Stamford Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences In-vitro Antioxidant and Cytotoxicity Studies of Annona squamosa Linn.

n-Hexane, chloroform and methanol soluble extracts of the leaves of Annona squamosa were screened for their possible antioxidant activitiy by DPPH free radical scavenging and cytotoxicity by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. In DPPH radical scavenging assay, methanol soluble extract was found to be the most potent with an IC50 value of 103.5 µg/ml. The amount of total phenolics was also found to the highest in the methanol soluble extract (283.16 ± 8.90 mg/g), followed by chloroform soluble extract (216.90 ± 4.48 mg/g). Here BHT and ascorbic acid were used as standards with IC50 values 8.2 µg/ml and 25 µg/ml respectively. In the brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the most significant cytotoxicity was observed with chloroform soluble extract with an LC50 of 4.16 µg/ml where vincristine sulphate was used as standard (LC50 0.29 µg/ml)

Anti-diarrhoeal and CNS Depressant Activity of Methanolic Extract of Saccharum spontaneum Linn.

Preliminary phytochemical screening of the methanolic extract of the whole plant of Saccharum spontaneum Linn. (Family- Gramineae) revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, reducing sugar, tannins and saponins. The antidiarrhoeal activity of the extract (200 and 400 mg/kg) was assessed on experimental animal and a dose dependent decrease in the total number of faecal dropping was obsereved in castor oil induced diarrhoea in mice. The plant extract was also assessed for effect on the central nervous system (CNS) using a number of neuropharmacological experimental models in mice. The extract produced a dosedependent reduction of the onset and duration of pentobarbitone-induced hypnosis, reduction of locomotor and exploratory activities in the open field and hole cross tests. These results suggest that the extract possesses antidiarrhoeal and CNS depressant activity

Stamford Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences In Vitro Nitric Oxide Scavenging Activity of Ethanol Leaf Extracts of Four Bangladeshi Medicinal Plants

The ethanol leaf extracts of four medicinal plants named Hibiscus mutabilis, Leucas aspera, Ixora coccinea and Polyalthia longifolia were examined for their possible regulatory effect on nitric oxide (NO) levels using sodium nitroprusside as a NO donor in vitro. Most of the extracts tested demonstrated direct scavenging of NO and exhibited significant activity and the potency of scavenging activity was in the following order: Leucas aspera> Ixora coccinea> Hibiscus mutabilis> Polyalthia longifolia. All the evaluated extracts exhibited a dose-dependent NO scavenging activity. The ethanolic leaf extract of Leucas aspera showed the greatest NO scavenging effect of 80.50 % at 320 µg/ml with IC50 value of 94.15 µg/ml as compared to the positive control ascorbic acid where 74.56 % scavenging was observed at similar concentration with IC50 value of 62.48 µg/mL. The maximum NO scavenging of Ixora coccinea, Hibiscus mutabilis and Polyalthia longifolia were 79.65 %, 78.60 % and 70.67 % with IC50 values of 43.72 µg/ml, 147.64 µg/ml and 167.08 µg/ml respectively. The present results suggest that these plants might be potent and novel therapeutic agents for scavenging of NO and the regulation of pathological conditions caused by excessive generation of NO and its oxidation product

Methocel K4M Premium Matrix Tablets

In the present study Ciprofloxacin HCl sustained release matrix tablet was prepared by utilizing different grades of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) polymers such as Methocel K4M CR, Methocel K4M Premium & Methocel K15M CR by direct compression method. Different amount of Methocel K15M CR was used to develop matrix builder in the three proposed formulations (F1-F3) for the study of release rate retardant effect at 5%, 6%, and 7 % of total weight of tablet matrix respectively. The dissolution study of Methocel K15M CR based tablet matrices of those proposed formulations were carried out in the simulated gastric medium (pH 1.3) for 8 hours using USP dissolution apparatus II. Similarly Methocel K4M premium was used to develop matrix builder in another three proposed formulations (F4-F6). It was found that formulations F-4 (15%), F-5 (17%) and F-6 (18.3%) met the desired release rate of Ciprofloxacin HCl for 8hrs period. Th