The efficacy of antipsychotics in the treatment of physical aggressive behavior in patients with dementia in nursing homes

Patients with dementia often suffer from behavioral changes. A common behavioral change is acute physical aggressive behavior which is the most distressing change. This can lead to harm, which is especially problematic in nursing homes. Despite the serious safety concerns, antipsychotics are often prescribed to combat this problem. This article is aimed to review the evidence of the efficacy of utilizing antipsychotics in acutely treating physical aggressive behavior in patients with dementia in nursing homes. Therefore, a systematic literature search was performed. The results demonstrated that a meta-analysis confirmed statistically significant reduction in physical aggression when risperidone was compared to placebo. However, a randomized controlled trial showed no change in physical aggressive behavior between quetiapine and placebo. More research is needed to fully investigate the benefits of physical aggressive behavior and safety concerns of all the antipsychotics in patients with dementia in nursing homes

Zerumbone nanoparticle preparation and characterization

The Zingiberaceae family of plants is found in tropical and subtropical areas and approximately 161 species from 18 genera of this family are found in Peninsular Malaysia. The plant species belonging to the Zingiberaceae family have been reported to possess biological activities responsible for its medicinal value. The ginger rhizome is generally recognized as safe and it is used traditionally in local folklore medicine for various ailments. Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith belonging to this family is an edible ginger, originating from South-East Asia and been cultivated for thousands of years. Generally, the rhizomes and the leaves are used for spice, tea, beverages and medical purposes, while the milky, mucilaginous substance of the pinecones are as shampoo and natural hair conditioner, especially in Asia and Hawaii contained several types of phytochemicals and the rhizome, in particular, has been used in traditional Oriental medicine for various human ailments in different parts of the globe, especially for the treatment of digestive condition

The Role of Natural Dietary Products in Nanomedicine

It has long been established that a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, grains and legumes and antioxidants, and other beneficial compounds may help prevent various human diseases. However, diet is not a cure for treatment of severe diseases, but it may help prevent some ailments, and it can help the body overcome the effects of conventional treatments. Natural compounds not only serve as a drug or template for drugs but also, in many instances, had been a source of discovery of novel biology that provided better understanding of target and pathway involved in the disease processes. In addition, drugs derived from natural compounds work better for patients than do drugs manufactured synthetically. Approximately, 40% of drugs in the pipeline and 70% of synthetic therapeutic molecules are plagued with poor solubility, oral bioavailability, and delivery. Drugs with poor solubility encounter limited transport during oral administration because of low concentration gradient between the gut and the blood vessels. To increase body fluid saturation solubility of poorly soluble drug, new delivery methods need to be developed using natural dietary plant metabolites

In vivo assessment of nanostructured lipid carrier for oral delivery of zerumbone in leukemic mice model

Cancer nanotherapeutics are progressing rapidly with innovative drug delivery systems to replace conventional delivery systems. Although, antitumor activity of zerumbone (ZER) has been reported, there has been no available information of ZER-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) affects murine leukemia cells in vivo. In a previous study, ZER was incorporated into NLC by high pressure homogenization (HPH) technique. Physicochemical characterization included particle size, polydipersity index, zeta potential, pH, entrapment efficiency, loading capacity, stability study, and in vitro drug release, as well as physicochemical stability after being autoclaved and stored at 4˚C, 25˚C and 40˚C for 1 month, were examined. In this study, in vivo effects of ZER-NLC on murine leukemia WEHI-3B cells were investigated. The outcomes of histopathology, TEM and TUNEL assays of BALB/c leukemia mice revealed that the number of leukemia cells were significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in spleen tissue after four weeks of oral administration of ZER-NLC. In conclusion, NLC is suggested as a promising carrier for ZER oral delivery

Cytotoxicty of zerumbone against liver cancer cell lines (HepG2) via apoptosis activity

Zerumbone (ZER), a sesquiterpene phytochemical isolated from a type of edible ginger known as "Zingiber Zerumbet Smith" grown in Southeast Asia. The anticancer effects of ZER has been previously reported at our Laboratory, which used MTT assay on human cancer cells of several cell lines such as cervix (HeLa), leukemia (jurkat) and breast (MCF-7). ZER anti-cancer properties were found to be in equivalent with cisplatin, a commercial anticancer drug used preferentially in treating cervical cancer in humans. In this study, MTT assay was carried to obtain the IC50 value of zerumbone towards HepG2 and normal liver, WRL-68 cell lines. The cytotoxicity analysis on HepG2 cells revealed that the IC50 is 6.20μg/ml. ZER showed no apparent cytotoxicity response towards WRL-68 cell lines. Morphological analysis for apoptosis detection by using inverted microscope and SEM have produced typical apoptotic characteristic. It showed that zerumbone has antiproliferative activity towards liver cancer cell by its ability to induce apoptosis. The outcome of this study demonstrates that zerumbone has the ability to increased efficacy with limited toxicity in liver cancer treatment

Apoptosis induction in human leukemia cell lines by gold nanoparticles synthesized using the green biosynthetic approach

Gold nanoparticles were grown on Sargassum muticum water extract (S-GNPs) using the green biosynthetic approach. The nanoparticles were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, zeta potential, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The resulting S-GNPs were spherical and crystalline with a size of <10 nm. The in vitro anticancer activity was demonstrated in human leukemia cell lines. The cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of S-GNPs, and calorimetric (MTT) assay used for the cytotoxicity test, which resulted in an IC50 value of 4.22 ± 1.12, 5.71 ± 1.4, 6.55 ± 0.9, and 7.29 ± 1.7 μg/mL for each of the K562, HL-60, Jurkat, and CEM-ss cells, respectively. Thus, the K562 was selected for the next experiments. Furthermore, apoptosis induction was confirmed by Hoechst 33342, annexin V staining, and caspase-3/-9 activity tests. The cell cycle analysis exhibited a significant increase in the accumulation of S-GNPs treated cells at the sub-G1 phase, demonstrating the induction of apoptosis by S-GNPs. The nature of the inhibition of cancer cell growth by S-GNPs could open the way for further research in the design of green synthesis therapeutic agents, particularly in nanomedicine, for the treatment of cancer

Phytochemical analysis and hepatoprotective activity of Raphanus sativus var. sativus in Sprague-Dawley rats

Purpose: To determine the phenolic and flavonoid contents of R. sativus rhizome ethanol extract and the hepatoprotective effect of the extract in rats. Methods: Folin–Ciocalteau and aluminum chloride colorimetric tests were used to determine the contents of phenols and flavonoids in the R. sativus extract. Male Sprague-Dawley rats induced with CCl4 to develop hepatotoxicity were treated orally with R. sativus extract for 4 weeks. The&nbsp; antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the extract on the liver were determined by evaluating the concentration of oxidative analytes, serum liver enzymes and lipids, and hepatic histopathology and cytochrome P450 2E1 expression. Results: R. sativus extract significantly (p &lt; 0.05) reduced the hepatotoxic effect of CCl4 via its antioxidant activities and protection of liver tissues from oxidative damage. Conclusion: The hepatoprotective effects of R. sativus rhizome ethanol extract are attributed to its highphenolic and flavonoid contents. Keywords: R. savitus rhizome, Phenols, Flavonoid contents, antioxidant, Hepatoprotectiv

Zerumbone-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers: preparation, characterization, and antileukemic effect

Zerumbone, a natural dietary lipophilic compound with low water solubility (1.296 mg/L at 25°C) was used in this investigation. The zerumbone was loaded into nanostructured lipid carriers using a hot, high-pressure homogenization technique. The physicochemical properties of the zerumbone-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (ZER-NLC) were determined. The ZER-NLC particles had an average size of 52.68 ± 0.1 nm and a polydispersity index of 0.29 ± 0.004 μm. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the particles were spherical in shape. The zeta potential of the ZER-NLC was −25.03 ± 1.24 mV, entrapment efficiency was 99.03%, and drug loading was 7.92%. In vitro drug release of zerumbone from ZER-NLC was 46.7%, and for a pure zerumbone dispersion was 90.5% over 48 hours, following a zero equation. Using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay in human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Jurkat) cells, the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of ZER-NLC was 5.64 ± 0.38 μg/mL, and for free zerumbone was 5.39 ± 0.43 μg/mL after 72 hours of treatment. This study strongly suggests that ZER-NLC have potential as a sustained-release drug carrier system for the treatment of leukemia

Isolation, purification and evaluation of anticancer principle from Zingiber zerumbet

The Zingiberaceae family is found in tropical and subtropical areas, with approximately 161 species from 18 genera of this family found in Peninsular Malaysia. Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith tree belonging to this family is an edible ginger, originating in South-East Asia, and has been cultivated for thousands of years as a spice and for medical purposes. The aim of this study is to isolate the active principle from extracted essential oil of fresh Zingiber Zerumbet rhizomes by steam-hydrodistillation method. In addition, to determine the purity of this active compound using validated reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Moreover, the antiproliferative effects of this active principal on various human cancerous and noncancerous cell lines at concentrations of 1 to 100 μg/mL were quantified by MTT assay. As a result, colorless zerumbone (ZER) crystals about 1.3 g/kg as an active principal were extracted from the essential oil of fresh Z. Zerumbet rhizomes. The purity of ZER crystals were shown to be (99.96%). Simultaneously, ZER exhibited significant (P < 0.05) inhibitory effects towards various human cancerous cell lines, while not affected noncancerous cell lines. In conclusion, ZER is suggested to be further developed into a safe therapeutic compound for the treatment of various human cancers

Antiproliferative Efficacy of Zerumbone-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carrier in BALB/C Mice Model of Breast Cancer

Recently, we showed that the antiproliferative effect of ZER-NLC on Jurkat cells is through the apoptotic intrinsic pathway via activation of caspase-3 and -9, release of cytochrome c (cyt-c) from mitochondria into cytosol, and subsequent cleavage of polyADP-ribose polymerase (PARP). However, there has been no available information of ZER-NLC affects murine breast cancer cells in vivo. Thus, In this study, in vivo effects of ZER-NLC on murine breast cancer 4T1 cells were investigated. Outcomes of histopathology, immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assays of BALB/c mice bearing breast cancer revealed that the number of cancer cells were significantly decreased in mammary gland tissues after four weeks of oral administration of various doses of ZER-NLC