Formulation and evaluation of herbal hair serum-a review

In the mammalian system the hair follicle is known to the most significant organ that determine, appearance, gender distinction, provides intense temperature protection and plays a role in self-defence. The younger generations have begun to suffer extreme hair loss problem due to many reasons. The hair loss is not temporary in most cases. but it results in alopecia. Many people suffering from hair loss is in search of multiple treatments due to extreme anxiety and tension. To improve hair growth and to prevent hair loss, hair root activation is required. Citrus sinensis is used to antidandruff protection hair care. It’s had antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Nigella sativa improves the shine, strength, volume, and texture of hair. Flax seed is full of fatty acids and antioxidants that tend to remove pollutants and dead cells from the scalp. Coconut oil may help to moisturise and seal hair. They can help to prevent dry, flaky scalp and dandruff. This review article focuses on the materials required for the formulation of hair serum and various evaluation tests to evaluate hair serum

Risk factors for open-angle glaucoma in Nigeria: results from the Nigeria National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey.

BACKGROUND: The glaucoma-specific blindness prevalence in Nigeria (0.7 %, 95 % CI 0.6-0.9 %) among those aged ≥40 years is one of the highest ever reported. This study determined the risk factors for open-angle glaucoma (OAG) in adults examined in the Nigeria National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey. METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 13,591 people aged ≥40 years in 305 clusters in Nigeria were examined (response rate 90.4 %) between January 2005 to June 2007. Everyone had logMAR visual acuity measurement, Frequency Doubling Technology (FDT) visual field testing, autorefraction, A-scan biometry and optic disc assessment. Full ocular examination (n = 6397), included Goldmann applanation tonometry. Values for defining glaucoma using International Society of Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology criteria were derived from the study population. Disc images were graded by Moorfields Eye Hospital Reading Centre. Socio-demographic factors (age, gender, ethnicity, literacy and place of residence), ocular parameters (intraocular pressure [IOP], axial length and mean ocular perfusion pressure [MOPP]) and systemic parameters (blood pressure, blood glucose and body mass index [BMI]) were assessed for association with OAG. RESULTS: Thirteen thousand eighty-one (96 %) of 13,591 participants had vertical cup:disc ratio measured in at least one eye. 682 eyes of 462 participants were classified as OAG, with 12,738 controls. In univariate analyses the following were associated with OAG: increasing age, male gender, Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups, illiteracy, longer axial length, higher IOP, lower MOPP, greater severity of hypertension and low BMI (underweight). In multivariate analysis, increasing age (odds ratio [OR] 1.04, 95 % CI 1.03-1.05), higher IOP (OR 1.22, 95 % CI 1.18-1.25) and Igbo ethnicity (OR 1.73, 95 % CI 1.18-2.56) were independent risk factors for OAG. CONCLUSION: Case detection strategies for OAG should be improved for those aged ≥40 years and for ethnic groups most at risk as a public health intervention

Cathodic stripping voltammetric studies on sulfonamides and reactive dyes

The work in this thesis is divided into two major parts; studies on (1) sulfonamide drugs and (2) reactive dyes, both using cathodic stripping voltammetric techniques. [Continues.

A glucosinolate-rich extract of Japanese Daikon perturbs carcinogen-metabolizing enzyme systems in rat, being a potent inducer of hepatic glutathione S-transferase.

PURPOSE: Glucosinolates/isothiocyanates are an established class of naturally occurring chemopreventive agents, a principal mechanism of action being to limit the generation of genotoxic metabolites of chemical carcinogens, as a result of modulation of cytochrome P450 and phase II detoxification enzymes. The objective of this study was to assess whether a glucosinolate-rich extract from Daikon sprouts, containing glucroraphasatin and glucoraphenin, is a potential chemopreventive agent by modulating such enzymes in the liver and lung of rats. METHODS: Rats were exposed to the glucosinolate-rich Daikon extract through the diet, at three dose levels, for 14 days, so that the low dose simulates dietary intake. RESULTS: At the low dose only, a modest increase was noted in the hepatic dealkylations of methoxy-, ethoxy-, pentoxyresorufin and benzyloxyquinoline that was accompanied by elevated expression of CYP1 and CYP3A2 apoprotein levels. In lung, only a modest increase in the dealkylation of pentoxyresorufin was observed. At higher doses, in both tissues, these increases were abolished. At the same low dietary dose, the Daikon extract elevated markedly glutathione S-transferase activity paralleled by rises in GSTα, GSTμ and GSTπ protein expression. An increase was also noted in quinone reductase activity and expression. Finally, glucuronosyl transferase and epoxide hydrolase activities and expression were also up-regulated, but necessitated higher doses. CONCLUSION: Considering the ability of Daikon glucosinolates to effectively enhance detoxification enzymes, in particular glutathione S-transferase, it may be inferred that consumption of this vegetable may possess significant chemopreventive activity and warrants further evaluation through epidemiology and studies in animal models of cancer

4-Methylsulfanyl-3-butenyl isothiocyanate derived from glucoraphasatin is a potent inducer of rat hepatic phase II enzymes and a potential chemopreventive agent.

The objective of this study was to establish whether the phytochemical glucoraphasatin, a glucosinolate present in cruciferous vegetables, and its corresponding isothiocyanate, 4-methylsulfanyl-3-butenyl isothiocyanate, up-regulate enzymes involved in the detoxification of carcinogens and are thus potential chemopreventive agents. Glucoraphasatin and myrosinase were isolated and purified from Daikon sprouts and Sinapis alba L., respectively. Glucoraphasatin (0-10 μM) was incubated for 24 h with precision-cut rat liver slices in the presence and absence of myrosinase, the enzyme that converts the glucosinolate to the isothiocyanate. The intact glucosinolate failed to influence the O-dealkylations of methoxy- and ethoxyresorufin or the apoprotein expression of CYP1 enzymes. Supplementation with myrosinase led to an increase in the dealkylation of methoxyresorufin, but only at the highest concentration of the glucosinolate, and CYP1A2 expression. In the absence of myrosinase, glucoraphasatin caused a marked increase in epoxide hydrolase activity at concentrations as low as 1 μM paralleled by a rise in the enzyme protein expression; at the highest concentration only, a rise was also observed in glucuronosyl transferase activity, but other phase II enzyme systems were unaffected. Addition of myrosinase to the glucoraphasatin incubation maintained the rise in epoxide hydrolase and glucuronosyl transferase activities, further elevated quinone reductase and glutathione S-transferase activities, and increased total glutathione concentrations. It is concluded that at low concentrations, glucoraphasatin, either intact and/or through the formation of 4-methylsulfanyl-3-butenyl isothiocyanate, is a potent inducer of hepatic enzymes involved in the detoxification of chemical carcinogens and merits further investigation for chemopreventive activity

Induction of epoxide hydrolase and glucuronosyl transferase by isothiocyanates and intact glucosinolates in precision-cut rat liver slices: importance of side-chain substituent and chirality.

The potential of three isothiocyanates, namely R,S-sulforaphane, erucin and phenethyl isothiocyanate, of two naturally occurring glucosinolates, namely glucoerucin and glucoraphanin, and of the enantiomers of sulforaphane to modulate glucuronosyl transferase and epoxide hydrolase, two major carcinogen-metabolising enzyme systems, was investigated in precision-cut rat liver slices. Following exposure of the slices to the isothiocyanates (0-25 μM), erucin and phenethyl isothiocyanate, but not R,S-sulforaphane, elevated glucuronosyl transferase and epoxide hydrolase activities and expression, determined immunologically. Of the two enantiomers of sulforaphane, the R-enantiomer enhanced, whereas the S-enantiomer impaired, glucuronosyl transferase activity and only the former increased protein expression; furthermore, R-sulforaphane was more effective than the S-enantiomer in up-regulating microsomal epoxide hydrolase. When precision-cut rat liver slices were exposed to the same concentrations of glucoerucin and glucoraphanin, both glucosinolates caused a marked increase in the activity and expression of the microsomal epoxide hydrolase but had no effect on glucuronosyl transferase activity. It may be inferred that the ability of isothiocyanates to enhance hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase and glucuronosyl transferase activities is dependent on the nature of the side chain. Moreover, in the case of sulforaphane, the naturally occurring R-enantiomer increased both activities, whereas, in contrast, activities were impaired in the case of the S-enantiomer. Finally, intact glucosinolates are potent inducers of epoxide hydrolase and can thus contribute directly to the chemopreventive potential associated with cruciferous vegetable consumption