Prioritising the most needed paediatric antiretroviral formulations: the PADO4 list

Despite considerable progress in paediatric HIV treatment and timely revision of global policies recommending the use of more effective and tolerable antiretroviral regimens, optimal antiretroviral formulations for infants, children, and adolescents remain limited. The Paediatric Antiretroviral Drug Optimization group reviews medium-term and long-term priorities for antiretroviral drug development to guide industry and other stakeholders on formulations most needed for low-income and middle-income countries. The group convened in December, 2018, to assess progress since the previous meeting and update the list of priority formulations. Issues relating to drug optimisation for neonatal prophylaxis and paediatric treatment, and those relating to the investigation of novel antiretrovirals in adolescents and pregnant and lactating women were also discussed. Continued focus on identifying, prioritising, and providing access to optimal antiretroviral formulations suitable for infants, children, and adolescents is key to ensuring that global HIV treatment targets can be met

Growth, structural, optical, thermal and mechanical studies of novel semi-organic NLO active single crystal: Heptaaqua-p-nitrophenolato strontium (I) nitrophenol

Novel single crystals of Heptaaqua-4-nitrophenolato strontium(I) nitrophenol (HNSN) were successfully grown using slow evaporation solution growth technique at constant temperature (303 K) with dimensions 40×12×6 mm3. The formation of the new crystal has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, NMR, FT-IR and UV–vis–NIR studies. The crystalline perfection was analyzed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) rocking curve measurements. Thermal analysis has also been carried out, and the thermal behavior of HNSN crystal has been studied. The dielectric loss and dielectric constant measurements as a function of frequency and temperature were measured for the grown crystal. The mechanical strength of the crystal is estimated by Vicker’s hardness test. The powder second harmonic generation (SHG) has been confirmed by Nd: YAG laser

Mentha: A genus rich in vital nutra-pharmaceuticals-A review

The genus Mentha comprises several aromatic species, which are cultivated world-over due to their distinct aroma and commercial value. In addition to traditional food flavoring uses, Mentha are well recognized for their folk medicinal uses, especially to treat cold, fever, and digestive and cardiovascular disorders. A number of biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, biopesticidal, antitumor, anticancer, antiviral, antiallergic, antiinflammatory, antihypertensive, and urease inhibitory activity have been ascribed to Mentha. The traditional pharmacological attributes of Mentha herbs can be linked to the occurrence of bioactive phytochemicals such as terpenoids, alcohols, rosmarinic acid, and antioxidant phenolics among others. A rich source of bioactives, different species of Mentha, can be explored as a promising candidate for the development of nutra-pharmaceuticals. This review covers the nutritional, phytochemical, and traditional medicinal aspects and multiple biological activities of some commonly available species of Mentha so as to explore their potential applications for nutra-pharmaceutical and cosmo-nutraceutical industry. Detailed chemical profile and pharmaceutical attributes of various Mentha essential oils are also covered. Moreover, based on computational analysis, quantitative chemical component-antioxidant activity relationship model is reviewed to predict and correlate structure-activity relationship of potential bioactives in selected Mentha essential oils leading to discovery and developmenmt of novel natural drugs