Zingiber officinale: A Potential Plant against Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease particularly affecting elderly people which leads to massive bone destruction with consequent inflammation, pain, and debility. Allopathic medicine can provide only symptomatic relief. However, Zingiber officinale is a plant belonging to the Zingiberaceae family, which has traditionally been used for treatment of RA in alternative medicines of many countries. Many of the phytochemical constituents of the rhizomes of this plant have therapeutic benefits including amelioration of RA. This review attempts to list those phytochemical constituents with their reported mechanisms of action. It is concluded that these phytochemicals can form the basis of discovery of new drugs, which not only can provide symptomatic relief but also may provide total relief from RA by stopping RA-induced bone destruction. As the development of RA is a complex process, further research should be continued towards elucidating the molecular details leading to RA and drugs that can stop or reverse these processes by phytoconstituents of ginger

Heparin mimetics with anticoagulant activity

Heparin, a sulfated polysaccharide belonging to the glycosaminoglycan family, has been widely used as an anticoagulant drug for decades and remains the most commonly used parenteral anticoagulant in adults and children. However, heparin has important clinical limitations and is derived from animal sources which pose significant safety and supply problems. The ever growing shortage of the raw material for heparin manufacturing may become a very significant issue in the future. These global limitations have prompted much research, especially following the recent well-publicized contamination scandal, into the development of alternative anticoagulants derived from non-animal and/or totally synthetic sources that mimic the structural features and properties of heparin. Such compounds, termed heparin mimetics, are also needed as anticoagulant materials for use in biomedical applications (e.g., stents, grafts, implants etc.). This review encompasses the development of heparin mimetics of various structural classes, including synthetic polymers and non-carbohydrate small molecules as well as sulfated oligo- and polysaccharides, and fondaparinux derivatives and conjugates, with a focus on developments in the past 10 years

Zingiber officinale: a potential plant against rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease particularly affecting elderly people which leads to massive bone destruction with consequent inflammation, pain, and debility. Allopathic medicine can provide only symptomatic relief. However, Zingiber officinale is a plant belonging to the Zingiberaceae family, which has traditionally been used for treatment of RA in alternative medicines of many countries. Many of the phytochemical constituents of the rhizomes of this plant have therapeutic benefits including amelioration of RA. This review attempts to list those phytochemical constituents with their reported mechanisms of action. It is concluded that these phytochemicals can form the basis of discovery of new drugs, which not only can provide symptomatic relief but also may provide total relief from RA by stopping RA-induced bone destruction. As the development of RA is a complex process, further research should be continued towards elucidating the molecular details leading to RA and drugs that can stop or reverse these processes by phytoconstituents of ginger

Ethnopharmacological significance of Eclipta alba (L.) Hassk. (Asteraceae)

Eclipta alba can be found growing wild in fallow lands of Bangladesh where it is considered as a weed by farmers. Traditional medicinal systems of the Indian subcontinent countries as well as tribal practitioners consider the plant to have diverse medicinal values and use it commonly for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory tract disorders (including asthma), fever, hair loss and graying of hair, liver disorders (including jaundice), skin disorders, spleen enlargement, and cuts and wounds. The plant has several phytoconstituents like wedelolactone, eclalbasaponins, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, luteolin, and apigenin. Pharmacological activities of plant extracts and individual phytoconstituents have revealed anticancer, hepatoprotective, snake venom neutralizing, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Phytoconstituents like wedelolactone and ursolic and oleanolic acids as well as luteolin and apigenin can form the basis of new drugs against cancer, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, skin diseases, and liver disorders

pH and thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) copolymer grafted to poly(ethylene glycol)

pH and thermo-responsive graft copolymers are reported where thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) [poly(NIPAAm), poly A], poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-(diethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) [poly(NIPAAm-co-DEA), poly B], and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) [poly(NIPAAm-co-MAA), poly C] have been installed to benzaldehyde grafted polyethylene glycol (PEG) back bone following introducing a pH responsive benzoic-imine bond. All the prepared graft copolymers for PEG-g-poly(NIPAAm) [P-N1], PEG-g-poly(NIPAAm-co-DEA) [P-N2], and PEG-g-poly(NIPAAm-co-MAA) [P-N3] were characterized by H-1-NMR to assure the successful synthesis of the expected polymers. Molecular weight of all synthesized polymers was evaluated following gel permeation chromatography. The lower critical solution temperature of graft copolymers varied significantly when grafted to benzaldehyde containing PEG and after further functionalization of copolymer based poly(NIPAAm). The contact angle experiment showed the changes in hydrophilic/hydrophobic behavior when the polymers were exposed to different pH and temperature. Particle size measurement investigation by dynamic light scattering was performed to rectify thermo and pH responsiveness of all prepared polymers. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 201

Dual-responsive crosslinked pluronic micelles as a carrier to deliver anticancer drug taxol

A dual-sensitive chemically crosslinked polymer (CCP) forming nanosized micelles bearing a pH responsive covalent benzoic-imine bond and redox sensitive disulfide is reported as an endocytosis based target delivery system to deliver the anticancer drug Taxol. The size of the micelles was 38.6 +/- 10.9 and 99.5 +/- 26.2 measuring from dynamic light scattering (DLS) before and after Taxol loading where morphology of the micelles were evaluated via transmission electron microscopy images (TEM). The Taxol loading content was 1.6% with 33.4% loading efficiency. Significant micelles stability wax was observed at normal physiological conditions by investigating the change in emission intensity for the encapsulated quantum dots (QDs). A significant amount of Taxol was released under individual stimuli within a short period of time. The CCP micelles showed non-toxic properties when applied to the A549 cell and considerable cytotoxicity has been found from the drug, loaded within the micelles. Cellular uptake of the Taxol loaded micelles was confirmed via confocal laser scanning microscopy. These biodegradable micelles may be a potential candidate in carrier based intelligent drug delivery system in order to deliver cytotoxic hydrophobic drug