer’s yeast, pyrexia.

ABSTRACT

Benzimidazole derivatives play an important role in medicinal field with many biological and pharmacological activities related to it. Extensive biochemical and pharmacological studies have confirmed that the potency of these clinically useful drugs in treatment of microbial infections is encouraging and inspiring for further development of some more potent and significant compounds. A series of benzopyrone substituted benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized by reacting benzopyrone-3-carboxylic acid with o-phenylene diamine. The analogues were synthesized in a good yield. The structural characterizations for derivatives were carried out by IR, ¹HNMR and Mass spectral studies. The compounds were subjected for antibacterial screening, among them 4c and 4i showed appreciable activity against all the strains. It can be concluded from the antibacterial study that the derivatives may be proved useful for future development.

Keywords: Substituted benzimidazole, antibacterial activity, amines.