Evaluation of the effect of Punica granatum juice and punicalagin on NFκB modulation in inflammatory bowel disease.

Punica granatum L. (Lythraceae) inhibits cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis through the modulation of cellular transcription factors and signaling proteins. No pharmacological work is reported on the effects of P. granatum juice on the cellular signaling pathways involved in initiation and progression of inflammation. The present investigation evaluates the effect of P. granatum juice (PJ) and purified punicalagin (PW) on nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) and the signaling pathways leading to its expression in colon inflammation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups: positive and negative control, vehicle (50 % ethanol), standard (5-ASA 100 mg/kg, p.o.), PJ (400 mg/kg, p.o.), PW (4 mg/kg, p.o.). Colitis was induced with 2,4-dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid and animals were euthanized on 18th day. Colon samples collected were subjected to various histological assessment (CMDI, DAI), and biochemical parameters (MPO, MDA, SOD, NO). Gene expression study was carried out using RT-PCR for cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-18 and NF-κß). Pretreatment with PJ and PW significantly (p < 0.05) lowered the disease extent and severity as indicated by reduction in CMDI (2 ± 0.31) and DAI (1.83(#) ± 0.22) when compared with DNBS-treated rats (3.83* ± 0.17). Gene expression studies showed decreased mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-18, and IL-1ß in PJ and PW-treated groups. NF-κß mRNA levels were found to be reduced 84 and 64 % by PJ and PW, respectively. These results suggest that P. granatum juice is more biologically active over punicalagin alone and can be potentially used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Validated high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for simultaneous determination of nadifloxacin, mometasone furoate, and miconazole nitrate cream using fractional factorial design.

A high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of nadifloxacin, mometasone furoate, and miconazole nitrate was developed and validated as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. High-performance thin-layer chromatographic separation was performed on aluminum plates precoated with silica gel 60F254 and methanol:ethyl acetate:toluene: acetonitrile:3M ammonium formate in water (1:2.5:6.0:0.3:0.2, % v/v) as optimized mobile phase at detection wavelength of 224 nm. The retardation factor (Rf) values for nadifloxacin, mometasone furoate, and miconazole nitrate were 0.23, 0.70, and 0.59, respectively. Percent recoveries in terms of accuracy for the marketed formulation were found to be 98.35-99.76%, 99.36-99.65%, and 99.16-100.25% for nadifloxacin, mometasone furoate, and miconazole nitrate, respectively. The pooled percent relative standard deviation for repeatability and intermediate precision studies was found to be < 2% for three target analytes. The effect of four independent variables, methanol content in total mobile phase, wavelength, chamber saturation time, and solvent front, was evaluated by fractional factorial design for robustness testing. Amongst all four factors, volume of methanol in mobile phase appeared to have a possibly significant effect on retention factor of miconazole nitrate compared with the other two drugs nadifloxacin and mometasone furoate, and therefore it was important to be carefully controlled. In summary, a novel, simple, accurate, reproducible, and robust high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method was developed, which would be of use in quality control of these cream formulations.

Validated HPTLC Method for Quantification of Luteolin and Apigenin in Premna mucronata Roxb., Verbenaceae.

A simple, rapid, and precise high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method was developed for quantitative estimation of luteolin and apigenin in Premna mucronata Roxb., family Verbenaceae. Separation was performed on silica gel 60 F254 HPTLC plates using toluene : ethyl acetate : formic acid (6 : 4 : 0.3) as mobile phase for elution of markers from extract. The determination was carried out in fluorescence mode using densitometric absorbance-reflection mode at 366 nm for both luteolin and apigenin. The methanolic extract of Premna mucronata was found to contain 10.2 mg/g % luteolin and 0.165 mg/g % of apigenin. The method was validated in terms of linearity, LOD and LOQ, accuracy, precision, and specificity. The calibration curve was found to be linear between 200 and 1000 ng/band for luteolin and 50 and 250 ng/band for apigenin. For luteolin and apigenin, the limit of detection was found to be 42.6 ng/band and 7.97 ng/band while the limit of quantitation was found to be 129.08 ng/band and 24.155 ng/band, respectively. This developed validated method is capable of quantifying and resolving luteolin and apigenin and can be applicable for routine analysis of extract and plant as a whole.

Central Composite Design for Validation of HPTLC Method for Simultaneous Estimation of Olmesartan Medoxomil, Amlodipine Besylate and Hydrochlorothiazide in Tablets.

High performance thin layer chromatographic method for simultaneous estimation of olmesartan medoxomil, amlodipine besylate and hydrochlorothiazide was developed and validated as per ICH guidelines. Moreover, robustness testing was performed applying a central composite design with k factor having 2(k) factorial runs, 2k axial experiments and two center points. High performance thin layer chromatographic separation was performed on aluminium plates precoated with silica gel 60F254 and toluene:chloroform:methanol:acetonitrile:formic acid (2:7:1.8:0.8:0.2% v/v) as optimized mobile phase. The detection wavelength for simultaneous estimation of three drugs was 232nm. The Rf values for olmesartan medoxomil, amlodipine besylate and hydrochlorthiazide were 0.78, 0.20 and 0.45, respectively. Percent recoveries in terms of accuracy for the marketed formulation was found to be 101.3-104.4, 100.7-104 and 101.5-103.9 for, olmesartan medoxomil, amlodipine besylate and hydrochlorthiazide, respectively. The pooled %relative standard deviation values for repeatability studies and intermediate precision studies was found to be less than 2% for olmesartan medoxomil, amlodipine besylate and hydrochlorthiazide, respectively. All the three factors evaluated in the robustness testing by central composite design were found to have an insignificant effect on the retention factor. However, methanol content in total mobile phase as a factor appeared to have significant effect on robustness, compared to band size and developing distance and hence it is important to be carefully controlled. In summary, a novel, simple, accurate and reproducible high performance thin layer chromatographic method was developed, which would be of use in quality control of these tablets.

Cleaning validation: quantitative estimation of atorvastatin in production area.

Carefully designed cleaning validation and its evaluation can ensure that residues of active pharmaceutical ingredient will not carry over and cross-contaminate the subsequent product. UV spectrophotometric and total organic carbon-solid sample module (TOC-SSM) method was developed and validated for the verification and determination of atorvastatin residues in the production area and to confirm the efficiency of the cleaning procedure as per ICH guideline. Atorvastatin was selected on the basis of a worst-case rating approach. It exhibited good linearity in the range of 5 to 25 µg/mL for UV spectrophotometric and 7300 to 83800 µg for the TOC-SSM method. The limit of detection was 0.419 µg/mL and 4.19 µg in the UV spectrophotometric and TOC-SSM methods, respectively. The limit of quantitation was 1.267 µg/mL and 12.69 µg in UV spectrophotometric and TOC-SSM methods, respectively. Percentage recovery from spiked stainless steel plates was found to be 95.37% and 92.82% in UV spectrophotometric and TOC-SSM methods, respectively. The calculated limit of acceptance per swab for atorvastatin (35.65 µg/swab) was not exceeded during three consecutive batches of production after cleaning procedure. Both proposed methods are suitable for quantitative determination of atorvastatin on manufacturing equipment surfaces well below the limit of contamination. The ease of sample preparation permits fast and efficient application of the proposed methods in quantitation of atorvastatin residue with precision and accuracy. Above all, the methodology is of low cost, and is a simple and less time-consuming alternative to confirm the efficiency of the cleaning procedure in pharmaceutical industries. LAY ABSTRACT: Carefully designed cleaning validation and its evaluation can ensure that residues of active pharmaceutical ingredient will not carry over and cross-contaminate the subsequent product. Atorvastatin was identified as a potential candidate among existing drug substances in production areas based on a worst-case rating approach. Atorvastatin residues were detected and quantified below acceptance limits after cleaning of production equipment using two proposed methods, namely, the UV spectrophotometric and total organic carbon-solid sample module (TOC-SSM) methods. The ease of sample preparation permits fast and efficient application of the proposed methods in quantitation of atorvastatin residue in production equipment area to confirm the efficiency of the cleaning procedure in pharmaceutical industries. Above all, the methodology is of low cost, and is a simple and less time-consuming alternative for cleaning validation.

Validated HPTLC method for quantitative determination of gallic acid in stem bark of Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don, myricaceae.

A simple, rapid, and precise HPTLC method was developed for quantitative estimation of gallic acid in stem bark of Myrica esculenta, family Myricaceae. Separation was performed on silica gel 60F254 HPTLC plates using toluene-ethyl acetate-formic acid-methanol (3 + 3 + 0.6 + 0.4, v/v/v/v) mobile phase for separation of the extracted components. The determination was carried out in the UV densitometric absorbance-reflection mode at 280 nm. The amount of gallic acid in free and combined form in the stem bark powder was found to be 0.276 and 0.541%, respectively, on a dry weight basis. The method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, and specificity according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Gallic acid response was found to be linear over a broad concentration range of 0.4-2.0 microg/band. LOD and LOQ were 0.103 and 0.312 microg/spot, respectively. The developed method is capable of quantifying amounts of gallic acid in stem bark powder of M. esculenta.

Evaluation of bronchodilator and anti-anaphylactic activity of Myrica sapida.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways. The available treatment options have major limitations owing to low efficacy, associated adverse events and compliance issues. Therefore, the health burden of bronchial asthma is increasing globally at an alarming rate, providing a strong impetus for the development of new therapeutics. Myrica sapida is known traditionally in Ayurveda to possess anti-asthmatic activity. Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the bronchodilator and anti-anaphylactic activity of the stem bark of Myrica sapida. METHODS: Experimental models studied were acetylcholine induced bronchospasm in guinea pigs, egg albumin induced anaphylaxis in guinea pigs, in vitro studies on tracheal strip of egg albumin sensitized guinea pigs. RESULTS: Treatment with ethanolic extract of M. sapida, 75 mg/kg, orally resulted in significant protection against acetylcholine aerosol induced bronchospasm and allergen induced anaphylaxis in guinea pigs. Ethanolic extract of M. sapida (75 mg/kg, p.o.) prevented the potentiation of responses and also produced a decrease in pD2 value of histamine and acetylcholine in guinea pig tracheal strip. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that M. sapida possesses bronchodilator activity, has potent inhibitory effect on immediate hyper-sensitivity reactions and decreases bronchial hyper-responsiveness.