Current trends in malarial chemotherapy

Malaria is a tropical disease caused by the genus Plasmodium. The sexual stage of the plasmodium is carried by mosquito while the asexual stage is carried by man. Transmission from the mosquito to man is through mosquito bite. Commonly presented symptoms of malarial attack include fever, weakness, anorexia, and anaemia. Some complications such as convulsion (in children) and acute pulmonaryedema are common. The conventional drugs used in malarial chemotherapy include, chloroquin, sulfadoxine/pyramethamine, quinine and primaquine. Newer drugs in use include artemisine and itsderivatives (such as dihydroartemisinine, artesunate, artemether), halofantrine, atovaquine, malaria vaccines, and artemisinine combinations (such as artemether/lumenfantrine,  artesunate/mefloquine). These newer drugs were developed based on some shortcomings of the conventional drugs such asdrug resistance and unbearable side effects. Of all the drugs available for the first line treatment of malaria, the artemisinine combinations are the drugs of choice as they possess reduced recrudescenceand relapse when given for 3 days. Some new combinations are still on trial and include fosmidomycin/clindamycin. Malaria vaccines which show some promising features are also still undergoing more trials

Surface modified solid lipid microparticles based on homolipids and Softisan® 142: preliminary characterization.

AbstractObjectiveTo preliminarily investigate three different lipid matrices consisting of two natural homolipids from Capra hircus (goat fat) and Bovine Spp. (tallow fat) and one semi-synthetic lipid (Softisan® 142) separately structured with Phospholipon® 90G (P90G) as potential delivery systems for poorly water soluble drugs.MethodsThe structured lipid matrices were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and employed to prepare solid lipid microparticles (SLMs) by the melt homogenization method using gradient concentrations of polysorbate 80 and at different emulsification times of 2, 5 and 10 min using a Silverson mixer. The SLMs were analyzed for morphology and particle size, thermal properties, stability studies and determination of injectability.ResultsThe results showed that SLM production was optimum at 5 % of lipid matrices, 1.5 % of polysorbate 80 and emulsification time of 5 min. Increase in polysorbate 80 concentrations decreased the particle size of the SLMs. The SLMs were well formed, spherical, smooth and non-porous with particle sizes in the ranges of (13.90 ± 2.10) μm - (0.09 ± 0.01) μm for SLMs produced from the structured - tallow fat; (13.40 ± 1.30) μm - (0.10 ± 0.01) μm for the structured - goat fat and (13.40±2.00) μm - (2.10± 1.00)μm for the structured Softisan® 142 lipid matrices. DSC traces showed that Softisan® 142 was the most crystalline of all three bulk matrices due to its high enthalpy (−7.962 mW/mg) while tallow fat was the least (−5.067 mW/mg) but addition of P90G to the matrices lowered their enthalpies mostly in the structured goat fat matrices. The SLMs when stored at 4-6 ° were most stable and syringeable with 27 G needle.ConclusionsThis suggests that structured goat fat matrices with the enthalpy of −2.813 mW/mg will mostly favour drug loading of some poorly soluble drugs more than tallow fat (−4.892 mW/mg) and Softisan® 142 (−5.501 mW/mg)

In vitro evaluation of the interaction between tea extracts and penicillin G against staphylococcus aureus

The herb-drug interaction between tea (Carmelia sinensis) extract and penicillin G (Pen G) was investigated against three strains of Staphylococcus aureus using pair combinations in an in vitro decimal assay for additivity test. Results showed that the interactions between penicillin G and teaextracts were mainly additive against the three strains of S. aureus. This suggests that the concomitant administration of tea and Pen G may not impair the antimicrobial activity of Pen G

Susceptibility-resistance profile of micro-organisms isolated from herbal medicine products sold in Nigeria

In order to evaluate the susceptibility and resistance pattern of bacteria and fungal isolates obtained from herbal medicine products (HMPs) marketed in Nigeria to conventional antibiotics, a total ofseventy-five (75) bacteria and fifty-two (52) fungi isolated from the HMPs were screened for susceptibility to conventional antibiotics using the disc diffusion method. Most of the bacteria isolateswere sensitive to the fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, 85.3%, norfloxacin 93.3%) and the aminoglycosides (streptomycin 90%, gentamycin 89.3%). However, the isolates demonstratedsignificant resistance to common antibiotics like penicillins (augmentin [amoxycillin-cavulanic acid combination] 80%, cloxacillin 88.3%, ampicillin 56%), cephalosporins (rocephine [ceftriaxone] 65%,ceporex [cephalexin] 80%, cefuroxime 100%), chloramphenicol (66.7%), nitrofurantoin (100%) and cotrimoxazole (93.3%). Most of the fungal isolates were resistant to griseofulvin (67.3%) but susceptible to nystatin (73.1%), ketoconazole (98.1%), tioconazole (100%), clotrimazole (78.9%) and miconazole (88.5%). A significant proportion of bacteria and fungi isolated from these HMPs demonstratedresistance to conventional antibiotics. The present study therefore reveals that HMPs may represent novel routes of spread of antibiotic-resistant genes especially in developing countries. Efforts shouldtherefore be geared at standardizing the quality of HMPs via strict adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)

The prevalence and bacteriology of a symptomatic bacteriuria among antenatal patients in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi; South Eastern Nigeria

Urinary tract infection in pregnancy leads to poor pregnancy outcome. Diagnosis and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria markedly improves pregnancy outcome as well as reduce the incidence of acutepyelonephritis. To determine the prevalence and bacteriology of asymptomatic bacteriuria among Antenatal patients in our centre, and to know if routine screening will be justifiable. This was a prospective study carried out between April and August 2008. Sample size was statistically determined.Women who consented were interviewed and mid stream urine samples were collected and processed in the microbiology laboratory, using standard microbiological methods. Out of 357 women studied, 65(18.21%) had significant bacteriuria. was the commonest isolate (25.6%), while was the least frequent isolate (3.66%). Women in third trimester had the highest prevalence (25.68%) while those in the first trimester had the least (15.79%).Women that had only primary education had the highest prevalence (27.50%) while those that had tertiary educationhad the least prevalence (21.10%). The prevalence of significant asymptomatic bacteriuria among the women studied was high.Screening of all the pregnant women and treatment will reduce the incidence and complications of overt urinary tract infection in pregnancy among these women

In vitro study of the interaction between some fluoroquinolones and extracts of kola nitida seed

The cup diffusion method (CD) was used to evaluate the in vitro interaction of some fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, pefloxacin and levofloxacin) with extracts of Kola nitida seed (KNS) against a clinical isolate of Escherichia coli. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the drugs was determinedseparately and in combination with KNS extract in ratios of 0:5, 1:4, 2:3, 3:2, 4:1 and 5:0 against E. coli. The result of the study revealed that the MIC of the drugs decreased when combined with KNS extract. In other words, KNS extract potentiated the effects of the fluoroquinolones against E. coli

A study of the in vitro interaction of cotrimoxazole and ampicillin using the checkerboard method

In this study, the in vitro interaction of two standard antibiotics – cotrimoxazole and ampicillin trihydrate were studied by the checkerboard technique, using clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi. The organisms were exposed to the individual antibiotics as well as different combination ratios of the same, and the zones of inhibition as well as the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) measured. Synergistic interactions were recorded by the antibiotics against Staph. aureus and S. typhi while indifferent interaction occurred with P. aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa however, showed resistance to the two antibiotics when they were used alone. The implication is that cotrimoxazole and ampicillin can be used in combination as a superior treatment of infections caused by Staph. aureus and S. typhi

Effects of some storage conditions on the stability of hydrocortisone sodium succinate injections

In this study, the effects of some environmental storage conditionslight, temperature and humidity on the stability of the steroidal drug, hydrocortisone sodium succinate injection were investigated. The drug samples were stored at varying conditions of light, temperature (0°C, 28°C and 60°C) and humidity, after which each sample was assayed at weekly intervals for their content of the drug using a UVVis spectrophotometer. From the results obtained, storage under light, at enhanced temperature and in the presence of moisture had pronounced degradative effects on the stability of hydrocortisone sodium succinate injection, calling for caution in the storage of this widely used anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory drug. Keywords: hydrocortisone, storage conditions, stability, environmental conditions Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences Vol. 3(1) 2006: 269-27

Effects of dissolution medium, pH and temperature on the in vitro release properties of metronidazole tablets

The effects of dissolution medium, pH and temperature on the in vitro release properties of metronidazole, a commonly used antiprotozoal, from its tablet dosage forms have been studied. Metronidazole tablets were formulated using the conventional wet granulation technique. The standard tablet characteristics such as uniformity of weight, hardness and friabliity wer determined. Different dissolution media namely – simulated intestinal fluid (S. I. F.), simulated gastric fluid (S. G. F.) and buffer solutions (pH 2 to 11) were employed for disolution and disntegration studies. Similarly, disssolution studies were carrtied out at varying temperatures to determine the effect of temperature onn release and disintegration. Results obtained showed that the tablets possessed officailly acceptable hardness, uniformity of weight, and absolute drug content, but a high friablity. The drugs were released faster in the less acidic S. I. F. than in th S. G. F. while the dissolution and disintegration rates increased as the pH increased.. Temperature also increased the dissolution and disintegration rates. Key words: dissolution medium, pH, temperature, release, metronidazole Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences Vol.2(2) 2005: 209-21