Development and characterization of amoxicillin loaded floating microballoons for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori induced gastric ulcer

AbstractThe current communication reports in vitro characterization of the optimized hollow floating microballoons of amoxicillin on the basis of micromeritic properties and in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Amoxicillin loaded hollow microballoons were prepared by emulsion solvent diffusion method. The morphological characterization was done on the basis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to investigate drug–polymer interactions. The correlation between the in vitro buoyancy of microballoons and their physical properties, e.g. density and porosity were elucidated. The results of FTIR spectroscopy revealed the absence of any drug–polymer interactions. The porosity values of more than 69% and diameter to thickness ratio greater than 2.90, proved a high cavity volume within the microballoons in all size ranges. The spherical shape of microballoons with hollow internal cavity was confirmed from SEM photomicrographs. The in vitro MIC results showed a sustained drug effect from the microballoons. In conclusion, it can be said that the developed microballoons can be used for the effective treatment of Helicobacter pylori induced gastric ulcer

Association of ADAM33 gene polymorphisms with adult-onset asthma and its severity in an Indian adult population

ADAM33, a member of the ADAM(a disintegrin and metalloprotease) gene family, is an asthma susceptibility gene originally identified by positional cloning. In the present study, we investigated the possible association of five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ADAM33 (rs511898, rs528557, rs44707, rs597980 and rs2787094) with adult-onset asthma in an Indian population. The study included 175 patients with mild intermittent (n=44), mild persistent (n=108) or moderate persistent (n=23) subgroups of asthma, and 253 nonasthmatic control individuals. SNPs were genotyped with the help of restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR) method, and data were analysed using chi-square test and logistic regression model. Bonferroni’s correction for multiple comparisons was applied for each hypothesis. Genotypes and allele frequencies of SNPs rs511898 and rs528557 were significantly associated with adult-onset asthma(P=0.010-<0.001). A significant association of the homozygous mutant genotype and mutant alleles of SNPs rs2787094, rs44707 and rs597980 with the asthma was also observed (P=0.020-<0.001). A positive association between asthma and haplotypes AGCCT, GGCCT, AGACT, GCAGT, GGACT, ACCCC and AGACC were also found (P=0.036-<0.001,OR=2.07–8.49). Haplotypes AGCGT, GCAGC, ACAGC, ACAGT, GGAGC and GGCGT appear to protect against asthma (P=0.013-<0.0001, OR=0.34–0.10). Our data suggest that ADAM33 gene polymorphisms serve as genetic risk factors for asthma in Indian adult population

A bioinformatic approach to establish P38α MAPK inhibitory mechanism of selected natural products in psoriasis

165-171In the present study, molecular docking studies of some selected natural products were carried out to identify the potential inhibitors and subsequently to suggest their mechanism of action in relation to P38α mitogen-activated protein kinases (P38α MAPK) enzyme. Psoriasis is an inflammatory disorder characterized by skin hyper-proliferation, differentiation in keratin expression, and increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Increased expression of phosphorylated P38α MAPK in the cytoplasm and nucleus is observed in psoriatic lesions. Twelve natural antipsoriatic agents were included in the study and their molecular docking studies were carried out using AutoDock 4.2 simulator using a Lamarckian genetic algorithm. The crystal structure of P38α MAPK was retrieved from the protein data bank and three-dimensional chemical structures of natural ligands were prepared using ChemSketch 2015. Results indicated that all the natural ligands were fitted into the active site. Hypericin and Catechin (−9.00 and −8.05 kcal/mol, respectively) have shown good binding efficacy among other ligands. However, only Epicatechin interacted with residues in the enzyme required for enzyme inhibition. The study concludes that the Epicatechin effectively inhibited the enzyme and proved itself to be a type-I1/2 inhibitor of the enzyme among other natural ligands and responsible for the treatment of psoriasis preclinically through this mechanism of action

PHYTOSOME: MOST SIGNIFICANT TOOL FOR HERBAL DRUG DELIVERY TO ENHANCE THE THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS OF PHYTOCONSTITUENTS

Traditional medicinal system relies on the knowledge and clinical expertization of physicians to regulate the indigenous medicinal system for the sake of well being to humans. Considering the bioavailability issues of phytoconstituents, in this review, we have focused on the various aspects of phytosomes in drug delivery. Phytosome technology is used to enhance the absorption of poorly absorbed lipid soluble active constituents from the herb extracts. So, the article covers a brief introduction of phytosomes, their method of development along with its formulation and evaluation parameters such FTIR, NMR etc. Different types of dosages forms are described in the review, merits and demerits are also discussed along with diagrammatic representation of phytosome development technique. So, the article is the direction for future research to increase the absorption of phytoconstituents. Keywords: Bioavailability, FTIR, lipid, NMR, niosomes, phytoconstituent

Dual crosslinked pectin–alginate network as sustained release hydrophilic matrix for repaglinide

Repaglinide, an oral antidiabetic agent, has a rapid onset of action and short half–life of approximately 1 h. Developing a controlled and prolonged release delivery system is required to maintain its therapeutic plasma concentration and to eliminate its adverse effects particularly hypoglycemia. The present study aimed to develop controlled release repaglinide loaded beads using sodium alginate and pectin with dual cross–linking for effective control of drug release. The prepared beads were characterized for size, percentage drug entrapment efficiency, in vitro drug release and the morphological examination using scanning electron microscope. For the comparative study, the release profile of a marketed conventional tablet of repaglinide (Prandin® tablets 2 mg, Novo Nordisk) was determined by the same procedure as followed for beads. The particle size of beads was in the range of 698 ± 2.34 to 769 ± 1.43 μm. The drug entrapment efficiency varied between 55.24 ± 4.61 to 82.29 ± 3.42%. The FTIR results suggest that there was no interaction between repaglinide and excipients. The XRD and DSC results suggest partial molecular dispersion and amorphization of the drug throughout the system. These results suggest that repaglinide did not dissolve completely in the polymer composition and seems not to be involved in the cross–linking reaction. The percent drug release was decreased with higher polymer concentrations. In conclusion, the developed beads could enhance drug entrapment efficiency, prolong the drug release and enhance bioavailability for better control of diabetes

Optical Scattering Measurements of Laser Induced Damage in the Intraocular Lens

This study optically determines whether the amount of light scatter due to laser-induced damage to the intraocular lens (IOL) is significant in relation to normal straylight values in the human eye. Two IOLs with laser-induced damage were extracted from two donor eyes. Each IOL had 15 pits and/or cracks. The surface area of each pit was measured using a microscope. For 6 pits per intraocular lens the point spread function (PSF) in terms of straylight was measured and the total straylight for all 15 pits was estimated. The damage in the IOLs was scored as mild/moderate. The total damaged surface areas, for a 3.5 mm pupil, in the two IOLs were 0.13% (0.0127 mm2) and 0.66% (0.064 mm2), respectively. The angular dependence of the straylight caused by the damage was similar to that of the normal PSF. The total average contribution to straylight was log(s) = −0.82 and −0.42, much less than the straylight value of the normal eye

Rescue of Photoreceptor Degeneration by Curcumin in Transgenic Rats with P23H Rhodopsin Mutation

The P23H mutation in the rhodopsin gene causes rhodopsin misfolding, altered trafficking and formation of insoluble aggregates leading to photoreceptor degeneration and autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RP). There are no effective therapies to treat this condition. Compounds that enhance dissociation of protein aggregates may be of value in developing new treatments for such diseases. Anti-protein aggregating activity of curcumin has been reported earlier. In this study we present that treatment of COS-7 cells expressing mutant rhodopsin with curcumin results in dissociation of mutant protein aggregates and decreases endoplasmic reticulum stress. Furthermore we demonstrate that administration of curcumin to P23H-rhodopsin transgenic rats improves retinal morphology, physiology, gene expression and localization of rhodopsin. Our findings indicate that supplementation of curcumin improves retinal structure and function in P23H-rhodopsin transgenic rats. This data also suggest that curcumin may serve as a potential therapeutic agent in treating RP due to the P23H rhodopsin mutation and perhaps other degenerative diseases caused by protein trafficking defects

Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability, but its overall association with health remains complex given the possible protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption on some conditions. With our comprehensive approach to health accounting within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we generated improved estimates of alcohol use and alcohol-attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 locations from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for 5-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older. Methods Using 694 data sources of individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use, we produced estimates of the prevalence of current drinking, abstention, the distribution of alcohol consumption among current drinkers in standard drinks daily (defined as 10 g of pure ethyl alcohol), and alcohol-attributable deaths and DALYs. We made several methodological improvements compared with previous estimates: first, we adjusted alcohol sales estimates to take into account tourist and unrecorded consumption; second, we did a new meta-analysis of relative risks for 23 health outcomes associated with alcohol use; and third, we developed a new method to quantify the level of alcohol consumption that minimises the overall risk to individual health. Findings Globally, alcohol use was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and DALYs in 2016, accounting for 2.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1.5-3.0) of age-standardised female deaths and 6.8% (5.8-8.0) of age-standardised male deaths. Among the population aged 15-49 years, alcohol use was the leading risk factor globally in 2016, with 3.8% (95% UI 3.2-4-3) of female deaths and 12.2% (10.8-13-6) of male deaths attributable to alcohol use. For the population aged 15-49 years, female attributable DALYs were 2.3% (95% UI 2.0-2.6) and male attributable DALYs were 8.9% (7.8-9.9). The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were tuberculosis (1.4% [95% UI 1. 0-1. 7] of total deaths), road injuries (1.2% [0.7-1.9]), and self-harm (1.1% [0.6-1.5]). For populations aged 50 years and older, cancers accounted for a large proportion of total alcohol-attributable deaths in 2016, constituting 27.1% (95% UI 21.2-33.3) of total alcohol-attributable female deaths and 18.9% (15.3-22.6) of male deaths. The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0.0-0.8) standard drinks per week. Interpretation Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption.Peer reviewe