TURMERIC: NATURE’S PRECIOUS MEDICINE

Ethanobotany is a recent branch of natural science dealing with various aspects such as anthropology, archeology, botany, ecology, economics and medicine, religious, cultural and several other disciplines. Recently, great interest is given to studies of herbal drugs and traditional remedies are indicated worldwide and there has been an upsurge in the scientific investigations in area. Although turmeric (Curcuma longa and Curcuma aromatica Salisb.) has been described in Ayurveda, as treatment inflammatory diseases and is referred by different names in different cultures, active principle called Curcumin or diferuloylmethane, a yellow pigment present in turmeric (curry powder) has been shown to exhibit numerous activities. Extensive research over last fifty years has revealed several important functions of curcumin. The present study was aimed to review the ethanobotanical properties, pharmacognostic, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of turmeric plant. Root part of the plant are widely used by different tribal communities as turmeric have been shown to have wide spectrum of biological actions, which include anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, analgesic, antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-protozoal, anti-ulcer, hypocholesteremic activities. Its anti-cancer effect induced mainly mediated through induction of apoptosis and many more medicinal values. KEYWORDS: Curcuma aromatica Salisb. Ethanobotany, kasthuri turmeric, Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology

PREPARATION AND EVALUATION OF NANOSPONGES BASED TRAMADOL HCL C/R TABLETS USING DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT

Objective: The goal was to develop a controlled release formulation of tramadol utilizing the cyclodextrin-based nanosponges as a nanocarrier. Methods: Based on the preliminary trials a 3-factor, 3-level Box-Behnken design was employed. Five types of nanosponges from β-cyclodextrin (NS1-NS5) were purposely designed. Tramadol was loaded into nanosponges by the freeze-drying method. The prepared nanosponges were characterized and formulated into tablets and evaluated. Results: The particle sizes of tramadol-loaded nanosponges are in between 34.38 to 134.26 nm, encapsulation efficiency of 41.13-86.72% and drug release% at 6h of 52.34-81.12%. In vitro release studies showed that more than 90 % of the drug were released from nanosponge formulations as compared to only around 20% from free drug suspension after 24 h. The FTIR, DSC and XRPD studies confirmed the interaction of Tramadol with nanosponges. TEM image revealed the spherical structure of drug-loaded nanosponges. The drug-loaded in the nanosponge structure can be retained and released slowly over time. The nanosponges were formulated into tablets and evaluated for weight variation, hardness, friability and disintegration studies and obtained satisfactory results. In vitro release of drug from tablet showed controlled release behavior for a period of 12 h. The percentage of tramadol released from nanosponges tablets after was 87.48 percent and stability studies indicated no significant changes within 6 months. Conclusion: Cyclodextrin-based nanosponges showed superior complexing ability with increased solubility of poorly soluble Tramadol tablets made for controlled drug delivery, which can reduce dosing frequency

Formulation and in-vivo evaluation of nanosponges based tramadol HCL C/R tablets using design of experiment

The current study was aimed to develop a controlled release formulation of tramadol utilizing the cyclodextrin based nanosponges. Box-Behnken design was employed to study the effect of each independent variable on dependent variables. Five types of nanosponges from β-cyclodextrin (NS1-NS5) were purposely designed. The prepared nanosponges by freeze drying method were characterized and formulated into tablets and evaluated for in-vitro and in-vivo studies. The particle sizes of tramadol-nanosponges are in between 34.38 to 134.26 nm, encapsulation efficiency of 41.13-86.72% and drug release% at 6h of 52.34-81.12%. More than 90 % of drug was found to be released from nanosponge formulations. The FTIR, DSC and XRPD studies confirmed the interaction of Tramadol with nanosponges. The nanosponges Cmax of 915.24±1.67 ng/ml was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the marketed product's Cmax of 411.5±1.25 ng/ml. Both the nanosponges formulation and the commercial product had Tmax values of 1.5±0.06 and 2.0±0.05 hours, respectively. When compared to the marketed product (342.6±0.65 ng h/ml), the AUC0-t of the nanosponges formulation (643.2±0.56 ng h/ml) was substantially greater (p<0.05) indicating better systemic drug absorption from nanosponges formulation. Cyclodextrin based nanosponges showed enhanced solubility with increased bioavailability of poorly soluble Tramadol for controlled drug delivery

Formulation and In-vivo Evaluation of Nanosponges Based Tramadol HCL C/R Tablets Using Design of Experiment

The current study was aimed to develop a controlled release formulation of tramadol utilizing the cyclodextrin based nanosponges. Box-Behnken design was employed to study the effect of each independent variable on dependent variables. Five types of nanosponges from β-cyclodextrin (NS1-NS5) were purposely designed. The prepared nanosponges by freeze drying method were characterized and formulated into tablets and evaluated for in-vitro and in-vivo studies. The particle sizes of tramadol-nanosponges are in between 34.38 to 134.26 nm, encapsulation efficiency of 41.13-86.72% and drug release% at 6h of 52.34-81.12%. More than 90 % of drug was found to be released from nanosponge formulations. The FTIR, DSC and XRPD studies confirmed the interaction of Tramadol with nanosponges. The nanosponges Cmax of 915.24±1.67 ng/ml was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the marketed product's Cmax of 411.5±1.25 ng/ml. Both the nanosponges formulation and the commercial product had Tmax values of 1.5±0.06 and 2.0±0.05 hours, respectively. When compared to the marketed product (342.6±0.65 ng h/ml), the AUC0-t of the nanosponges formulation (643.2±0.56 ng h/ml) was substantially greater (p<0.05) indicating better systemic drug absorption from nanosponges formulation. Cyclodextrin based nanosponges showed enhanced solubility with increased bioavailability of poorly soluble Tramadol for controlled drug delivery

Xerostomia: An overview

Xerostomia is a subjective sensation of dry mouth with objective evidence of decreased salivary flow. It is a multifactorial condition which increases the risk of oral diseases and has a significant effect on the person′s quality of life. So, these patients need special care for maintenance of oral and general health. We, being oral health care professionals, it is our responsibility to diagnose and treat the condition accordingly using a multidisciplinary approach. This paper enlightens the etiology and management of xerostomia

Restoring the voids of voices by signs and gestures, in dentistry: A cross-sectional study

Aims: To help dentists to communicate with the hearing impaired patients, reach an accurate diagnosis and explain the treatment plan by learning some signs and gestures used in the nonverbal communication (NVC) and by devising some new signs and gestures related to dentistry which shall be easy to learn and understand both by the hearing impaired patients and the dentists. Settings and Design: The study was carried out on 100 hearing impaired students in the age group of 10–14 years in two special schools for hearing impaired children located in two different states of India, where different spoken languages and different sign languages are used. One dentist (expert dentist) was trained in the NVC and the other dentist (non expert dentist) had no knowledge of this type of communication, communicated the same sets of statements related to dentistry, to the hearing impaired children. One1 translator was assigned to judge their interactions. Students were asked to tell the interpreter at the end of each signed interaction what they understood from the statement conveyed to them by both the dentists. Statistical Analysis Used: All data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using Chi-square test and odds ratio test. Results: In the special school of 1st state, the nonexpert dentist conveyed only 36.3% of the information correctly to the students, whereas the expert dentist conveyed 83% of the information correctly. In the special school of 2nd state, the nonexpert dentist conveyed only 37.5% of the information correctly to the students, whereas the expert dentist conveyed 80.3% of the information correctly. Conclusions: Dentists should be made aware of the NVC and signs and gestures related to dentistry should be taught to the hearing impaired students as well as the dental students

Automated System for Bird Species Identification Using CNN

There are around 11000 different bird species in the globe. Rarely are certain bird species encountered. Bird identification is a challenging task that usually leads to unclear labelling. When presented a picture of a bird, even professional bird watchers differ on the species. Despite having the same basic components across all bird species, form and appearance can vary greatly. Intraclass variance is substantial due to variations in lighting and backdrop, as well as a wide range of instances. Additionally, visual recognition of birds by humans is more comprehensible than audible recognition of birds. Consequently, the convolutional neural networks(CNN) is utilized for an automated bird species identification system. CNNs are a powerful Deep Learning ensemble that have shown to be effective in image processing. The dataset is used for both training and testing of a CNN system that classifies bird species. This will lead to quick identification of the bird species using an automated process

Quantitative Strain and Compositional Studies of InxGa1-xAs Epilayer in a GaAs-based pHEMT Device Structure by TEM Techniques

In GaAs-based pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistor device structures, strain and composition of the InxGa1 (-) As-x channel layer are very important as they influence the electronic properties of these devices. In this context, transmission electron microscopy techniques such as (002) dark-field imaging, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) imaging, scanning transmission electron microscopy-high angle annular dark field (STEM-HAADF) imaging and selected area diffraction, are useful. A quantitative comparative study using these techniques is relevant for assessing the merits and limitations of the respective techniques. In this article, we have investigated strain and composition of the InxGa1 (-) As-x layer with the mentioned techniques and compared the results. The HRTEM images were investigated with strain state analysis. The indium content in this layer was quantified by HAADF imaging and correlated with STEM simulations. The studies showed that the InxGa1 (-) As-x channel layer was pseudomorphically grown leading to tetragonal strain along the 001] growth direction and that the average indium content (x) in the epilayer is similar to 0.12. We found consistency in the results obtained using various methods of analysis

Microstructural Characterization of GaN Grown on SiC

GaN films have been grown on SiC substrates with an AlN nucleation layer by using a metal organic chemical vapor deposition technique. Micro-cracking of the GaN films has been observed in some of the grown samples. In order to investigate the micro-cracking and microstructure, the samples have been studied using various characterization techniques such as optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The surface morphology of the AlN nucleation layer is related to the stress evolution in subsequent overgrown GaN epilayers. It is determined via TEM evidence that, if the AlN nucleation layer has a rough surface morphology, this leads to tensile stresses in the GaN films, which finally results in cracking. Raman spectroscopy results also suggest this, by showing the existence of considerable tensile residual stress in the AlN nucleation layer. Based on these various observations and results, conclusions or propositions relating to the microstructure are presented