Enhanced Uridine Bioavailability Following Administration of a Triacetyluridine-Rich Nutritional Supplement

Uridine is a therapy for hereditary orotic aciduria and is being investigated in other disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction, including toxicities resulting from treatment with nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in HIV. Historically, the use of uridine as a therapeutic agent has been limited by poor bioavailability. A food supplement containing nucleosides, NucleomaxX®, has been reported to raise plasma uridine to supraphysiologic levels

“Conceiving” the pill : the 45th birthday of the oral contraceptive pill in Europe

In 1961, the first combined oral contraceptive pill was introduced in Europe. This pill contained ethinylestradiol (0.05mg) and northisterone (4mg). Nowadays, monophasic pill preparations contain a low dose (20­35 g) of ethinylestradiol in combination with a progestogen. Progestogens include norethisterone and levonorgestrel (second generation); desogestrel and gestodene (third generation); and the newest progestogen, drospirenone (fourth generation). Risks of the combined oral contraceptive pill include venous thromboembolism and stroke. Benefits, such as protection from ovarian and endometrial cancer, apart from contraception, outweigh the risks if contraindications are observed, and low dose formulations used.peer-reviewe

Single dose pharmacokinetics of lamivudine in healthy volunteers: comparison of blood and urine kinetics

Aims: To study single dose pharmacokinetics of lamivudine (3TC) in healthy subjects. Methods: Twelve healthy subjects were administered 3TC (150 mg) followed by timed blood and urine collections up to 24 hours. Pharmacokinetic variables and percent dose of 3TC in urine were calculated. Results: Plasma exposure and percent dose of 3TC in urine were highly correlated (p < 0.001; r = 0.96). 3TC concentration at 24 hours was undetectable in all study subjects. Conclusions: Timed urine measurements could be used to study bioavailabilty of 3TC. Plasma 3TC measurements could be used to monitor adherence among HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral treatment.Aims: To study single dose pharmacokinetics of lamivudine (3TC) in healthy subjects. Methods: Twelve healthy subjects were administered 3TC (150 mg) followed by timed blood and urine collections up to 24 hours. Pharmacokinetic variables and percent dose of 3TC in urine were calculated. Results: Plasma exposure and percent dose of 3TC in urine were highly correlated (p < 0.001; r = 0.96). 3TC concentration at 24 hours was undetectable in all study subjects. Conclusions: Timed urine measurements could be used to study bioavailabilty of 3TC. Plasma 3TC measurements could be used to monitor adherence among HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral treatment

Detection of specific bacteria in water: implications of survival strategy

It is widely recognised that conventional culture techniques may underestimate true viable bacterial numbers by several orders of magnitude. The basis of this discrepancy is that a culture in or on media of high nutrient concentration is highly selective (either through ”nutrient shock” or failure to provide vital co-factors) and decreases apparent diversity; thus it is unrepresentative of the natural community. In addition, the non-culturable but viable state (NCBV) is a strategy adopted by some bacteria as a response to environmental stress. The basis for the non-culturable state is that cells placed in conditions present in the environment cannot be recultured but can be shown to maintain their viability. Consequently, these cells would not be detected by standard water quality techniques that are based on culture. In the case of pathogens, it may explain outbreaks of disease in populations that have not come into contact with the pathogen. However, the NCBV state is difficult to attribute, due to the failure to distinguish between NCBV and non-viable cells. This article will describe experiences with the fish pathogen Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida and the application of molecular techniques for its detection and physiological analysis

The Assessment of Forms and Bioavailability of Copper, Chromium, and Cadmium in Soils of Automobile Workshops using Sequential Extraction Procedure

The quantification the exact dimension of heavy metals pollution in soils requires more data than the total contents of metals in soils. The determination of different fractions (speciation) is necessary to understand the mobility and bio-availability of the metals in soils. This paper presents results of speciation of copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and cadmium (Cd) in soils of ten automobile workshops in Sapele, Nigeria. Composite soils samples were taken from depth 0 – 60cm, and geochemical forms and total concentrations of the metals (Cu, Cr &amp; Cd) in soils were determined by sequential extraction procedures and atomic absorption spectrometry. The total concentrations range of: 39.10 – 129.80mg/kgCu, 11.55 – 40.10mg/kgCr, and 3.15 – 6.28mg/kgCd obtained for the soils in the vicinities of the automobile workshops were distinctly higher than that of the control indicating enrichment of these metals in these soils. Speciation revealed that 20 – 33% Cu, 19 – 27% Cr and 25 – 45% Cd, were potentially mobile and bio-available. Keywords: sequential extraction, bio-availability, heavy metals, soils, automobile workshop

Anti-Cancer and Bioavailabilty of Arachidin-1 and Arachidin-3 in Colon Cancer Cells

Cancer is a common cause of death in the United States and locally in the state of Arkansas. Modifiable factors such as tobacco use, physical activity, and diet lead to reduced incidence of colon cancer diagnosis. Plant-based foods may contain phytochemicals that confer health promoting properties. Specifically, peanuts contain phytochemicals known as resveratrol, arachidin-1, and arachidin-3 that have been linked to anticancer activities. However, few research studies have been done on arachidin-1 and arachidin-3 that could develop understanding of their health promoting properties or nutraceutical applications. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine the most effective concentration of arachidin-1 and arachidin-3 for inhibiting cell proliferation and (2) assess the bioavailability of these compounds. Concentrations of 0, 5, 10, and 20 µM arachidin-1 and arachidin-3 were applied and cell viability was measured at 0, 24, and 48 hours. Significant reduction of cell proliferation occurred with treatments of 10 and 20 µM arachidin-1 and 10 and 20 µM arachidin-3 in comparison with the control. Due to the limitations of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detection, no transport values were determined when arachidin-1 and arachidin-3 were applied in 50 and 100 µM concentrations. The findings suggest that arachidin-1 and arachidin-3 inhibit cell proliferation in human colon cancer cells. Further research is needed to understand the bioavailability of arachidin-1 and arachidin-3

NIOSOMES AS AN EMERGING FORMULATION TOOL FOR DRUG DELIVERY-A REVIEW

Nonionic surfactant based vesicles which are uni/multilamellar in structures are called niosomes. These vesicles contains an aqueous interior surrounded by one or more amphiphilic bilayer membrane forming surfactant which separates them from the bulk solution, and are also called as supramolecular aggregates. Niosomes, being an efficient drug delivery system, investigations are carried out to utilize this system to treat various disorders, to promote improved patient compliance, lesser side effects, reduction in dose, lesser dosage frequency, and higher amount of the drug at the particular site so as to lessen an excessive contact with the whole body. The Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic profile of Niosomal drug delivery system vary for various entrapped drugs. Drugs that are successful in the mitigation or treatment of CNS disorders should cross the BBB to reach the brain, as BBB seems to be an obstacle for a large number of drugs, including CNS active drugs. This article compiles recent techniques for the preparation and characterization of niosomes, the effect of formulation variables on its physicochemical properties and discussed about its effective applications in drug delivery

Ribose supplementation alone or with elevated creatine does not preserve high energy nucleotides or cardiac function in the failing mouse heart

Background: Reduced levels of creatine and total adenine nucleotides (sum of ATP, ADP and AMP) are hallmarks of chronic heart failure and restoring these pools is predicted to be beneficial by maintaining the diseased heart in a more favourable energy state. Ribose supplementation is thought to support both salvage and re-synthesis of adenine nucleotides by bypassing the rate-limiting step. We therefore tested whether ribose would be beneficial in chronic heart failure in control mice and in mice with elevated myocardial creatine due to overexpression of the creatine transporter (CrT-OE). Methods and Results: Four groups were studied: sham; myocardial infarction (MI); MI+ribose; MI+CrT-OE+ribose. In a pilot study, ribose given in drinking water was bioavailable, resulting in a two-fold increase in myocardial ribose-5-phosphate levels. However, 8 weeks post-surgery, total adenine nucleotide (TAN) pool was decreased to a similar amount (8–14%) in all infarcted groups irrespective of the treatment received. All infarcted groups also presented with a similar and substantial degree of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction (3-fold reduction in ejection fraction) and LV hypertrophy (32–47% increased mass). Ejection fraction closely correlated with infarct size independently of treatment (r2 = 0.63, p&lt;0.0001), but did not correlate with myocardial creatine or TAN levels. Conclusion: Elevating myocardial ribose and creatine levels failed to maintain TAN pool or improve post-infarction LV remodeling and function. This suggests that ribose is not rate-limiting for purine nucleotide biosynthesis in the chronically failing mouse heart and that alternative strategies to preserve TAN pool should be investigated