Development of oil-in-water (o/w) nanoemulsion formulations for spontaneous transdermal delivery of ciprofloxacin

Nanoemulsions have attracted attention in delivery of therapeutically active agents since most of the new chemical entities are hydrophobic in nature and the delivery of poor water soluble drugs is a challenge. This study was carried out to adopt nanoemulsion as a means of entrapping ciprofloxacin in the oil phase of the emulsion for transdermal drug delivery. Nanoemulsions were formulated as oil in water (O/W) type and prepared by self-mild mechanical nanoemulsification method. The formulation consisted of Sandbox (Huracrepitan) and Sesame seed (Sesamumindicum) as the organic phase of the emulsion, Polyethylene (20) sorbitanmonooleate (Tween 80) and Polyethylene (20) sorbitanmonolaurate (Tween 20) as the surfactants and Polyehtylene glycol (PEG 400) as co-surfactant. The formulations were tested and characterized. Ciprofloxacin (0.075 g) was incorporated into the oil phase of the most stable nanoemulsion formulation prior emulsification and tested on Escherichia coli. Transdermal application was done on male Wister rats (R) followed by biopsification. The result showed the zones of inhibition of HCa3+Ciprofloxacin (Ciprofloxacin-loaded, Huracrpitan oil based nanoemulsion) and SSA3+Ciprofloxacin (Ciprofloxacin-loaded, Sesame oil based nanoemulsion) to be 26.00 and 25.00 mm respectively. The HPLC results showed that, out of 75000 µg of ciprofloxacin loaded in the oil phases of HCa3 and SSA3 formulations, 6.0076 (R2), 0.4112 (R3) and 6.7241 µg (R6) were absorbed in HCa3 while 1.9519 (R1), 1.2631 (R4) and 2.1801 µg (R5) were absorbed in SSA3. The SEM images revealed an encapsulation with globule size diameter of 94 and 63 nm respectively. The findings of this work showed that sandbox and Sesame seedoil based nanoemulsions are effective for transdermal drug delivery

Influence of Spirituality and Modesty on Acceptance of Self-Sampling for Cervical Cancer Screening.

INTRODUCTION: Whereas systematic screening programs have reduced the incidence of cervical cancer in developed countries, the incidence remains high in developing countries. Among several barriers to uptake of cervical cancer screening, the roles of religious and cultural factors such as modesty have been poorly studied. Knowledge about these factors is important because of the potential to overcome them using strategies such as self-collection of cervico-vaginal samples. In this study we evaluate the influence of spirituality and modesty on the acceptance of self-sampling for cervical cancer screening. METHODOLOGY: We enrolled 600 participants in Nigeria between August and October 2014 and collected information on spirituality and modesty using two scales. We used principal component analysis to extract scores for spirituality and modesty and logistic regression models to evaluate the association between spirituality, modesty and preference for self-sampling. All analyses were performed using STATA 12 (Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas, USA). RESULTS: Some 581 (97%) women had complete data for analysis. Most (69%) were married, 50% were Christian and 44% were from the south western part of Nigeria. Overall, 19% (110/581) of the women preferred self-sampling to being sampled by a health care provider. Adjusting for age and socioeconomic status, spirituality, religious affiliation and geographic location were significantly associated with preference for self-sampling, while modesty was not significantly associated. The multivariable OR (95% CI, p-value) for association with self-sampling were 0.88 (0.78-0.99, 0.03) for spirituality, 1.69 (1.09-2.64, 0.02) for religious affiliation and 0.96 (0.86-1.08, 0.51) for modesty. CONCLUSION: Our results show the importance of taking cultural and religious beliefs and practices into consideration in planning health interventions like cervical cancer screening. To succeed, public health interventions and the education to promote it must be related to the target population and its preferences

Agricultural Value Added, Food and Nutrition Security in West Africa: Realizing the SDG 2

This study examined how food security will be achieved in ECOWAS through agricultural value added. The study made use of panel data sourced from the World Bank World Development Indicators (WDI) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) databases; it employed the fixed effects econometric technique. Results from the analysis showed that 1% increase in agricultural production, agriculture employment, agricultural valued added, political stability and absence of violence as well as access to electricity all things being equal, will bring about 14.2, 56.9, 1.9, 1.5 and 42.5% increase in food security. Thus, the study recommended that the governments of the West African countries should ensure that there is adequate security in the economies so as to encourage people to practice agriculture

Capacity and Quality Optimization of CDMA Networks

Coverage and capacity are important issues in the planning process for cellular third generation (3G) mobile networks. The planning process aims to allow the maximum number of users sending and receiving adequate signal strength in a cell. This paper describes the conceptual expressions require for network coverage and capacity optimization analysis, examines service quality issues, and presents practical solutions to problems common to sub-optimality of CDMA networks

Development of oil-in-water (o/w) nanoemulsion formulations for spontaneous transdermal delivery of ciprofloxacin

Nanoemulsions have attracted attention in delivery of therapeutically active agents since most of the new chemical entities are hydrophobic in nature and the delivery of poor water soluble drugs is a challenge. This study was carried out to adopt nanoemulsion as a means of entrapping ciprofloxacin in the oil phase of the emulsion for transdermal drug delivery. Nanoemulsions were formulated as oil in water (O/W) type and prepared by self-mild mechanical nanoemulsification method. The formulation consisted of Sandbox (Huracrepitan) and Sesame seed (Sesamumindicum) as the organic phase of the emulsion, Polyethylene (20) sorbitanmonooleate (Tween 80) and Polyethylene (20) sorbitanmonolaurate (Tween 20) as the surfactants and Polyehtylene glycol (PEG 400) as co-surfactant. The formulations were tested and characterized. Ciprofloxacin (0.075 g) was incorporated into the oil phase of the most stable nanoemulsion formulation prior emulsification and tested on Escherichia coli. Transdermal application was done on male Wister rats (R) followed by biopsification. The result showed the zones of inhibition of HCa3+Ciprofloxacin (Ciprofloxacin-loaded, Huracrpitan oil based nanoemulsion) and SSA3+Ciprofloxacin (Ciprofloxacin-loaded, Sesame oil based nanoemulsion) to be 26.00 and 25.00 mm respectively. The HPLC results showed that, out of 75000 µg of ciprofloxacin loaded in the oil phases of HCa3 and SSA3 formulations, 6.0076 (R2), 0.4112 (R3) and 6.7241 µg (R6) were absorbed in HCa3 while 1.9519 (R1), 1.2631 (R4) and 2.1801 µg (R5) were absorbed in SSA3. The SEM images revealed an encapsulation with globule size diameter of 94 and 63 nm respectively. The findings of this work showed that sandbox and Sesame seedoil based nanoemulsions are effective for transdermal drug delivery

Antidiarrhoeal Activities of Ethanolic Extract of Aristolochia ringens Stem Bark in Castor Oil-Induced Diarrhoeal Albino Rats

The antidiarrhoeal potentials of ethanolic extract of Aristolochia ringens stem back was evaluated in castor oil-induced diarrhoeal rats. The A. ringens stem back ethanolic extract was, in addition, screened for its phytoconstituents. Thirty albino rats of 150-180 g were randomized into six groups of five animals each for each of the three experiments and all administration were oral. Rats in groups I and II were administered 1.0 ml distilled water and 1% DMSO (Vehicle) respectively, while those in group III were administered 2.5 mg/kg b.wt loperamide hydrochloride as reference drug. Rats in groups IV, V and VI were administered 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg b.wt. ethanolic extract of A. ringens stem bark. The castor oil-induced diarrhoeal model was used, the weight and volume of the intestinal content was determined by enteropooling method and the intestinal motility was determined using activated charcoal method. The small intestine of the rats was also assessed for histopathological changes. The extract significantly and dose-dependently reduced the number of diarrhoeal faeces, the volume of intestinal accumulation and the distance moved by the fed charcoal in treated rats compared to the untreated diarrhoeal group (group II). The percentage inhibitions exhibited by the extract at 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight were significantly higher than that of the reference drug. Furthermore, the photomicrograph of the intestine of the extract treated rats showed intact intestinal architecture. Hence, ethanolic extract of Aristolochia ringens stem bark may contain phytochemicals with better antidiarrhoeal potentials which can be explored in the development of more viable antidiarrhoeal agents. Keywords: Aristolochia ringens, Antidiarrhoeal agents, Intestinal motility,  Intestinal accumulation

Phytochemical constituents and antidiarrhoeal effects of the aqueous extract of Terminalia superba leaves on Wistar rats

The aqueous extract of Terminalia superba leaves was subjected to phytochemical screening. Antidiarrhoeal property of the extract was determined at 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg body weight in castor oil-induced diarrhoeal Wistar rats. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of saponins, cardenolides, triterpenes, flavonoids, steroids, phenolics and tannins, whereas alkaloids, anthraquinones and phlobatanins were not detected. The time of induction of diarrhoea was significantly (P < 0.05) prolonged at all the doses of the extract. The frequency of stooling and feacal parameters (total number of feaces and number of wet feaces), intestinal fluid accumulation (enteropooling) and the weight of intestinal content were significantly reduced. The data in the present study indicate that the aqueous extract of T. superba leaves possessed antidiarrhoeal properties. Key words: Phytochemicals, Terminalia superba, aqueous extract, diarrhoea, rats

Evaluation of hypoglycemic and toxicological effects of leaf extracts of Morinda lucida in hyperglycemic albino rats

The aqueous and 50% methanolic extracts of leaf of Morinda lucida were investigated for their phytochemical constituents, hypoglycemic and toxicological effects in alloxan-induced hyperglycemia in rats. In addition, the possible acute toxicological effects of the extracts were also studied for seven days.The results revealed the presence of alkaloids, cardenolides, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins and steroids in the aqueous extract while 50% methanolic extract contained anthraquinones in addition to those found in aqueous extract. Phenolics and tannins were not detected in both extracts while anthraquinones was not detected in aqueous extract. The extracts significantly (P<0.05) lowered the blood glucose level in the alloxan-induced hyperglycemia in rats. However, the aqueous extract was more effective than the 50% methanolic extract, though they may possibly be toxic at the doses used because marker enzymes (ALP, AST and ALT) were secreted into the sera of these extracts-treated rats. The acute intra-peritoneal toxicity study of the extracts at the limit doses of 500-1500 mg/kg body weight revealed toxicity of the extracts, most especially at relatively high concentrations for seven days. Keywords: Leaf extracts, Morinda lucida, blood glucose level and toxicological effects