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Dear Readers, Welcome to the new issue of Universal Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (UJPR). In this issue we have received articles from different authors of Brazil, China, Italy, Nigeria, Sudan, Turkey, Yemen. UJPR is a peer reviewed, open access and online journal in English language for the enhancement of research in different areas of pharmaceutical sciences. The journal welcomes articles in this multidisciplinary field. The aim of the UJPR is to give a highly readable and valuable addition to the literature which will serve as an indispensable reference tool for years to come. The editorial team from many countries works hard to enhance the quality of the journal. The UJPR continues to improve with time  and  I am sure the journal will get indexing with some more reputable  indexing services in the near future. I hope you enjoy this issue and  wish you a joyful reading. As always, we welcome your feedback and submissions. Unfortunately, the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)  is disrupting universities and research institutes across the world and the damage to science is big. But some institutions are also working very hard to find out how the disease can be stopped and its effects mitigated.  Our best hope is to slow the spread of the virus as far as possible. Scientists are developing new drugs against virus but the only way to actually prevent people from catching COVID-19 is with a vaccine and we don’t yet have it.  Stay safe, &nbsp

İnvestigation of Daptomycin Sensitivities in Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcal Strains by İn Vitro E-Test Method

INTRODUCTION: The antibiotic resistance problem in the world has emerged as multiple antibiotic resistance in recent years. Despite the limited options in the treatment of infections, the inability of producing new antibiotics also keeps the problem current. In our study, it was aimed to investigate daptomycin susceptibility, which is an important option in the treatment of MRSA and VRE infections. METHODS: 81 MRSA and 11 VRE strains were included in our study that isolated from various specimens between October 2011 and June 2013. The susceptibility of these strains to daptomycin was determined by the E-test method with CLSI recommendations. RESULTS: The susceptibility of S. aureus strains to daptomycin and linezolid was 100%. On the other hand it was over 90% in vancomycin, teicoplanin, nitrofurantoin, quinupristin-dalfopristin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Also we found lower rates in tetracycline (22%), norfloxacin (21%) and gentamicin (25%). Enterococcus were 100% susceptible to daptomycin and 82% to linezolid, while 100% resistant to ampicillin, penicillin, erythromycin, nitrofurantoin, rifampin, and teicoplanin. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Daptomycin may be as an alternative agent in MRSA and VRE infections. Although it is effective in gram positives, resistance is increasing. There is a need for new agents which are more effective and have appropriate pharmacokinetic and safety profiles

Effects of Estrogen Replacement Therapy on Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of Ovariectomized and Ovariectomized-Diabetic Rats

Menopause and diabetes are conditions producing free radicals independently from each other. Estrogen replacement therapy which widely used in postmenopausal period has beneficial effects because of its antioxidant property. The study groups were as follows: ovariectomy (n=8), ovariectomy+17-östradiol (n=8), ovariectomy+diabetes (n=10) and ovariectomy+diabetes+17-östradiol (n=8). Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (45 mg/kg i.p.) and the treatment with 17-östradiol (0.1 mg/kg/day) was started a week after ovariectomy. After–week long experimental period aortic and uterine tissues were collected from the animals and the malondialdehyde concentration, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities were quantified. The treatment did not effect blood glucose concentrations, but increased plasma estradiol concentrations. Increased malondialdehyde concentrations were reduced by the treatment in aorta from diabetics and nondiabetics, but the treatment increased malondialdehyde concentrations in nondiabetic uterine while were reducing in diabetic uterine. The treatment also reduced the increased activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase in aorta from diabetics and nondiabetics, on the other hand the treatment increased the activities of those enzymes in uterine from diabetics and nondiabetics. Our results suggested that estrogen acts as an antioxidant or prooxidant depending on the tissues

Effects of flaxseed intake on vascular contractile function in diabetic rats

In diabetes, one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality is vasculopathy. Though flaxseed (FXS) is known for improving cardiovascular health, only limited studies are available on FXS concerning diabetic vascular reactivity. Hence, in this study, we studied vascular reactivity changes after FXS treatment on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat aortae. Female Wistar rats were divided into following four groups: control (C), FXS treated (CT), diabetic (D), and FXS treated diabetic (DT) groups. FXS (0,714 g/kg/day; orally) was started after one week of STZ injection and was given for 12 weeks, phenylephrine (Phe)-induced contractions were obtained on isolated aortic rings in the presence of indomethacin, L-NAME and superoxide dismutase (SOD), individually. Phe-responses were increased significantly in D group and completely improved after FXS intake, whereas FXS increased vascular reactivity to Phe in C group. Indomethacin incubation significantly attenuated Phe-induced contractions in all groups of aorta, particularly in D group. L-NAME incubation significantly increased Phe responses in all groups except D group. SOD incubation decreased the contractions efficiently in D group. The decreament was much lower in DT compared to D group, but reverse effects were observed in CT group. Our findings suggest FXS may provide beneficial effects on diabetes-induced vascular reactivity changes through NO and prostaglandin dependent pathways, but in healty condition FXS may have adverse effect probably via pro-oxidant activity

Effects of flaxseed intake on vascular contractile function in diabetic rats

398-405In diabetes, one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality is vasculopathy. Though flaxseed (FXS) is known for improving cardiovascular health, only limited studies are available on FXS concerning diabetic vascular reactivity. Hence, in this study, we studied vascular reactivity changes after FXS treatment on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat aortae. Female Wistar rats were divided into following four groups: control (C), FXS treated (CT), diabetic (D), and FXS treated diabetic (DT) groups. FXS (0,714 g/kg/day; orally) was started after one week of STZ injection and was given for 12 weeks, phenylephrine (Phe)-induced contractions were obtained on isolated aortic rings in the presence of indomethacin, L-NAME and superoxide dismutase (SOD), individually. Phe-responses were increased significantly in D group and completely improved after FXS intake, whereas FXS increased vascular reactivity to Phe in C group. Indomethacin incubation significantly attenuated Phe-induced contractions in all groups of aorta, particularly in D group. L-NAME incubation significantly increased Phe responses in all groups except D group. SOD incubation decreased the contractions efficiently in D group. The decreament was much lower in DT compared to D group, but reverse effects were observed in CT group. Our findings suggest FXS may provide beneficial effects on diabetes-induced vascular reactivity changes through NO and prostaglandin dependent pathways, but in healty condition FXS may have adverse effect probably via pro-oxidant activity

DIABETOGENIC EFFECT OF STATINS: MOLECULAR MECHANISMS

Statins, HMG CoA inhibitors, are potent hypolipidemic drugs.They are used for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and some of the most commonly used drugs worldwide. Long term statin therapy can cause a modest increase in new-onset diabetes risk, and there is great interest in the mechanisms for this adverse effect. Main proposed mechanisms are increased insulin resistance and some defects in insulin secretion. Many factors can affect the risk including pre-existing diabetic risk, older age and potency of statin. But clearly, the benefits of these drugs in preventing cardiovascular disease outweigh the potential risk of diabetes.The aim of this review is to give underlying pathomechanisms and clinical relevance of diabetogenic effect of statins.                     Peer Review History: Received: 18 May 2021; Revised: 24 June; Accepted: 29 June, Available online: 15 July 2021 Academic Editor: Dr. Ali Abdullah Al-yahawi, Al-Razi university, Department of Pharmacy, Yemen, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency.  Received file:                Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 5.0/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.5/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Salfarina Ramli, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. [email protected]       Dr. George Zhu, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, [email protected]  Similar Articles: EFFECTS OF EMODIN ON BLOOD GLUCOSE AND BODY WEIGHT IN TYPE 1 DIABETIC RATS ACORUS CALAMUS L ON TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS MEDICATIO

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A warm welcome to the readers and the authors, We are happy to announce that our new issue has been published. Thank you for visiting UJPR website. I hope you all enjoy reading this issue. UJPR is an open access journal and continues growing. We always appreciate reviewers and editors for their hard work, and welcome any comments and suggestions to improve the quality of the journal. Free online article access can facilitates full-text searching, indexing, data storing, and other forms of processing and analysis. Everyone can copy, distribute, and source is appropriately cited. On the other hand, Pharmaceutical Sciences are one of the most important sciences to be considered nowadays. Simultaneously, interdisciplinary fields have enlarged giving hopes to patients worldwide to cure the diseases. The quality and content of UJPR has increased.  After over tree years of living with COVID-19, we are learning to adapt to a world with this disease. COVID-19 has not only created severe panic among the people but also challenged the social culture and healthcare infrastructure all over the world. Development of new vaccines to control COVID-19 has changed the understanding of exploring vaccines, besides leading to great revolutionary modifications in the development of vaccines.We know protection from a booster decreases over time. The second booster may be more important. On the other hand, in some people, post-COVID-19 syndrome lasts months or years or causes disability. Long COVID is real and it is a condition which is still being studied. These ongoing health problems are sometimes called post-COVID-19 syndrome, post-COVID conditions, long COVID-19, long-haul COVID-19, and post acute sequelae of SARS COV-2 infection (PASC), need more investigation. Warm regards,

Kan kültüründe lalite yönetim sisteminin önemi: Kontaminasyon oranları

Amaç: Kan dolaşımı enfeksiyonlarının tanısı, klinik mikrobiyoloji laboratuvarlarının en acil ve önemli görevlerinden biridir. Kontaminasyonu en aza indirerek doğru etkenin saptanması morbidite ve mortaliteyi doğrudan etkilemektedir. Bu çalışmamızda, kan kültürlerinde kontaminasyona neden olan preanalitik etkenlerin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: * Mikrobiyoloji Laboratuvarına 17.05.2017-08.11.2019 tarihleri arasında gelen örnekler otomatize kan kültürüne ekildi. Üreme sinyali veren örnekler boyama sonrası bakteriyel kültür yapılarak otomatize sistemle identifikasyon ve antibiyograma alındı. Sonuçlar kan dolaşım yolu enfeksiyonuna neden olduğu bilinen etkenler ve kontaminantlar açısından analiz edildi. Bulgular: Toplam 5215 kan kültür örneğinin 821 (%15,7)’nde üreme saptandı. Örneklerin 425 (%8,15)’i kontaminant olarak rapor edildi. Kontaminasyon oranı kadınlarda %8,7; erkeklerde %7,8 idi. Yaş gruplarına göre kıyaslandığında oran 18 yaş üstü grupta en yüksek (%9,3) iken 5-18 yaş grubunda en düşüktü (%3,4). Servis olarak Yoğun Bakımlarda kontaminasyon oranının en fazla (%13,8)olduğu görüldü. Sonuç: Kontaminasyon; kanda organizma olmadığı halde kültürde üreme olması durumudur ve en önemli nedeni, cilt florasında bulunan mikroorganizmaların kan kültürü şişelerine inokülasyonudur. Hastane ortamı, kateteri kolonize eden mikroorganizmalar, kanı alan personelin elleri ve kültür alımında kullanılan ekipmanlar da kontaminasyon kaynağı olabilir. Bizim çalışmamızda kontaminasyon oranlarını yüksekti ve yaş grupları ile servisler arasındaki fark anlamlı bulduk. Kontaminasyon oranlarının düşürülmesi için kan eğitimli bir sağlık personeli tarafından alınmalı, etkin bir cilt antisepsisi uygulanmalı ve intravenöz kataterden örnek alınmamalıdır

A pyridoindole antioxidant SMe1EC2 regulates contractility, relaxation ability, cation channel activity, and protein-carbonyl modifications in the aorta of young and old rats with or without diabetes mellitus

WOS: 000444557200004PubMed ID: 30054861We studied the effects of treatment with SMe1EC, a hexahydropyridoindole antioxidant, on vascular reactivity, endothelial function, and oxidonitrosative stress level of thoracic aorta in young and old rats with or without diabetes mellitus. The rats were grouped as young control (YC 3 months old), old control (OC 15 months old), young diabetic (YD), old diabetic (OD), young control treated (YCT), old control treated (OCT), young diabetic treated (YDT), and old diabetic treated (ODT). Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin injection and subsequently SMe1EC2 (10 mg/kg/day, p.o.) was administered to YCT, OCT, YDT, and ODT rats for 5 months. In young and old rats, diabetes resulted in hypertension, weight loss, hyperglycemia, and hypertriglyceridemia, which were partially prevented by SMe1EC2. SMe1EC2 also inhibited the diabetes-induced increase in aorta levels of AGEs (advanced glycosylation end-protein adducts), 4-HNE (4-hydroxy-nonenal-histidine), 3-NT (3-nitrotyrosine), and RAGEs (receptors for AGEs). The contractions of the aorta rings to phenylephrine (Phe) and KCL did not significantly change, but acetylcholine (ACh) and salbutamol relaxations were reduced in OC compared to YC rats. Diabetes induction increased Phe contractions in YC and OC rats, KCL contractions in YC rats, and did not cause further inhibition in already inhibited ACh and salbutamol relaxations in OC rats. We have achieved the lowest levels of ACh relaxation in YD rats compared to other groups. SMe1EC2 did not change the response of aorta to ACh, salbutamol and Phe in YC rats, and ameliorated ACh relaxations in OC and YD but not in OD rats. In YDT and ODT rats, increased Phe and KCL contractions, high blood pressure, and impaired salbutamol relaxations were amended by SMe1EC2. Phe contractions observed in YD and OD rats as well as KCl contractions observed in OC rats were the lowest levels when the rats were treated with SMe1EC2. When the bath solution was shifted to cyclopiazonic acid (CYP) or CYP plus Ca2+-free medium, the contraction induced by a single dose of Phe (3 x 10(-6) M) was more inhibited in YD and OD than in YC but not in OC rats. In SMe1EC2-treated rats, neither the presence of CFM nor CFM plus CYP exhibited a significant change in response of aorta to a single dose of Phe. These findings suggest that alpha 1-adrenergic receptor signaling is activated in both age groups of diabetic rats, diabetes activates K+-depolarization and calcium mobilization via Ca-V especially in the aorta of young rats, and sensitizes the aorta of old rats to the regulating effect of SMe1EC2. ACh relaxations were inhibited in YC rats, increased in OC rats and unchanged in YD and OD rats when aortic rings pretreated with TEA, an inhibitor of calcium-activated K+ channels (K-Ca), or 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), an inhibitor of voltage-sensitive K+ channels (K-V). ACh relaxations were inhibited in YCT, OCT, and YDT rats in the presence of 4-AP or TEA. In ODT rats, 4-AP did not change ACh relaxation but TEA inhibited. These findings suggest that the contribution of K-v and K-Ca to ACh relaxation is likely upregulated by SMe1EC2 when the relaxations were inhibited by aging or diabetes. We conclude that SMe1EC2 might be a promising agent for aging and diabetes related vascular disorders.Research Foundation of Gazi University [01/2010-126]; Research Foundation of Ankara University [10B336002]; COST Action [BM1203]; Slovak Academy of Sciences [APVV-51-017905]This article has been written by Prof. Karasu who is the leader of ADIC study group. We thank Ahmet Cumaolu and Elif Aydn for their technical help during measurement of some biomarkers. This work originally includes a part of the PhD thesis of Dr. Arzu Sakul and was partly supported by the Research Foundations of Gazi and Ankara Universities (GU-Project No. 01/2010-126, AU-Project No. 10B336002), COST Action BM1203 and the Slovak Academy of Sciences (VEGA grant APVV-51-017905)