Formulation and Evaluation of Colchicine Sustained release tablet by using factorial designs

The study on the effect of polymer concentration on in vitro drug release profile revealed that there is a change in vitro drug release parameters (t50, t80, and MDT) with a change in polymer concentration. Fraction of HPMC K4M, HPMC K 100 M, and Ethyl Cellulose were required to be 15, 10, and 7 mg respectively for designing optimized batch F7. The release rate of Colchicine decreased proportionally with an increase in the concentration of ethyl Cellulose and HPMC K100 M. Also the high amount of HPMC K4M leads to the less initial release and sustain effect. A theoretical drug release profile was generated using pharmacokinetic parameters of Colchicine. The value of t50 and t80 of theoretical drug release profile was found to be 242 min and 529 min respectively. The similarity factor f2 was applied between the in vitro drug release profile of optimizing batches and theoretical profile, which indicate a decent similarity between all in vitro drug release profiles (f2 = 68.28 for F7). All the batches except F1shows the value of f2 value within a range. Batch F7 showed the highest f2 (f2 = 68.28) among all the batches and this similarity was also reflected in t50 (≈ 256 min) and t80 (≈ 554 min) values. A 23 full factorial design was applied to systemically optimize in vitro drug release profile. The HPMC K4M (X1), Concentration of HPMC K100 M (X2), and concentration of EC (X3) were selected as independent variables. The time required for 50% drug released (t50), the time required for 80% drug release (t80), similarity factor f2, and mean dissolution time (MDT) were selected as dependent variables. The results of full factorial design indicate that the HPMC K4M (X1), Concentration of HPMC K100 M (X2), and concentration of EC (X3) have a significant effect on in vitro drug release profile. To find out the release mechanism the in vitro release data were fitted in the Korsmeyer-Peppas equation. All Batches except F1 and F3 show Anomalous diffusion-controlled release (combined mechanism of diffusion and case II transport). &nbsp

Comparison of nutritional status of rural and urban school students receiving midday meals in schools of Bengaluru, India: A cross sectional study

Background: The objective of the study was to assess the impact of the mid day meal program by assessing the nutritional status of school students aged 5-15 years receiving midday meals in rural schools and compare them with those in urban schools in Bengaluru, India. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study involved a sample of 4378 students from government and aided schools. Weight and height were measured and compared with ′′means′′ and ′′percentiles′′ of expected standards as endorsed by the Indian Association of Pediatrics. Regression coefficients were also estimated to assess the rate of growth. Results: In all age groups and in both sexes, the observed mean weight and height were below the expected standards. The study findings showed that 13.8% and 13.1% of the studied students were underweight and stunted, respectively (below the third percentile for weight and height for age). A higher proportion of rural students were below the third percentile for both weight and height compared with urban students (weight: 16.3% and 11.5%; height: 17.0% and 10.0%; P < 0.05 for both weight and height). Only 2.4% and 3.1% were above 97 th percentile for weight and height. The rate of growth of height for weight showed a declining trend with increasing age in all the groups. Discussion: The authors believe that the magnitude of the burden of undernourished students as seen in this study would have been much greater in the absence of the midday meal program. Conclusion: Greater involvement of the private sector to assist the government would help augment nutrition in children and indirectly impact school performance, attendance and literacy

Effect of trifluoperazine on in vitro ATP synthesis by Mycobacterium leprae

The effect of trifluoperazine (TFP), a calmodulin antagonist, was investigated on in vitro ATP levels of human derived Mycobacterium leprae. M. leprae were obtained from biopsies from multi-bacillary forms of leprosy and were incubated in a modified Dubos medium system which supports limited in vitro synthesis of M. leprae. This incubation was carried out in the absence and presence of different concentrations of trifluoperazine. Samples for estimation of bacillary ATP levels were taken at day 0 and at 14 days of incubation. TFP inhibited ATP levels in M. leprae and this inhibitory effect was marginal at 2.5 &#181;g ml-1 (35% inhibition), highly significant at 5 &#181;g ml-1 (87% inhibition) and almost total at 10 &#181;g ml-1 (98.5% inhibition). This compound appears to have potential as an anti-leprotic drug and also as a broad spectrum anti-mycobacterial agent in view of its anti-tubercular activity reported earlier

Cloning and Expression of the Gene for a Novel Protein from Mycobacterium smegmatis with Functional Similarity to Eukaryotic Calmodulin

A calmodulin-like protein (CAMLP) from Mycobacterium smegmatis was purified to homogeneity and partially sequenced; these data were used to produce a full-length clone, whose DNA sequence contained a 55-amino-acid open reading frame. M. smegmatis CAMLP, expressed in Escherichia coli, exhibited properties characteristic of eukaryotic calmodulin: calcium-dependent stimulation of eukaryotic phosphodiesterase, which was inhibited by the calmodulin antagonist trifluoperazine, and reaction with anti-bovine brain calmodulin antibodies. Consistent with the presence of nine acidic amino acids (16%) in M. smegmatis CAMLP, there is one putative calcium-binding domain in this CAMLP, compared to four such domains for eukaryotic calmodulin, reflecting the smaller molecular size (approximately 6 kDa) of M. smegmatis CAMLP. Ultracentrifugation and mass spectral studies excluded the possibility that calcium promotes oligomerization of purified M. smegmatis CAMLP