Students' Perspectives and Achievements toward Online Teaching of Medicinal Chemistry Courses at Pharmacy School in Thailand During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This communication was to share the efforts made in developing the fully online courses in medicinal chemistry during the educational disruption due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In the academic year 2020, the online course was implemented for the first time at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Silpakorn University, Thailand. Various online teaching strategies were integrated, raising the question of whether the developed online courses would deliver similar learning outcomes to the traditional classroom. At the end of each semester, the teaching assessment report was conducted and evaluated in 4 parts: part 1, evaluation of lecturer; part 2, student's self-evaluation; part 3, learning outcome development after studying the course; part 4, appropriateness of class environment and equipment. Overall, student responses toward parts 1-3 in the online class were as satisfactory as those in the previous on-site class. Lower scores toward part 4 were observed in the online class. In addition, student performance in terms of grade distributions between the on-site and online classes was different. On-site students earned the highest proportion of A grades, whereas online students earned a higher proportion of B+'s to F's. While the pandemic persists and the need for online courses remains, we hope that this communication will provide some educational insight and strategies to help in the ongoing efforts to adapt and establish more successful online courses.

A combination extract of kaffir lime, galangal, and lemongrass maintains blood lipid profiles, hepatocytes, and liver mitochondria in rats with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Kaffir lime leaves and the rhizomes of galangal and lemongrass are the main ingredients in several Thai foods with desirable medicinal effects. Based on their beneficial activities, this study aimed to indicate the chemical properties and in vivo efficacy of a combination of the herbs at a 1:2:1 ratio in a water extract form. Its volatile constituents were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer, which mainly consists of eucalyptol, citronellal, and citral. Clinicohistopathological and electron microscopic studies demonstrated that the extract corrected blood cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels similarly as simvastatin treatment in association with its antioxidative properties, as indicated by the levels of superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde in serum and the increment of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 levels in hepatocytes. Hepatitis was significantly less severe in rats fed the extract for 14 days than in simvastatin-treated rats. Regarding its immunomodulatory properties, the extract also accelerated hepatic resolution from steatohepatitis during hypercholesterolemia as indicated by the upregulation of vimentin, cytokeratin, and CD206+. Interestingly, liver mitochondria were also preserved in hypercholesterolemic rats treated with the extract in relation to their architecture and the expression of haloacid dehalogenase-like hydrolase domain-containing protein 3 as well as metabolic and energy regulators. Therefore, the study concluded that the water extract of kaffir lime leaves and the rhizomes of galangal and lemongrass has beneficial effects on blood cholesterol, the severity of steatohepatitis, and the maintenance of mitochondrial architecture via its antioxidative and immunomodulatory activities.

Quantitative determination of sibutramine in adulterated herbal slimming formulations by TLC-image analysis method.

A simple thin layer chromatographic (TLC)-image analysis method was developed for rapid determination and quantitation of sibutramine hydrochloride (SH) adulterated in herbal slimming products. Chromatographic separation of SH was achieved on a silica gel 60 F(254) TLC plate, using toluene-n-hexane-diethylamine (9:1:0.3, v/v/v) as the mobile phase and Dragendorff reagent as spot detection. Image analysis of the scanned TLC plate was performed to quantify the amount of SH. The polynomial regression data for the calibration plots showed good linear relationship in the concentration range of 1-6 µg/spot. The limits of detection and quantitation were 190 and 634 ng/spot, respectively. The method gave satisfactory specificity, precision, accuracy, robustness and was applied for determination of SH in herbal formulations. The contents of SH in adulterated samples determined by the TLC-image analysis and TLC-densitometry were also compared.

Effects of Curcuma spp. on P-glycoprotein function.

The effects of Curcuma longa (khamin chan) and Curcuma sp. "khamin-oi" (khamin-oi), as well as isolated major curcuminoids on intestinal P-gp functions were evaluated in vitro. The accumulation of R123 in Caco-2 cells was increased and the R123 efflux ratios were significantly decreased by both Curcuma longa and Curcuma sp. "khamin-oi" extracts, indicating their roles on efflux transporters. The a-b transport of daunorubicin was increased by curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin while the b-a transport was significantly decreased by curcumin and demethoxycurcumin. However, calcein-AM uptake into the human P-gp overexpression cell line, LLC-GA5-COL300, was increased by curcumin and demethoxycurcumin in a concentration-dependent manner but not affected by bisdemethoxycurcumin. These results show that curcumin and demethoxycurcumin could inhibit P-gp but bisdemethoxycurcumin may modulate the function of other efflux transporters such as MRP. Taken together, the information may indicate the impact of Curcuma longa and Curcuma sp. "khamin-oi" on pharmacokinetics of orally administered drugs that are P-gp substrates.

Application of Scion image software to the simultaneous determination of curcuminoids in turmeric (Curcuma longa).

INTRODUCTION: Curcumin, desmethoxycurcumin and bisdesmethoxycurcumin are bioactive constituents of turmeric (Curcuma longa). Owing to their different potency, quality control of turmeric based on the content of each curcuminoid is more reliable than that based on total curcuminoids. However, to perform such an assay, high-cost instrument is needed. OBJECTIVE: To develop a simple and low-cost method for the simultaneous quantification of three curcuminoids in turmeric using TLC and the public-domain software Scion Image. METHODOLOGY: The image of a TLC chromatogram of turmeric extract was recorded using a digital scanner. The density of the TLC spot of each curcuminoid was analysed by the Scion Image software. The density value was transformed to concentration by comparison with the calibration curve of standard curcuminoids developed on the same TLC plate. RESULTS: The polynomial regression data for all curcuminoids showed good linear relationship with R(2) > 0.99 in the concentration range of 0.375-6 microg/spot. The limits of detection and quantitation were 43-73 and 143-242 ng/spot, respectively. The method gave adequate precision, accuracy and recovery. The contents of each curcuminoid determined using this method were not significantly different from those determined using the TLC densitometric method. CONCLUSION: TLC image analysis using Scion Image is shown to be a reliable method for the simultaneous analysis of the content of each curcuminoid in turmeric.

A new lignan from Aphanamixis polystachya.

A new lignan, polystachyol (1), two lignan glycosides, lyoniside (2) and nudiposide (3), and a sterol, ergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one (4), with stigmasterol, and oleic and linoleic acids, have been isolated from an MeOH extract of the dried bark of Aphanamixis polystachya. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by analysis of 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic data. The compounds did not have growth inhibitory activity against HeLa cells.