Pharmacological studies of Adhatoda vasica and Calotropis procera as resource of bio-active compounds for various diseases

Adhatoda vasica and Calotropis procera species were investigated as a resource for new diverse pharmacological agents including B complex, individual total phenolic compounds and antioxidants for curing and treatments of many infectious diseases in human through advanced analytical methods. These plants are abundant in Khyber Pukhtoon Khawa, Pakistan as well as in all over the world and famous for their unique medicinal importance. These herbaceous species are so far used for animals curing while current exploration of these species showed that these species are a precious resource of various compounds which can be employed in the formation of different drugs. The results showed that the leaf and flower extracts of Adhatoda vasica and leaf extract of Calotropis procera contained higher contents of bioactive compounds. The chemical analysis of the samples resulted in higher values of total phenolic compounds [71.32mg GAE/g], total antioxidants [651% DPPH inhibition], the enzyme catalase [4716Mug/g], ash content [16.72%] and pH values in the Calotropis procera, whereas the total carotenoids [1987mg/100g], the enzymes, superoxide dismutase [4566Mug/g] and peroxidase [1322Mug/g] were higher in leaves of Adhatoda vasica. The flower extract of the Adhatoda vasica was rich in the flavonoids [0.87mg/100g] and organic matter [89.99%] as compared to Calotropis procera. The obtained data for each parameter was interpreted by applying Complete Randomized Design [CRD] along with factorial arrangements. The mean comparison was performed using LSD test at 5% probability level. The presence of these phytochemicals may lead to the conclusion that these herbal plants have the potential for formation of new drugs and can be used as herbal medicine for treatment of different cancer and viral diseases. These compounds are also useful in the treatment of the tumor

Comparative in-vitro pharmaceutical evaluation of four brands of metronidazole tablets marketed in gulf region

Metronidazole is an antiprotozoal drug which is also effective against anaerobic bacteria. It exhibits pronounced in-vitro and in-vivo activity against Trichomonas vaginalis and E. histolytica. Many different brands and dosage forms of Metronidazole are available in the gulf countries that place physicians and pharmacists in a dilemma of drug substitution in case of non availability of a particular brand. The present study was aimed to evaluate the pharmaceutical equivalence of four brands of 250 mg Metronidazole tablets marketed in Middle East countries. Four brands of Metronidazole tablets were purchased locally from the retail pharmacy outlets in Muscat, Oman and their solubility, partition coefficient [log P] and pharmaceutical quality were assessed by using in-vitro tests as per the United States Pharmacopoeia [USP] and unofficial standards as recommended by the manufacturers. Selected brands of Metronidazole were found to be highly soluble, highly permeable and also passed all the official and unofficial in- vitro quality control tests prescribed for the tablets except hardness test. All brands of Metronidazole tablets released more than 70% of their drug content within 45 minutes. Thus, based on the above results, it can be concluded that tested brands of Metronidazole tablets being eligible for biowaiver, are pharmaceutically equivalent and therefore can be considered for drug substitution for each other

Skin permeation studies

Skin permeation studies are handy tools for assessing the feasibility of transdermal delivery of drugs as well as the permeation profile of the test drugs through skin. As more and' more drugs are being scrutinized for this type of drug delivery, the validity of skin permeation studies is gaining momentum. If a drug is highly skin permeable, it can be incorporated into the transdermal systems as such. Conversely, skin penetration enhancing methods are a necessity for poorly skin permeable drugs

Role of external fixator in the management of type-II and III open Tibial fracture

Objective: to evaluate the role of external fixator in the management of open tibial fractures

Material and Methods: this descriptive study of 30 cases was conducted in the Orthopedic Department of Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar from September 1997 to September 1999. 28 male and 2 female patients presented with open tibial fractures due to high energy trauma with their mean age of 38 years. All the patient were evaluated for life threatening conditions as per ATLS protocol. After resuscitation, all the fracture were stabilized by applying A0 external fixator device with skin and soft tissue care

Results: the simple A0 external fixator proved satisfactory and impressive result were obtained with this fixator. There were 33 open tibial fractures, out of these 13[39.9%] were type-11, 15[45.4%] type-IIIa and 5[15.1%] type-IIIb fractures. No case was associate with injury to main vessels. Most of our patients reached the hospital late, losing the golden period of initial 6 hours. Majority of the fracture healed with an average time of twelve weeks [11-40] weeks after injury. Pain tract infection was the most common complication [47.4%] seen our series due to ignorance of the patients and failure to attend the review clinic regularly

Conclusion: external fixator is the best option for all open tibial fractures with severe soft tissue injuries and may be adopted in management of such fractures