ABSTRACT
A drug dosage form contains excipients as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients. Formerly, excipients were considered inert components that were used by a formulator to provide the suitable volume, weight and consistency of a dosage form. Today, however, excipients are expected to perform multifunctional roles such as enhancing physical, chemical and microbial stabilities of the dosage form, improving the color or odor of the formulation, and influencing the release and bioavailability of the active ingredient. Among various excipients, natural ones seem to be more beneficial to use, since they are economical, safe, biodegradable, and biocompatible. In this article, myrrh oleo-gum-resin is introduced as a potential natural multipurpose excipient that can perform many useful roles in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Scopus and Google scholar electronic databases were searched to find different properties of myrrh as an excipient. Moreover, ten famous traditional Iranian medicine books were studied to find semisolid formulations named Sabgh, which contained myrrh. One of these formulations was prepared, and its physical and microbiological stabilities were assessed. The role of myrrh as an excipient in this formulation is discussed here. Antibacterial and preservative effects shown in the formulation were related to the essential oil of myrrh. The gum portion was found to be a potential surfactant. In addition, myrrh is a natural muco-adhesive and film forming material. These properties were observed for myrrh in the Sabgh formulation in this study as well. So we can conclude that myrrh could be a potential multipurpose excipient in pharmaceutical industries, which needs further research
ABSTRACT
Previous studies imply that IL-1 and IL-8 gene variations may play a crucial role in the genetic predisposition to different gastric disorders upon H. pylori infection. The aim of this study was to determine the potential association between the prevalence of certain polymorphic sites and the risk of gastric disorders in Iranian population. One hundred and forty three unrelated individuals with different gastric disorders and 374 normal individuals with no gastric disorders and with a negative serology test for H. pylori [control group] were studied for the association between IL-1 beta [+ 3953 C/T] and IL-8 [-251 A/T] gene polymorphisms and H. pylori - mediated gastritis and gastric ulcer. An analysis of genotype frequency for these genes was performed using RFLP- PCR. Based on the data obtained from culture and pathologic findings, the patients were classified into three subpopulations: H pylori [+] non-ulcerative gastritis [+], H. pylori [+] ulcerative gastritis [+] and H. pylori[-] non-ulcerative gastritis [+]. A significantly higher frequency of TT genotype [p=0.02] in IL-1 beta +3953 in H.pylor[+] ulcerative gastritis [+] was revealed compared to the control group. There were no significant differences among other subpopulations. No significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies of IL-8 [-251A/T] were found among the patients. The data suggest that TT genotype in IL- 1 beta +3953 may be a major contributing genetic risk factor for H. pylori induced gastric ulcer. Moreover, the role of other bacterial and host response factors, such as bacterial adherence peptides, host chemokines, and genes involved in gastric acid secretion, must be further investigated in different ethnic populations