Phytochemical and cytotoxicity evaluation of lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) leaves extract by MCF-7 cell line and brine shrimp lethality bioassay

This study aimed to investigate the cytotoxicity of Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) leaves crude extract. It has been reported to show various bioactivities. The phytochemical screening of the extract has been carried qualitatively. The cytotoxic effect was determined through in vitro MTT assay of MCF-7 cell line, and brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The presence or absence of alkaloid, carbohydrate, glycoside, saponin, terpene, steroid, phenol, and flavonoid in the extract was determined through the qualitative tests. The extract showed cell viability of 100% (1.95–3.9 μL/mL), 96% (1.95 μL/mL), ≈ 95% (3.9–15.62 μL/ mL) and 88% (250 μL/mL) while the mortality of brine shrimp nauplii was from 5% to 10% (7.8 – 125 μL/mL) respectively. For both assays, DMSO of 1 & 0.1% were used as vehicle controls, while the potassium dichromate as the positive control for the brine shrimp only. These results proved the leaves extract to be non-toxic

In vitro cytotoxic and in vivo anxiolytic study of methanolic crude extract of Streculia villosa seeds

We have aimed to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxic and in vivo anxiolytic and sedative activities of the methanolic extract of Sterculia villosa roxb seeds. The dried powder of the seeds was extracted with methanol which was then tested to ascertain the neuropharmacological and cytotoxic potentials. The methanolic extract of Sterculia villosa roxb were subjected to Brine Shrimp lethality bioassay for possible cytotoxicity having LC 50 of 8.672μg/ml. However, fractions produced concentration dependent increase in percent of mortality of Brine Shrimp nauplii indicates the presence of cytotoxic property. We also have studied for possible sedative and anxiolytic activity of the methanolic seed extract of Sterculia villosa roxb in mice. This study includes hole cross, open field, thiopental- sodium induced sleeping time and elevated-plus maze (EPM) tests at the dose of 200 mg/kg while on the peripheral and central nervous system the extract mild to moderately decreased the locomotor activity of mice in hole cross, open field and EPM test. However, the extract moderately has minimized the onset of sleep and slightly has maximized the duration of sleep while administered with thiopental sodium

Synthesis and characterization of orotic acid loaded chitosan inclusion complex

The current study aims to improve drug release properties of orotic acid loaded with chitosan inclusion complex (OA/CS). The OA/CS inclusion complex was synthesized using the freeze-drying technique. The characterization of inclusion OA/ CS was carried out using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), zeta sizer, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, the size of OA/CS ranged between 58 nm and 200 nm, and the zeta potential was 30 mV. Thus, this study indicates that OA/CS has a promising future to develop a carrier for drug delivery systems further. Keywords: Chitosan, Drug delivery, Inclusion complex, Orotic acid, Synthesis. International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology (2020); DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.10.1.1 How to cite this article: Hassani A, Azad AK, Enezei HH, Hussain SA, Helal Uddin ABM. Synthesis and Characterization of Orotic Acid Loaded Chitosan Inclusion Complex. International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology. 2020; 10(1): 1-4

Awareness of vesicovaginal fistula among health workers in some health facilities of Zamfara state, Northwest Nigeria

The prevalence of obstetric fistula in Nigeria was found by 2008 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) to be 0.4%, suggesting there are approximately 150,000 women of reproductive age currently living with, or who have previously had, obstetric fistula. Fistula prevalence is higher in Northern than in Southern Nigerian zones. For instance, the prevalence of fistula in North Central Nigeria is 0.8%, followed by 0.5% in the North East and 0.3% in North West Nigeria. This study aimed at understanding the knowledge and level of understanding of Health workers in some selected hospitals and clinics in Zamfara State, North West Nigeria. The study was both a descriptive cross sectional and qualitative study of health personnel working in some health facilities in Zamfara State to gain an insight of their understanding and practice about vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) which is a common obstetric and maternal health complication among women in Nigeria during or after delivery. 68.3% of the respondents were females while 31.7% were males. There is no specialist consultant or fistula surgeon among the health personnel interviewed as only 11.7% of them were medical doctors while the remaining are nurses, midwives or community health extension workers. On their knowledge of fistula, 97.6% of them have heard of VVF, and 87% of them were of the opinion that early marriage causes complications during delivery or giving birth. Also 88% of them were aware of VVF as one of the problems associated with early girl-child marriage while only 61% of them knew that obstructed or delayed labour causes VVF. It is important to train and equip the lower cadre health and clinic personnel on VVF and how to prevent it as the management of VVF requires a specialized knowledge and expertise

Propagation of an endangered gymnosperm tree species (Podocarpus neriifolius D. Don.) by stem cuttings in non-mist propagator

Podocarpus neriifolius D. Don. (Podocarpaceae), an endangered and the only indigenous gymnosperm tree species, grows naturally in Bangladesh. Seed-based propagation of this species is challenging owing to its inadequate number of mother trees and irregular seed-setting attribute from among a few trees scattered throughout the country. This study weighs the significance and multiplication potentials of this species through rejuvenated stem cuttings with or without the application of Indole Butyric Acid (IBA). The rooting ability of the cuttings was evaluated by treating the cutting bases with 0%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.8% (w/v) IBA solution prior to place them in a low cost, non-mist propagation system. Steckling performances of the rooted cuttings were evaluated in the nursery conditions. The study found that the species was amenable to rooting with IBA treatments. The highest rooting percentage (61.3 ± 3.3 %; n = 90) and number of roots per cutting (9.8 ± 1.32; n = 90 ) were obtained in the 0.8% IBA treatment; however, the longest root and shoot, as well as the highest initial growth performances were obtained in 0.4% IBA treatment. Therefore, rejuvenated stem cuttings treated with 0.4% or 0.8% IBA solution in a non-mist propagator could potentially be an effective method for the clonal propagation of these tree species

Homo simpliciter or imago Dei. From the regional bio-psycho-social concentricity to eccentric-theological integrity of the human being

Polazeći od kršćansko-teološke kategorije slike Božje, koju autor naziva antropološko-ekscentričnom jer se čovjek kao osoba može razumjeti i izvan granica puke pojavnosti svojega »ja«, dakle u Bogu kao »ne-ja«, čineći upravo stabilnim i cjelovitim taj isti ljudski »ja«, želi se i kritički osvrnuti na psihologijske i sociologijske pozitivističko-redukcionističke slike čovjeka koje uporište njegova definiranja utemeljuju na pojedinim strukturno-naravnim stratumima ili društvenim funkcijama čovjeka, nazivajući naprotiv takav parcijalni pristup antropološko koncentričnim. Dok se s konceptom imago Dei želi naglasiti ono cjelovito, bazično i teologalno u čovjeku, s homo simpliciter želi se samo znanstveno-metodski zahvatiti čovjek kao takav u svojoj pukoj pojavnoj bio-psiho-socijalnoj koncentričnosti i segmentiranosti sebe. U prva dva poglavlja u najosnovnijim crtama izlaže se kršćansko-antropološko određenje kategorijâ slike Božje i osobe, a u nastavku članka autor se kritički osvrće na načine kako se »znanstveno kreira« slika o čovjeku u psihologijskom i sociologijskom smislu. U zadnjem poglavlju autor se pita kako se to čovjek može realistično i optimalno personalizirati i socijalizirati na osnovi prethodno konstatiranih »znanstvenih slikâ« o njemu, ako ga se shvaća samo kao homo simpliciter.Starting with the Christian-theological category of the imago Dei, called anthropological-eccentric by the author, because the human being as a person can understand something also outside of boundaries of mere manifestation of his/her »I«, hence in God as »non-I«, which makes the human »I« stabile and integral. The author also wants to critically reflect on psychological and sociological positivistic-reductionist images of the human being, whose basis for defining the human being is found in certain structural-natural stratums or social functions of the human being, while calling such partial approach anthropologically concentric. While the concept of imago Dei emphasises what is integral, fundamental, and theological in the human being, the concept of homo simpliciter understands the human being in a scientific-methodological way in his/her mere manifested, bio-psycho-social concentricity and segmentation of himself/herself. The first two chapters present the Christian-anthropological determination of the categories of the image of God and person in the most basic way, while in the continuation of the article the author reflects critically on ways in which the image of the human being is »scientifically created« in the psychological and sociological sense. In the last chapter the author poses the question of how the human being could be personalised realistically and optimally, and socialised on the basis of aforementioned »scientific images« of him/her, if he/she is understood only as homo simpliciter

Person-to-Person Transmission of Nipah Virus in a Bangladeshi Community

Transmission of this virus highlights the need for infection control strategies for resource-poor settings

Synthesis and characterization of orotic acid loaded chitosan inclusion complex

Background: Polymeric inclusion complex has been used frequently as a drug delivery system due to controlled release, non-toxic properties and high bioavailability. Objective: The current study aims to improve drug release properties of orotic acid loaded with chitosan inclusion complex (OA/CS). Material and methods: The OA/CS inclusion complex were synthesized using freeze drying technique. The characterization of inclusion OA/CS was carried out using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Zeta sizer, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Results: The FTIR peaks of orotic acid have almost vanished in the OA/CS spectrum due to the restriction of OA vibration upon loading in CS cavity. The diffraction peaks of the OA/CS are completely diffused due to the amorphous state and the lack of crystallinity of inclusion complex. The DSC marked changes are indicative of the amorphous phase of solid dispersion, as well OA encapsulation into the nanocavity of CS. The size of OA/CS ranged between 58 nm and 200 nm and the zeta potential was 30 mV. In addition, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that OA/CS sizes were ranged from 20 to 45 nm. Conclusion: Thus, this study indicates that OA/CS has promising future to further develop a carrier for drug delivery systems

A sensitive and reliable RP-HPLC method for the detection of cimetidine - a H2 receptor antagonist in human plasma

Bioanalytical methods for bioequivalence studies require high sensibility and rapidity due to the large number of samples and the low plasma concentration of drugs. The present study aimed to develop and validate a high-performance liquid chromatography method to quantify cimetidine (CMT) in human plasma and to apply it in a bioequivalence study. Spiked plasma of 500 µl (l, m and h concentration) was used for the assay. The HPLC injection volume was 20μl of the reconstitute sample where, 2 ml of ethyl acetate used for extraction purposes. Cimetidine was prepared separately for low (80 ng/ml), medium (2000 ng/ml) and high (3600 ng/ml) concentrations and internal standard (ranitidine) concentration was 3000 ng/ml. Freeze thawing and long terms stability were conducted at -25º c. The individual calibration curve for spiked standards was linear with R2= 0.99. The inaccuracy values for QC samples were within 15% of the actual value and not more than 20% for the LOQ. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 40 ng/ml, which was also the lowest concentration of cimetidine that was quantitated with the variability of 5.9%. The within day precision and between day precision for LOQ were 10.8 and 5.9 respectively. The retention time for the analyte was 4.1-4.5 minutes during the within a day and between day results. The mean % inaccuracy values for low, medium and high concentration were 6.8, 5.6 and 7.8 respectively for within day and 2.4, 6.1 and 7.9 respectively for between days. The within day and between day % inaccuracy for LOQ concentration was 12.4 and 5.5 respectively. The mean recoveries for low, medium and high concentration of cimetidine were 80.2, 70.9 and 74.2. The overall mean recovery for cimetidine was 75.1%. The maximum inaccuracy for freeze thaw cycle and long term stability samples for low, medium and high was found with CV less than 15% for all concentrations, indicating that cimetidine is stable. The developed method was precise and accurate and was suitable to be applied for the bioequivalence study of cimetidine

Extraction and quantification of eugenol from clove buds using HPLC

Background: Eugenol is the main constituent of clove essential oil. Past studies have found that clove oil has diverse uses in the pharmaceutical field due to its antioxidant, antibacterial and anesthetic properties. Objective: This work compares the performance of different extraction methods and factors and identifies the effect of the treatments on oil yields and eugenol content. Materials and Methods: Maceration, Hydro distillation, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE),and Soxhlet were performed. The best technique was identified according to yield and content. Further studies were conducted to examine the effects of different factors, such as solvent types (ethanol and methanol) and sample-to-solvent ratio (1:10 and 1:15). HPLC UV-Vis was utilized in the analysis of eugenol concentration. Results and Discussion: Soxhlet extraction provided the highest yield (39.98%) and eugenol con- tent (15.83%), compared to other methods. The results observed from several Soxhlet extraction factors showed that there is no significant difference between the different factors. In the mean- time, methanol 1:15 provided the greatest amount of yields (57.83%) and eugenol content (22.21%). In this regard, the higher ratio resulted in higher eugenol content. Conclusion: The results obtained are less comparable because the processing time, the working sol- vent, and the separation technique were carried out differently for each method. In the meantime, as there is no past study that compared the selected methods and factors, this study’s findings will contribute substantially to fill the gap in this field