Correction to: Development and Assessment of Lipidic Nanoemulsions Containing Sodium Hyaluronate and Indomethacin.

During the production process, the typesetter inadvertently placed the wrong Fig. 2 in the PDF version of the article.

Development and Assessment of Lipidic Nanoemulsions Containing Sodium Hyaluronate and Indomethacin.

The present work attempts to develop and optimize the formula of a lipidic nanoemulsion (NE) containing sodium hyaluronate (HNa) and indomethacin (Ind) as HNa-Ind for enhanced transdermal antiarthritic activity. NEs were prepared by the spontaneous emulsification method and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The composition of the optimal formulation was statistically optimized using Box-Behnken experimental design method with three independent factors and was characterized for particle size, polydispersity index, and percent transmittance. The selected formula was tested for its in vitro antioxidant activity and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity. The optimized HNa-Ind NE formula was characterized and displayed a particle size of 12.87 ± 0.032 nm, polydispersity index of 0.606 ± 0.082, and 99.4 ± 0.1 percentage of transmittance. FTIR showed no interaction between HNa and Ind as a physical mixture. In addition, the optimized HNa-Ind NE was able to preserve the antioxidant ability of the two drugs, as evidenced through a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) inhibition assay used to assess free radical scavenging ability. The cell viability was increased while the free radical scavenging activity was decreased (94.28% inhibition at higher concentrations compared with vitamin C as a reference with an inhibition of 100%). Moreover, the pharmacological anti-inflammatory potential of the optimized HNa-Ind NE formulation was assessed using an in vivo model. Compared with reference drugs (ibuprofen gel 5%), the remarkable activity of the optimized formulation was established using xylene-induced ear edema in mice model, in which the inflamed region reduced by 92.5% upon treatment. The optimized HNa-Ind NE formulation showed considerably higher skin permeation and drug deposition capability compared with the HNa-Ind solution. HNa-Ind NE was demonstrated to be a successful carrier with enhanced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential while showing better skin penetration, thus being a promising vehicle for transdermal drug delivery.

Anti-inflammatory activity and gastroprotective effect of Hertia cheirifolia L. roots extract.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Hertia cheirifolia L. is used traditionally to treat rheumatic pains and known as a medicinal plant having several pharmaceutical and biological activities. The present study evaluated in vivo the anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective effects of the methanolic extract from H. cheirifolia L. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was performed to identify various chemical components of the plant extract. Anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective activities were assessed on carrageenan-induced paw edema and HCl/ethanol-induced gastric lesions in rats, respectively. RESULTS: (RP-HPLC) analysis indicated that coumarin is the abundant component in the extract (53.80%). Intraperitoneal administration of the methanolic extract at different doses showed interesting activities in rats in a dose-dependent manner. At 100 mg/kg, this extract showed the highest acute anti-inflammatory activity and an important inhibition of gastric lesions with inhibition percentage of 79.41% and 88.53%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Altogether, the results of this study reveal the anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective effects of H. cheirifolia extract and promote the traditional use of this plant in the treatment of different pain and inflammatory diseases.

Optimized extraction of pectin-like polysaccharide from Suaeda fruticosa leaves: Characterization, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities.

Box-Behnken design (BBD) was performed via ultrasound-assisted system to optimize extraction yield and total antioxidant ability of polysaccharides from Suaeda fruticosa. Three independent variables were studied: temperature, time and pH with optimal settings 90 °C, 37 min and 2.9, respectively. Under these settings, isolation yield and total antioxidant activity were 34.0% and 31.8 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g material, respectively. Furthermore, preliminary structure study was carried out using UV-vis analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Nuclear magnetic resonance (1D (1H, 13C NMR) and 2D (1H, 1H COSY, 1H/13C HSQC)) methods Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) determination revealed that polysaccharide extracted had an average molecular weight of 240 kDa. Chemical composition analyses showed that extracted polysaccharide was a pectin-like polysaccharide with uronic acid content (47.5%) and neutral monosaccharides (52.5%) constituted mainly of arabinose, mannose, galactose, rhamnose, glucose and xylose in the molar percentage of 48.63%, 5.85%, 29.42%, 7.96%, 6.54% and 1.60%, respectively. This sugar composition was typical of that of a galactoarabinan. Importantly, the optimum polysaccharide possesses significant potentials in antioxidant activity effect. Moreover, pharmacological investigation of extracted polysaccharide revealed a good anti-inflammatory effect and interesting peripheral as well as central antinociceptive activities.

Pharmacological activities of the organic extracts and fatty acid composition of the petroleum ether extract from Haplophyllum tuberculatum leaves.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Haplophyllum tuberculatum is used in traditional medicine to treat many disorders including inflammation and pain. The aim of this study is to investigate the organic extracts from H. tuberculatum leaves against inflammation, gastric ulcer and pain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Acute toxicity was studied in vivo to determine the toxic doses of the organic extracts. Anti-inflammatory activity was also evaluated in vivo using carrageenan-induced paw edema in Wistar rats. Gastroprotective activity was tested using the HCl/ethanol-induced gastric ulcer test in rats. Peripheral and central analgesic activities were assessed using the acetic acid-induced writhing test and the hot-plate method, respectively. The chemical composition of the fatty acids in the petroleum ether (PE) extract was determined with GC-MS. RESULTS: At 25, 50 and 100mg/kg PE extract was the most active against inflammation. Percentages inhibition 5h after carrageenan-injection were 51.12; 86.71% and 96.92%, respectively. The same extract at 100mg/kg showed good analgesic activities using the acetic acid-induced writhing test and the hot-plate method. The chloroform, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and butanolic (n-BuOH) extracts exhibited strong anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective and analgesic activities at 100mg/kg. The GC-FID analysis revealed that the PE extract was rich in γ-linolenic acid (45.50%) followed by palmitic acid (18.48%), linoleic acid (10.73%), erucic acid (4.72), stearic acid (3.96%) and oleic acid (2.57%). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study support the traditional use of the leaves of H. tuberculatum and may possibly serve as prospective material for further development of safe new phytochemical anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective and/or analgesic agents.

Phytochemical Analysis and Evaluation of the Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antinociceptive Potential of Phlorotannin-Rich Fractions from Three Mediterranean Brown Seaweeds.

Phlorotannins, phenolic compounds produced exclusively by seaweeds, have been reported to possess various pharmacological properties. However, there have been few works on these compounds from Mediterranean seaweeds. In this study, we investigated the phytochemical analysis and pharmacological potential of phlorotannin-rich fractions from three brown seaweeds collected along the Tunisia coast: Cystoseira sedoides (PHT-SED), Cladostephus spongeosis (PHT-CLAD), and Padina pavonica (PHT-PAD). Phytochemical determinations showed considerable differences in total phenolic content (TPC) and phlorotannin content (PHT). The highest TPC level (26.45 mg PGE/g dry material (Dm)) and PHT level (873.14 µg PGE/g Dm) were observed in C. sedoides. The antioxidant properties of these three fractions assessed by three different methods indicated that C. sedoides displayed the highest total antioxidant activity among the three species (71.30 mg GAE/g Dm), as well as the free radical scavenging activity with the lowest IC50 value in both DPPH (27.7 µg/mL) and ABTS (19.1 µg/mL) assays. Furthermore, the pharmacological screening of the anti-inflammatory potential of these fractions using in vivo models, in comparison to reference drugs, established a remarkable activity of PHT-SED at the dose of 100 mg/kg; the inhibition percentages of ear edema in mice model and paw edema in rats model were of 82.55 and 81.08%, respectively. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver tissues has been quantified, and PHT-SED was found to remarkably increase the lipid peroxidation in rat liver tissues. In addition, in two pain mice models, PHT-SED displayed a profound antinociceptive activity at 100 mg/kg and has proved a better analgesic activity when used in combination with the opioid drug, tramadol.

Physico-chemical characterization and pharmacological activities of polysaccharides from Opuntia microdasys var. rufida cladodes.

The aim of this study is to isolate pectin from peel (WNPE) and pulp (WNPU) of Opuntia microdasys var. rufida's (OMR) cladodes and to characterize these polysaccharides by size exclusion (SEC/MALS/VD/DRI), gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer (GC-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The polysaccharides were extracted in neutral aqueous media followed by ethanol precipitation and dialysis. Both WNPE and WNPU are mainly composed of uronic acids and some neutral sugars such as arabinose, galactose, rhamnose and mannose. Their molecular weight range from 2,180,000 and 4,920,000g/mol. The in-vivo pharmacological activities (anti-inflammatory, analgesic and gastroprotective activities) have been performed. The extracted pectin (50-100mg/kg, i.p. (intraperitoneal)) inhibited, in a dose-related manner, both carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats and Xylene-induced ear edema in mice. A dose-dependent action was obtained against chemical (writhing test) and thermic (hot plate test) stimuli, respectively, with doses of 50 and 100mg/kg. Moreover, a considerable gastroprotective effect was observed with these two biopolymers, the gastric ulcer was attenuated until 67.67% for WNPE and 81.93% for WNPU, at the dose of 100mg/kg.

Microwave-assisted extraction and pharmacological evaluation of polysaccharides from Posidonia oceanica.

Microwave-assisted extraction was employed for the isolation of polysaccharides from Posidonia oceanica (PPO). The extracting parameters were optimized adopting response surface methodology. The highest polysaccharide yield (2.55 ± 0.09%), which is in concordance with the predicted value (2.76%), was obtained under the following conditions: extraction time 60 s, liquid-solid ratio of 50:1 (mL/g) and power of 800 W. This polysaccharide, with molecular weight of 524 KDa, characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that PPO was mainly composed of galactose, glucose, and arabinose with molar percentages 25.38, 24.37, and 21.64%, respectively. The pharmacological evaluation of PPO using animal models at the dose of 100 mg/kg indicated a significant anti-inflammatory activity with a percentage of inhibition of edema of 54.65% and a significant antinociceptive activity with 78.91% inhibition of writhing for peripheral analgesic activity and an increase in the hot plate reaction time for central analgesic activity.

Physico-chemical characterization and pharmacological activities of sulfated polysaccharide from sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus.

Sulfated polysaccharide (SP) from the eggs of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, extracted by papain digestion, was characterized by size exclusion chromatography coupling on-line with light scattering and viscosity detectors (SEC/MALS/VD/DRI), gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer (GC-MS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The native molecular mass of the extracted polysaccharide is high (≥22 000 KDa) and it is composed mainly of arabinose, accompanied by other monosaccharides (mostly galactose, glucose and fucose), significant amounts of uronic acids (18.4%) and relatively high proportions of sulfate (22.4%). The pharmacological evaluation of SP showed a significant in vivo anti-inflammatory activity (p<0.001), 3h after injection, the edema inhibition was 75.8% at the dose of 100mg/Kg; a significant peripheral analgesic activity (p<0.001), with 64.9% of writhing inhibition, and a significant increase in the hot plate reaction time in mice indicating central analgesic activity. In addition, an interesting gastroprotective effect was observed with this polysaccharide; the gastric ulcer inhibition was 69.7%, at the dose of 100mg/Kg.