ABSTRACT
Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of tachyarrhythmia caused by multiple re-entrant wave forms within the atria and bombarding the atrioventricular node several times making it beat in a rapid, disorganized fashion termed "fibrillation". In atrial fibrillation, atria beat more than 300 times per minute. The arrhythmatous condition needs to be controlled, as humans cannot withstand this rapid and chaotic beating of the heart. New investigational drugs like Dronedarone(®) are being used. Dronedarone is the most recent antiarrhythmic drugs. It was approved by US-FDA on July 2nd 2009 and is available in the USA as Multaq tablets (400 mg). Dronedarone falls under the category of multiple ion channel blocker. It mainly targets the repolarization currents, making them less active and hence prolonging the action potential duration (APD). Dronedarone also exhibits antiadrenergic activity, thus reducing the pace of the pacemaker. Dronedarone has been proven to be a safer and efficacious AAD, evidenced by both animal and human studies. These studies showed that there was prolongation of the APD and absence of QT interval prolongation with long term administration of the drug. Also there was reduced thyroid hormone receptor expression. Dronedarone is significantly safer and effective in maintaining the sinus rhythm and reducing the ventricular proarrhythmias, justifying it for the long term treatment of atrial fibrillation compared to other antiarrhythmic drugs.
ABSTRACT
Herbal drugs are frequently considered to be less toxic and also free from side effects, than synthetic ones. Hence, the present study was designed to investigate one such combination of herbal drugs, Asystasia gangetica and Morus indica for their antidiabetic and antioxidant potential against alloxan-induced diabetes in albino rats. The effect of both individual and a combination of Asystasia gangetica and Morus indica on blood glucose and liver glycogen were studied in the diabetic rats. The study also assessed for the effect of selected plant extracts for their effect on Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH) and Lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the homogenates of the pancreas. The results of the present study attests significant antidiabetic and antioxidant potential for the selected plants individually and also in combination as a prominent decrease in blood glucose and liver glycogen was observed in the rats treated with the extracts of the selected plants. Similarly, the levels of the protective antioxidant enzymes like SOD, CAT and GSH were increased along with decrease in the LPO levels. The present study provides a scientific evidence for antidiabetic and antioxidant potential of Asystasia gangetica and Morus indica. Further studies to isolate bioactive compounds will pave the way to identify potential lead compounds for developing safe and efficacious antidiabetic agents.
