ROLE OF NIDANA PANCHAKA IN VARIOUS AYURVEDIC ASPECTS

Ayurveda, the Indian system of medicine, has its own branch of specialty for understanding the disease process and proper diagnosis of a disease. Caraka has stated that the diagnosis is very important and essential before proceeding to medicine prescription. Ayurvedic way of diagnosis has 2 basic components namely Rogapariksha and Rogipariksha, which refers to Examination of disease and Examination of patient respectively. Among them Rogapariksha gives us the detailed knowledge about a disease starting from the etiological aspects to the actual manifestation of disease. The five basic components of Rogapariksha are Nidana, Purvarupa, Rupa, Upasaya and Samprapti, which are collectively known as Nidana Panchaka. Apart from diagnosing a disease, they also play a key role in planning the treatment of that disease. Nidana, the foremost component of Nidana Panchaka, not only gives the knowledge of causative factors of a disease but also helps in treatment by avoiding them. Purvarupa refers to Premonitory signs & symptoms and represents the 4th stage of disease formation. If physician is able recognize them as early as possible and treat accordingly, then the further progression of disease is ceased. In the same way, every component of Nidana Panchaka helps the physician for the better understanding of disease process and treating the disease at an earliest possible stage. The details of Nidana Panchaka and its role in diagnosis & treatment are explained elaborately in full paper

ENLIGHTENING THE ROLE OF SAMANYA AND VISESA SIDDHANTA IN CHIKITSA ASPECT

Ayurveda is a science of life. It says, one has to strictly follow the regimens and dietary habits advocated in Samhitas, the classical Ayurvedic texts, to achieve long and healthy life. Any sort of deviation from these principles will lead to the manifestation of disease. According to Ayurveda, the basis for disease manifestation is either Vriddhi or Kshaya of Doshas, and bringing back to normalcy of these Doshas leads to the restoration of health. This process of bringing normalcy is known as Chikitsa and the basic principle of the Chikitsa is Samanya and Visesa siddhanta. According to this Siddhanta, intake of medicine or food having similar properties to that of our body tissues, will results in the increase and those with opposite properties will results in the decrease of our body tissues. Thus, if a disease is manifested due to the Vriddhi of a Dosha, then to pacify that Vriddha dosha, Dravyas having opposite Guna or Karma should be administered. If a disease is manifested due to the Kshaya of a Dosha, then to nourish that Ksheena dosha, Dravyas having similar Guna or Karma should be administered. This Samanya and Visesa Siddhanta should be followed in a rational way while describing the medicine or diet based on the quantitative and qualitative knowledge of Vriddhi or Kshaya of Doshas. Thus, the Samanya and Visesa Siddhanta plays a crucial role in treating diseases and has become the fundamental principle for Ayurvedic management. He details of this Siddhanta are explained elaborately in full paper

Formulation and Evaluation of Floating beads of Verapamil hydrochloride

Abstract: To develop a multi-unit gastroretentive sustained release dosage form of a water-soluble drug, Verapamil hydrochloride, from a completely aqueous environment. avoiding the use of any organic solvent, thus releasing the drug for a prolonged duration of time. Emulsion gelation technique was used to prepare emulsion gel beads using sodium alginate as the polymer. The gel beads containing oil was prepared by gently mixing and homogenizing oil and water phase containing sodium alginate which was then extruded in to calcium chloride solution. The effects of factors like concentration of oil, drug: polymer ratio and alginate: pectin ratio on drug entrapment efficiency, floating lag time and morphology and drug release was studied. The use of sodium alginate and combinations of sodium alginate and pectin were used to study the effect on the sustaining property of the formed beads. It was found that sodium alginate was not sufficient to sustain the drug release at gastric pH. Instead of it, appropriate combination of alginate and pectin could provide the sustain release of drug. The results show that these beads can entrap even a water soluble drug as Verapamil hydrochloride in sufficient amount and also can successfully deliver the drug in stomach for a prolong duration of time without using any organic solvent and any time consuming step in the preparation

TOXICITY STUDIES OF A DEVELOPED HEPATOPROTECTIVE POLYHERBAL FORMULATION IN EXPERIMENTAL RATS

Objective: In the present study acute, sub acute and sub chronic toxicity studies were performed on scientifically developed hepatoprotective polyherbal formulation (PF). PF consists of dried methanolic extracts of dried rhizome of Curcuma longa, dried leaves of Murraya koenigii, Nyctanthes arbortristis, and Occimum sanctum. Methods: In acute toxicity study, PF was administered once orally at doses ranging from 250mg/kg -5000 mg/kg. Body weight and food consumption was noted for a period of 14 days. Animals were also observed daily for any behavioral or other toxic changes. In sub acute toxicity study animals were administered drugs in dose range of 500-2000 mg/kg p.o. for 28 days. Sub chronic toxicity study was also performed. Drug in dose range of 250-1000 mg/kg was administered once daily for 90 days. At the end of the study blood was withdrawn for hematology and biochemical estimations. Animals were then sacrificed and liver, kidney, heart and brain were dissected out which were observed for any gross morphological changes. Weight of organs was also noted. Results: The results showed no evidence of any changes in body weight and food intake, hematological parameters, liver and kidney function test when compared with control. The organs did not show any evidence of gross morphological changes. Conclusion: It is concluded that PF, at a dose of 1000 mg/kg, is safe for long term treatment of hepatic disorders.Key Words: polyherbal formulation, hepatoprotective, acute, sub acute, sub chronic toxicit

Plumbagin analogs-synthesis, characterization, and antitubercular activity

Considering the emerging problem of drug resistance in tuberculosis, there is an urgent need of development of new analogs that are useful in curing drug resistant tuberculosis. In India, tuberculosis continues to remain one of the most pressing health problems. India is the highest tuberculosis burden country in the world, accounting one fifth of global incidence - estimated 2.0-2.5 million cases annually. In 2011, approximately 8.7 million new cases of tuberculosis and 1.4 million people die from tuberculosis each year worldwide. Current antitubercular therapies are successful against normal tuberculosis but it is not suitable for drug resistant tuberculosis. In this study Plumbagin analogs, obtained from Plumbago zeylanica (Family-Plumbaginaceae), have been synthesized. Out of the various synthesized analogs, the antitubercular activity of compound a and b was evaluated using standard H 37 Rv and S, H, R, and E sensitive M tuberculosis strains using LRF assay method. Compound a showed strong activity against both standard H 37 Rv and S, H, R and E sensitive M. tuberculosis strains as compared to standard Rifampicin. The other compounds are proved to be more active against standard H 37 Rv and S, H, R and E sensitive M. tuberculosis strain as compared to Rifampicin

Formulation and evaluation of controlled-release of telmisartan microspheres: In vitro/in vivo study

The aim of this work was to design a controlled-release drug-delivery system for the angiotensin-II receptor antagonist drug telmisartan. Telmisartan was encapsulated with different EUDRAGIT polymers by an emulsion solvent evaporation technique and the physicochemical properties of the formulations were characterized. Using a solvent evaporation method, white spherical microspheres with particle sizes of 629.9–792.1 μm were produced. The in vitro drug release was studied in three different pH media (pH 1.2 for 2 hours, pH 6.8 for 4 hours, and pH 7.4 for 18 hours). The formulations were then evaluated for their pharmacokinetic parameters. The entrapment efficiency of these microspheres was between 58.6% and 90.56%. The obtained microspheres showed good flow properties, which were evaluated in terms of angle of repose (15.29–26.32), bulk and tapped densities (0.37–0.53 and 0.43–0.64, respectively), Carr indices and Hausner ratio (12.94–19.14% and 1.14–1.23, respectively). No drug release was observed in the simulated gastric medium up to 2 hours; however, a change in pH from 1.2 to 6.8 increased the drug release. At pH 7.4, formulations with EUDRAGIT RS 100 showed a steady drug release. The microsphere formulation TMRS-3 (i.e., microspheres containing 2-mg telmisartan) gave the highest Cmax value (6.8641 μg/mL) at 6 hours, which was three times higher than Cmax for telmisartan oral suspension (TOS). Correspondingly, the area under the curve for TMRS-3 was 8.5 times higher than TOS. Particle size and drug release depended on the nature and content of polymer used. The drug release mechanism of the TMRS-3 formulation can be explained using the Higuchi model. The controlled release of drug from TMRS-3 also provides for higher plasma drug content and improved bioavailability