Protective Effect of Adiantum Capillus Against Chemically Induced Oxidative Stress by Cisplatin.

Damage to cells caused by free radicals has been implicated in the disease progression of at least 50 diseases that is cancer, cardiovascular disease, renal dysfunction and other. So many factors contribute to oxidative stress. Hence, the present study was designed to investigate the potential nephroprotective activity of 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg. Ethanolic extract of Adiantum capillus-veneris dried fronds against Cisplatin induced oxidative stress caused in male Wistar rats. Acute nephrotoxicity was induced by i.p. injection of Cisplatin (7 mg/kg of body weight (b.w.)). Administration of ethanol extract at dose level of 500 and 250 mg/kg (b.w.) to Cisplatin-intoxicated rats (toxic control) for 14 days attenuated the biochemical and histological signs of nephrotoxicity of Cisplatin in dose-dependent fashion. Ethanol extract at 500 mg/kg decreased the serum level of creatinine and urea as compared to the toxic control group. The ethanol extract of Adiantum capillus-veneris at 500 mg/kg (b.w.) exhibited significant and comparable nephroprotective potential. The statistically (one-way-ANOVA followed by Dunnet’s test) processed results suggested the positive action of Adiantum capillus-veneris Cisplatin-induced nephropathy.

Medicated chewing gum: a novel drug delivery system.

In the recent years scientific and technological advancements have been made in the research and development of oral drug delivery systems. The reasons that the oral route achieved such popularity may be primarily due to its ease of administration. Chewing gum is one of the very popular oral confectionary products. It is a potentially useful means of administering drugs either locally or systematically via, the oral cavity. The medicated chewing gum has through the recent years gained increasing acceptance as a drug delivery system. Chewing gum known as gum base (insoluble gum base resin) contains elastomers, emulsifiers, fillers, waxes, antioxidants, softners, sweeteners, food colorings, flavoring agents, and in case of medical chewing gum, active substances. It offers various advantages over conventional drug delivery systems. Unlike chewable tablets, medicated chewing gums are not supposed to be swallowed and may be removed from the site of application without resorting to invasive means. Moreover medicated chewing gums require the active and continuous masticatory activities for activation and continuation of drug release. An In-vitro apparatus was specially designed and constructed for release testing of medicated chewing gums. Medicated chewing gums are excellent mobile drug delivery systems for self-medication as it is convenient and can be administered discretely without water.

Future Trends in Standardization of Herbal Drugs.

In recent years more people throughout world are turning to use medicinal plant products in healthcare system. World wide need of alternative medicine has resulted in growth of natural product markets and interest in traditional systems of medicine. Herbal drug technology is used for converting botanicals materials into medicines, where standardization and quality control with proper integration of modern scientific techniques and traditional knowledge is important. In order to prove constant composition of herbal preparations, adequate analytical methods the have to be applied such as photometric analysis, thin layer chromatography [TLC], high performance liquid chromatography [HPLC], and gas chromatography [GC], DNA Fingerprinting.

In-Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Centaurea behen.

The present investigation was conducted to investigate the in-vitro activity of ethanolic extract of Roots of Centaurea behens by using DPPH radical scavenging activity, nitric oxide radical scavenging activity, hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical. Result suggests that the extract possess significant antioxidant activity as compared to the standard ascorbic acid and thus further in vivo investigation is required to evaluate the medicinal significance of the extract which can be used for assessing the possible therapeutic importance of the drug.

Biomarkers in oncology.

A biomarker or biological marker is in general a substance used as an indicator of biological state. Biomarkers are characteristic biological properties that can be detected and measured in parts of the body like the blood or tissue. They may indicate either normal or diseased processes in the body. Biomarkers can be specific cells, molecules, or genes, gene products, enzymes, or hormones. As an important biological indicator of cancer status and progression for the physiological state of the cell at a specific time, biomarkers represent powerful tools for monitoring the course of cancer and gauging efficacy and safety of novel therapeutic agents. The recent progress of proteomics has opened new avenues for cancerrelated biomarker discovery. Advances in proteomics are contributing to the understanding of pathophysiology of neoplasia, cancer diagnosis, and anticancer drug discovery. One of the major contributions proteomics has made to the medical and pharmaceutical communities is the identification of potential drug targets.

Formulation Development and Evaluation of Acyclovir Orally Disintegrating Tablets.

Orally disintegrating systems have an edge amongst the oral drug delivery systems due to the highest component of compliance they enjoy in patients especially the geriatrics and pediatrics. In addition, patients suffering from dysphagia, motion sickness, repeated emesis and mental disorders prefer these medications because they cannot swallow large quantity of water. Further, drugs exhibiting satisfactory absorption from the oral mucosa or intended for immediate pharmacological action can be advantageously formulated in these dosage forms. However, the requirements of formulating these dosage forms with mechanical strength sufficient to withstand the rigors of handling and capable of disintegrating within a few seconds on contact with saliva are inextricable. Therefore, research in developing orally disintegrating systems has been aimed at investigating different excipients as well as techniques to meet these challenges. Acyclovir is an antiviral drug used for the treatment of herpes simplex virus (HSV), mainly HSV-1 and HSV-2 and varicella zoster virus. It is a BCS class III drug. Hence an orally disintegrating tablet formulation of acyclovir was prepared by direct compression and wet granulation techniques after incorporating superdisintegrants croscarmellose sodium and sodium starch glycolate. Seven formulations were prepared. Tablet containing sodium starch glycolate showed excellent in vitro dispersion time and drug release as compared to other formulation. After study of seven formulations DT3 showed short dispersion time with maximum drug release in 10 min. It is concluded that fast disintegrating acyclovir tablets could be prepared by direct compression using superdisintegrants.

Novel vesicular system: An overview.

Novel drug delivery attempts to either sustain drug action at a predetermined rate, or by maintaining a relatively constant, effective drug level in the body with concomitant minimization of undesirable side effects. The vesicular systems are highly ordered assemblies of one or several concentric lipid bilayer formed, when certain amphiphillic building blocks are confronted with water. The vesicular system such as liposomes, niosomes, sphingosomes, ethosomes, transferosomes and pharmacosomes are used to improve the therapeutic index of both existing and new drug molecules by encapsulating an active medicament inside vesicular structure in one such system. It prolongs the existence of the drug in systemic circulation and finally reduces the toxicity. Such different systems are widely used in gene delivery, tumor targeting, oral formulations, in stability and permeability problems of drugs. Now a days vesicle as a carrier system have become the vehicle of choice in drug delivery and lipid vesicles were found to be of value in immunology, membrane biology and diagnostic technique and most recently in genetic engineering.

Aquasomes: A novel drug carrier.

Aquasomes are one of the most recently developed delivery system for bioactive molecules like peptide, protein, hormones, antigens and genes to specific sites. Aquasomes are spherical in shape with 60–300 nm particles size. These are nanoparticulate carrier systems but instead of being simple nanoparticles these are three layered self assembled structures, comprised of a solid phase nanocrystalline core coated with oligomeric film to which biochemically active molecules are adsorbed with or without modification. These structures are self assembled by non covalent and ionic bonds. The solid core provides the structural stability, while the carbohydrate coating protects against dehydration and stabilizes the biochemically active molecules. The delivery system has been successfully utilized for the delivery of insulin, hemoglobin, and enzymes like serratiopeptidase etc. This reviews the principles of self assembly, the challenges of maintaining the conformational integrity and biochemical activity of immobilized surface pairs, the convergence of these principles into a single functional composition and its application in various fields of pharmacy.

A review on biological matrices and analytical methods used for determination of drug of abuse.

Drug addiction is a chronic disease with a potential for fatality if not treated. The drugs with potential for abuse are mostly psychoactive drugs. Serious widespread medical and health consequences associated with drug abuse involve neurotoxicity, cardiovascular complications, impairment of the immune system function, and many other physiological effects. Illicit drug use remains the second most common mode of HIV infection. Various analytical techniques and number of biological matrices has been used for the detection of drug of abuse in cases such as drug addiction, driving under influence of drugs, neonatal drug exposure in case of drug abuse by pregnant women etc. Urine and blood sample remain the most widely used conventional biosample for the detection of drug of abuse. Various other alternative biological matrices such as saliva, hair, nails, tears and meconium have also been used for the same purpose. Number of analytical techniques such as liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and LC with tandem MS (LC-MS2), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), electrospray ionization Time-of- Flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF), combination of ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and TOF, fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) and enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) have been used for the detection of drugs of abuse in above mentioned biosamples. This review summarizes the conventional as well as alternative biological matrices and various analytical techniques used for the determination of drugs of abuse.