Empower halal cosmetics sector

LETTERS: MALAYSIA is under the spotlight from the perspective of the halal pharmaceutical market

Formulation and Evaluation of Pregabalin Loaded Eudragit S100 Nanoparticles

In this work, polymeric nanoparticles containing Pregabalin was prepared and optimized the ideal concentration of polymer based on its in vitro release profile for a period of 24hrs.The nanoparticles were prepared by solvent displacement method using various concentrations of Eudragit S100 (EPNP1-EPNP5). The prepared nanoparticles were characterized for its particle size, zeta potential, drug content, entrapment efficiency and invitro drug release profile. The preformulation study results confirmed the compatibility between the drug and other excipients used in the formulation. The optimized formulation was selected based on its particle size, entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release profile. The formulation which contains 300mg of Eudragit S100 (EPNP5) was selected as optimized concentration for the controlled release of Pregabalin for a period of 24hrs

Antibacterial evaluation of Malaysian kelulut, tualang and acacia honey against wound infecting bacteria

Bacterial infection is the most common contamination on wound. Honey is one alternative plant by-product that can be used as treatment to the bacterial infection. This study aims to evaluate the antibacterial properties of Malaysian honey represented by Kelulut, Tualang and Acacia against fourteen clinically isolated bacteria strains from wound. Agar well diffusion assay was utilised to measure the diameter of inhibition zone. Determination of minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were performed to evaluate the bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects of the honey. The antibacterial properties of Malaysian honey were compared with manuka honey (UMF 18+). Kelulut, Tualang and Acacia have the diameter of inhibition zones that ranged from 10.7 to 24.5 mm, 9.2 to 17.7 mm and no inhibition to 15.3 mm, respectively. Kelulut, Tualang and Acacia showed bacteriostatic effect against the bacteria at concentration of 50% (w/v) and below. Kelulut was the only honey that owned bactericidal effect against the fourteen bacteria while the effect was absence in Tualang and Acacia on E. coli, K. pneumonia, E. clocae and P. mirabilis. The antibacterial properties of Kelulut was comparable to manuka honey since both honey demonstrated bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects against the fourteen clinically isolated bacteria

Optimisation of topical antibacterial preparation from Malaysian kelulut honey by using xanthan gum as polymeric agent

The study aims to formulate and optimise topical antibacterial preparation by using Malaysian kelulut honey as the active ingredient and xanthan gum as the polymeric agent. Response surface methodology was used to optimise the preparation. The acidity, honey concentration and xanthan gum concentration were the independent variables. The zone of inhibitions on S. aureus ATCC6538 and E. coli ATCC8739 were the response variables. The optimal preparation was evaluated on its physicochemical properties, viscosity, antibacterial efficacy and stability. The antibacterial efficacy of the optimal preparation was compared to the commercially antibacterial gel (MediHoney™, Comvita). The optimal preparation was formulated at pH of 3.5, honey concentration of 90% (w/v) and xanthan gum concentration of 1.5% (w/v) with the inhibition zones measured on S. aureus ATCC6538 was 16.2 mm and E. coli ATCC8739 was 15.8 mm respectively. The factors of acidity and honey concentration have significantly influenced the inhibition zone on S. aureus ATCC6538 and E. coli ATCC8739. The utilisation of xanthan gum as the polymeric agent was fit for the preparation which showed by adequate physicochemical properties and retained of the antibacterial effects. This was supported by constant viscosity and efficacy of the preparation within the six months of stability study indicating stable and reliable preparation. Xanthan gum is a potential polymeric agent due to its effective use in preparing stable preparation with effective antibacterial properties

Optimisation and evaluation of antibacterial topical preparation from Malaysian kelulut honey using guar gum as polymeric agent

The study aims to formulate and optimise topical antibacterial preparation using Malaysian kelulut honey as the active ingredient and guar gum as the polymeric agent. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimise the preparation. The acidity, honey concentration, and guar gum concentration were the independent variables. Meanwhile, the zone of inhibitions on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538 and Escherichia coli ATCC8739 were the response variables. The optimal preparation was evaluated on its physicochemical properties, viscosity, antibacterial efficacy, and stability. The antibacterial efficacy of the optimal preparation was compared to the commercial antibacterial gel (MediHoney™, Comvita). The optimal preparation was formulated at pH 3.5, honey concentration of 90% (w/v), and guar gum concentration of 1.5% (w/v). The inhibition zones measured on S. aureus ATCC6538 was 16.2 mm and E. coli ATCC8739 was 15.8 mm, respectively. The optimal preparation showed good physicochemical properties and effective antibacterial properties. However, the viscosity of the preparation was reduced by more than 50% during the six months of the stability study. Guar gum is a potential polymeric agent in preparing kelulut as topical preparation with effective antibacterial properties. Consideration of additional stabilising or preservative agent is recommended to overcome the reduction of viscosity over time

Effect on Operating Parameters Towards Metastable Zone Width of Carbamazepine-Saccharin Co-Crystal

Co-crystal is believed can improved physicochemical properties of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APis). Understanding in co-crystallization process is needed in order to have desirable crystal habits for materials. One of the studies that are important in designing co-crystallization process is kinetics study. In this research, carbamazepine (CBZ) and co-former saccharin (SAC) has been used to study the metastable zone width (MSZW) of the CBZ-SAC co-crystal in ethanol solution. The MSZW is studied by varying concentration of CBZ, mo) ratio values of SAC to CBZ and cooling rates used by polythermal method. Crystallization temperature and dissolution temperature is used to determine the maximum temperature difference ~Tmax using N)'vlt's equation

The effects of concentration ratios on the particle size of CHI-ALG-CaCl2 nanocarriers

Nanotechnology is highly desirable in numbers of industry including cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical. However, the nanoparticle size is greatly varied by the method of synthesising them such as the addition of calcium chloride. Hence, the present study was carried out to investigate the effect of calcium chloride concentration on nanoparticle size when added to the chitosan and alginate nanocarriers. For this purpose, we have performed the preliminary study on the antioxidant activities of Cymbopogon sp. extracts obtained through decoction and infusion method. From this preliminary study, the optimal mixture ratio of extract, including five different ratios of CHI-ALG/CaCl2 nanocarriers which were prepared with ratio of 1:3:0, 1:3:2, 1:3:5, 1:3:10 and 1:3:20 was used to formulate the nanocarrier. Comparing both methods, decoction gives the highest antiradical activity which indicating strong antioxidant potential compared to infusion, are selected to be formulated into nanoparticle. CHI-ALG/CaCl2 nanocarriers were then synthesised to encapsulate antioxidant extracts for topical delivery. Each sample of nanoparticles was evaluated for its size distributions, polydispersity index (PdI) and zeta potential by dynamic light scattering using DelsaMax Pro (Beckman Coulter, USA). The experiment was conducted with five different ratios of CHI-ALG/CaCl2 nanocarriers which were prepared with ratio of 1:3:0, 1:3:2, 1:3:5, 1:3:10 and 1:3:20 in a volume of 50 ml with 1:3:0 acts as a negative control. The best particle size was observed at 1:3:2 mixture ratio with 0.76-fold change (350.47 ± 36.12 nm) from the control (460.03 ± 107.17 nm) which falls in the acceptable range of desirable size of nanoparticles. The nanoparticles produced in this study showed PdI values less than 1, showing good uniformity. The zeta potential value for the all mixture ratios are high (>20 mV) which is able to prevent aggregation of the nanoparticle. As a conclusion, addition of calcium chloride at 1:3:2 to chitosan and alginate has improved the size of nanoparticles containing antioxidant extract of Cymbopogon sp

Antimicrobial Activity of Tropical Soft Corals Found in the Northern Straits of Malacca

The study was conducted to obtain and test crude extracts from soft corals found at Pulau Payar, an island off the northern Straits of Malacca. Specimens were extracted in an equal volume of methanol and dichloromethane. The samples were then concentrated to obtain crude extracts. Anti-bacterial activities of the crude extracts were tested by disc diffusion method, minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum bacterial activities (MBC) assays. Out of twelve crude extracts tested, 50 percent of them showed inhibition for Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA; and approximately 8 percent have showed inhibition for Enterococcus raffinosus. The MIC of each extract is stated in the tables below. Only one of them showed bactericidal properties against MRSA. Soft corals around the world, have been found to contain beneficial chemical compounds, however not much research has been done in the region. This shows that soft coral extracts found in the Northern Straits of Malacca do have antibacterial potential, and this potential can be harnessed for future pharmaceutical exploration

Using molecular markers to characterize productivity in Chinese hamster ovary cell lines.

Selection of high producing cell lines to produce maximum product concentration is a challenging and time consuming task for the biopharmaceutical industry. The identification of early markers to predict high productivity will significantly reduce the time required for new cell line development. This study identifies candidate determinants of high productivity by profiling the molecular and morphological characteristics of a panel of six Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) stable cell lines with varying recombinant monoclonal antibody productivity levels ranging between 2 and 50 pg/cell/day. We examined the correlation between molecular parameters and specific productivity (qp ) throughout the growth phase of batch cultures. Results were statistically analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Our study revealed that, overall, heavy chain (HC) mRNA had the strongest association with qp followed by light chain (LC) mRNA, HC intracellular polypeptides, and intracellular antibodies. A significant correlation was also obtained between qp and the following molecular markers: growth rate, biomass, endoplasmic reticulum, and LC polypeptides. However, in these cases, the correlation was not observed at all-time points throughout the growth phase. The repeated sampling throughout culture duration had enabled more accurate predictions of productivity in comparison to performing a single-point measurement. Since the correlation varied from day to day during batch cultivation, single-point measurement was of limited use in making a reliable prediction

Antibacterial properties of Kelulut, Tualang and Acacia honey against fourteen clinically-isolated strains of bacteria-infecting wound

Bacterial infection is the most common cause of prolonged wound healing period. Honey has been known as an effective antibacterial agent due to its peroxide and non-peroxide activities to prevent bacterial infection. This study aims to investigate antibacterial property of three varieties of Malaysian honey represented by two multifloral; Kelulut and Tualang, and one monofloral; Acacia against fourteen isolated bacteria from wounds of three patients. Agar well diffusion assay was used to screen the antibacterial property of these honey. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were performed for antibacterial evaluation at a concentration range of 60% (w/v) to 5% (w/v). This method was utilised to analyse the total and non-peroxide activities of the honey against all clinically isolated bacterial strains. The initial screening has demonstrated Kelulut as a strong antibacterial agent than Tualang and Acacia which was comparable to medical-grade Manuka (UMF 18+). The MICs for Kelulut, Tualang, and Acacia were observed to range from 5% (w/v) to 12.5% (w/v), 12.5% (w/v) to 30% (w/v), and 25% (w/v) to 50% (w/v) respectively, while the range was between 5% (w/v) and 15% (w/v) for Manuka. The difference for peroxide and non-peroxide activities recorded were statistically significant (p<0.05) for Kelulut, Tualang, and Manuka, excluding Acacia. Malaysian honey do possess antibacterial property against clinically isolated bacteria from wound in which Kelulut honey was identified to have a close similarity to the medical-grade Manuka. Based on our results, Kelulut has shown the strongest antibacterial activity and can be considered as one of the alternative treatments to reduce the healing period of infected wound. REFERENCE