Infrared-based technique for the analysis of pharmaceutical Ginseng products

Quality of pharmaceutical products like ginseng is important for ensuring consumer safety and efficacy. Many ginseng products sold today are in various formulations which render it less identifiable by smell, taste or physical appearance. Furthermore, as ginseng is expensive, adulteration with other cheaper products occurs. Hence quality assurance of ginseng is needed. Since different chemical constituents in herbs like ginseng tend to exhibit characteristic infrared (IR) fingerprints, this study aimed to establish an analytical strategy for the use of IR spectral wavelengths in distinguishing different species of ginseng, as well as from adulterants, via mathematical processing of their spectra into derivatives and using principal component analysis (PCA). The results of the present study showed that Panax quinquefolius and Panax ginseng could be differentiated from each other, as well as from sawdust and Platycodon grandiflorum. PCA modeling of the IR spectra could also differentiate among the various grades of ginseng in Singapore. Further establishment of the infrared-based technique was demonstrated through the analysis of three grades of ginseng samples from Hong Kong and three commercial ginseng products. In conclusion, the infrared-based technique introduced in this study for the analysis of ginseng products has proven to be appealing.MASTER OF ENGINEERING (MPE

Detection and management of oncology drug interactions: can we do better?

10.1016/j.maturitas.2009.12.001Maturitas653181-182MATU

Detection and management of oncology drug interactions: can we do better?

10.1016/j.maturitas.2009.12.001Maturitas653181-182MATU

Differentiating Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius through SDS-PAGE analysis

Compound K (CK) is one of the principal metabolites of ginseng in human body which has been reported to exert diverse pharmaceutical activities including anticarcinogenic and antitumor effects on different lineages of cancer cells. However, the effect and mechanism of CK on colon cancer cells are not fully understood. In the present study the screening process was conducted with 12 different ginsenosides and metabolites, which showed CK was the most potent growth inhibitory compound against HT-29 colon cancer cells. The IC50 value of CK was 12.7 μM at 72 h. Cellular responses and growth pattern was analyzed simultaneously after CK treatment by Real Time Cellular Analysis (RTCA) method. CK treatment at specific concentration and time-point represented characteristic cytostatic stage in growth profile of HT-29 cells, and flow cytometric analysis showed that CK induced G1 phase arrest in cell cycle distribution followed by apoptosis. The G1 phase arrest was accompanied by down-regulation of cyclin D3, CDK6, and up-regulation of p21WAF-1/CIP1, and apoptosis was evidenced by inactivation of p-Bcl-2 and p-Akt. These results demonstrated that CK caused growth inhibition of HT-29 cells by blocking cells in G1 phase and inducing apoptosis

Mobile Health Apps That Act as Surgical Preparatory Guides: App Store Search and Quality Evaluation

BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) apps are becoming increasingly common in surgical practices for training, education, and communication. Factors leading to increased delays, morbidity, and mortality in surgery include inadequate preoperative patient preparation due to a failure to identify patients and procedure details, and missing instruments and equipment required for the procedure. Many apps are available for supporting preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care. However, there is a lack of studies that assess the quality of apps that act as surgical preparatory guides. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of apps that act as surgical preparatory guides for operating room personnel through an in-house quality assessment tool. MethodsThe quality assessment tool comprises 35 questions categorized into 5 sections: (1) engagement (customization, interactivity, target audience; 19 points), (2) functionality (performance, ease of use, navigation; 12 points), (3) aesthetics (layout, visual appeal; 6 points), (4) information (quality and quantity of information, visual information, credibility; 29 points), and (5) privacy and security (4 points). An app search was conducted in the Australian Apple and Google Play stores using the following keywords: “surgical apps”, “surgical preferences”, “surgeon preferences”, “operating room”, and “perioperative procedures”. The overall total scores and scores for each section were reported as medians and IQRs, expressed as raw scores and percentages. ResultsA total of 5 unique apps were evaluated on both iOS and Android platforms. The median overall score across all apps was 35/70 (50%; IQR 38.6%-64.3%). ScrubUp (48/70, 69%) and MySurgeon (42/70, 60%) had the highest overall scores, followed by PrefCard (35/70, 50%) and Scrubnote (28/70, 40%). The lowest scoring app was BrainPadd (26/70, 37%). The sections with the highest median scores, in decreasing order, were privacy and security (4/4, 100%; IQR 75%-100%), aesthetics (5/6, 83%; IQR 75%-91.7%), engagement (15/19, 79%; IQR 57.9%-86.8%), functionality (7/12, 58%; IQR 29.2%-75%), and information (5/29, 17%; IQR 15.5%-34.5%). Most apps scored well (4/4, 100%) on privacy and security, except for Scrubnote (2/4, 50%). ScrubUp received a perfect score for aesthetics (6/6, 100%). MySurgeon (17/19, 90%) had the highest engagement score, while ScrubUp and MySurgeon had the highest functionality scores (9/12, 75% each). All apps scored below 50% for the information section, with ScrubUp having the highest score of 13/29 (45%). ConclusionsScrubUp and MySurgeon had the highest quality scores and can be used as adjuncts to hospital protocols by operating room personnel for their surgical preparation. Developers are encouraged to develop appropriate apps for surgical preparation based on relevant guidelines and standards, as well as the quality evaluation criteria in our tool. Operating room personnel can also use this tool as a guide to select and assess their preferred apps in their practices

Merging the old with the new : a cybermedicine marriage for oncology interactions with traditional herbal therapies and complementary medicines

An oncology-specific database called OncoRx (http://bit.ly/cancerRx) was previously set up in cyberspace to aid clinicians in identifying interactions of anticancer drugs (ACDs) and chemotherapy regimens with traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs). Since then, users have requested the drug-CAM interactions (DCIs) of 5 specific CAMs (cranberry, melatonin, co-enzyme Q10, huachansu, reishi mushroom) to be updated in the database. Pharmacokinetic properties (metabolism, enzyme induction/inhibition, elimination), TCM properties and DCIs of each CAM were collated with 117 ACDs using 9 hardcopy compendia and online databases as resources. Additionally, individual ACDs and CAMs were used as keywords for PubMed searches in combination with the terms ‘anticancer drugs’, ‘drug interactions’, ‘herb-drug/drug-herb interactions’, ‘pharmacokinetic interactions’ and ‘pharmacodynamic interactions’. DCI parameters consisted of interaction effects, evidence summaries, proposed management plans and alternative non-interacting CAMs, together with relevant citations and update dates of the DCIs. OncoRx is also used as a case to introduce the “Four Pharmaco-cybernetic Maxims” of quality, quantity, relationship and manner to developers of digital healthcare tools. Its role in Hayne’s “5S” hierarchy of research evidence is also presented. OncoRx is meant to complement existing DCI resources for clinicians and alternative medicine practitioners as an additional drug information resource that provides evidence-based DCI information for ACD-CAM interactions

Controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting with Neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists in patients on AC-based chemotherapy - are we there yet?

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) are distressing side effects of chemotherapy. Neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists (NK1-RAs) have been incorporated in the contemporary management of CINV. However, clinical studies on NK1-RAs have shown mixed results in reducing CINV risk. Most studies focused on the use of aprepitant (APR) and casopitant (CAS) in breast cancer patients receiving AC-type (doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy. In this study, we compared the study design and clinical efficacies of these NK1-RAs in reducing CINV risk. Among the selected eight studies, 4 APR Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), 2 APR Observational Studies (OSs) and 2 CAS RCTs were identified. Patient-related characteristics such as the proportion of females (60.0% - 100.0%), age (46.5 - 59.5 years), histories of motion (5.6% - 47.0% in NK1-RA arms) and morning sicknesses (14.2% - 45.0% in NK1-RA arms) and types of antiemetic regimens; as well as chemotherapy-related characteristics such as the proportion of patients on AC chemotherapy (15.0% - 100.0%) varied greatly. In terms of efficacies, both APR and CAS improved overall CR and vomiting in majority of the studies. None of the studies, however, demonstrated that NK1-RA could provide adequate nausea control. To conclude, NK1-RAs are effective in improving vomiting and overall CR, but not useful in controlling nausea or attaining CC, the ideal CINV endpoint. A shift in paradigm is needed for future CINV research. As healthcare providers continue to strive for optimum CINV control in their patients, we hope this review can help them make better informed clinical decisions