Effect of Rumex Acetosa Extract, a Herbal Drug, on the Absorption of Fexofenadine

Rumex acetosa L. enhance learning and cognitive function by modulating NMDA receptor and BDNF pathways in vitro and in vivo

Rumex acetosa L. (RA), a member of the Polygonaceae family, is called sorrel and has been used as a vegetable and traditional medicine. RA has various bioactive functions; however, its effects on cognitive function remain unclear. Herein, we investigated the learning- and memory-enhancing effects of RA in rats using the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test. In addition, we evaluated the effect of RA on cognitive function in the hippocampus, both in vitro and in vivo, to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms. RA showed cognitive enhancing effects by activating cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) via N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor 2 subunits (NR2A and NR2B), postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunit (GluA1) signaling in primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons. For the in vivo experiments, RA was orally administered to SD rats for 26 days. RA showed significantly decreased escape latency on the first (acquisition) and last (retention) trials on the 2nd and 3rd training days and increased entry into the platform quadrant of time and distance on the probe trial. Furthermore, RA significantly increased NR2A, NR2B, PSD-95, and GluA1 the following downstream signaling extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) phosphorylation, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus. These results demonstrate that RA improves cognitive function, including synaptic plasticity, by regulating the NMDA receptor-dependent and BDNF/CREB signaling pathways.

Towards the Use of Lichens as a Source of Bioactive Substances for Topical Applications

The increasing incidence of dermatological diseases prompts the search for new natural methods of treatments, and lichens, with their special symbiotic structure, are a little-known and promising source of biologically active substances. Seven lichen species, Cladonia unicialis (L.) Weber ex F.H. Wigg. (Cladoniaceae), Evernia prunastri (L.) Ach. (Parmeliaceae), Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Nyl. (Parmaliaceae), Parmelia sulcata (Taylor) (Parmeliaceae), Physcia adscendens (Fr.) H. Olivier (Physciaceae), Pseudoevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf (Parmeliaceae), and Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr. (Teloschistaceae), were used in our experiment. We identified different metabolites in the acetone extracts of all the lichen species. Based on the high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, the content of lichen substances in the extracts was evaluated. The impact of the individual lichen-specific reference substances, compared to the lichen extracts, on the viability of keratinocytes (HaCaT cell line) and fibroblasts (BJ cell line) and on the activity of selected skin-related enzymes was investigated. Our results revealed that only emodin anthrone at a concentration of 200 mg/L was cytotoxic to keratinocytes and fibroblasts in both cell viability assays. In turn, the C. uncialis extract was only cytotoxic to keratinocytes when used at the same concentration. The other tested treatments showed a positive effect on cell viability and no cytotoxicity or indeterminate cytotoxicity (shown in only one of the tests). Elastase and collagenase activities were inhibited by most of the lichen extracts. In turn, the individual lichen compounds (with the exception of evernic acid) generally had an undesirable stimulatory effect on hyaluronidase and collagenase activity. In addition, almost all the tested compounds and extracts showed anti-inflammatory activity. This suggests that some lichen compounds hold promise as potential ingredients in dermatological and skincare products, but their safety and efficacy require further study. The high cytotoxicity of emodin anthrone highlights its potential use in the treatment of hyperproliferative skin diseases such as psoriasis.

Short Caco-2 model for evaluation of drug permeability: A sodium valerate-assisted approach

The human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2, widely used for studying intestinal drug permeability, is typically grown on permeable filter supports and matures in 21 days with frequent media changes. The process is labor-intensive, prone to contamination, and has low throughput, contributing to the overall high utilization cost. Efforts to establish a low-cost, high-throughput, and short-duration model have encountered obstacles, such as weaker tight junctions causing monolayer leaks, incomplete differentiation resulting in low transporter expression, intricate and challenging protocols, and cytotoxicity, limiting the usability. Hence, this study aimed to develop a low-cost, efficient, and short-duration model by addressing the aforementioned concerns by customizing the media and finding a safe differentiation inducer. We generated a new rapid model using sodium valerate, which demonstrated sufficient transporter activity, improved monolayer integrity, and higher levels of differentiation markers than the 21-day model. Furthermore, this model exhibited consistent and reliable results when used to evaluate drug permeability over multiple days of repeated use. This study demonstrates the potential of a sodium valerate-assisted abbreviated model for drug permeability assessment with economic and practical advantages.

Solubility enhancement of fexofenadine using self-nano emulsifying drug delivery system for improved biomimetic attributes

BACKGROUND

Fexofenadine is a poorly water-soluble drug, which limit its bioavailability and ultimately therapeutic efficacy. Liquid self-nano emulsifying drug delivery system (L-SNEDDs) is an approach that can enhance the solubility of fexofenadine by increasing its surface area and reducing the particle size, which increases the rate and extent of drug dissolution.

METHOD

In this investigation, L-SNEDDs of fexofenadine was made up using surfactants and co-surfactant. The SNEDDS formulation was optimized using a pseudo-ternary phase diagram and characterized.

RESULTS

The optimized L-SNEDDS incorporated fexofenadine were thermodynamically stable and showed mean droplet size and zeta potential of 155nm and -18mV, respectively unaffected by the media pH. In addition, the viscosity, and refractive index were observed 18.4 and 1.49 cps, respectively for optimized L-SNEDDS fortified fexofenadine. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed an insignificant interaction between the fexofenadine and excipients. A drug loading efficiency of 94.20% resulted with a complete in vitro drug release in 2h, compared with the pure drug, which demonstrate significant improvement in the efficacy. Moreover, these results signify that on further in vivo assessment L-SNEDDS fortified fexofenadine can indicate improvement in pharmacokinetic and clinical outcome.

CONCLUSION

Thus, the investigation revealed that, the L-SNEDDs incorporated fexofenadine was most effective with a mixture of surfactant and co-surfactant with improved solubility intend to relieve pain associated with inflammation with single-dose oral administration.

Fexofenadine-loaded chitosan coated solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs): A potential oral therapy for ulcerative colitis

The targeting and mucoadhesive features of chitosan (CS)-linked solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) were exploited to efficiently deliver fexofenadine (FEX) into the colon, forming a novel and potential oral therapeutic option for ulcerative colitis (UC) treatment. Different FEX-CS-SLNs with varied molecular weights of CS were prepared and optimized. Optimized FEX-CS-SLNs exhibited 229 ± 6.08 nm nanometric size, 36.3 ± 3.18 mV zeta potential, 64.9 % EE, and a controlled release profile. FTIR, DSC, and TEM confirmed good drug entrapment and spherical particles. Mucoadhesive properties of FEX-CS-SLNs were investigated through mucin incubation and exhibited considerable mucoadhesion. The protective effect of FEX-pure, FEX-market, and FEX-CS-SLNs against acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis in rats was examined. Oral administration of FEX-CS-SLNs for 14 days before ulcerative colitis induction reversed UC symptoms and almost restored the intestinal mucosa to normal integrity and inhibited Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (73.6 %), protein kinase B (73.28 %), and elevated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (185.9 %) in colonic tissue. Additionally, FEX-CS-SLNs inhibited tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) to (70.79 % & 72.99 %) in colonic tissue. The ameliorative potential of FEX-CS-SLNs outperformed that of FEX-pure and FEX-market. The exceptional protective effect of FEX-CS-SLNs makes it a potentially effective oral system for managing ulcerative colitis.

In-vitro and ex-vivo antidiabetic, and antioxidant activities of Box-Behnken design optimized Solanum xanthocarpum extract loaded niosomes

One of the most prevalent lifestyle diseases, diabetes mellitus (DM) is brought on by an endocrine issue. DM is frequently accompanied by hyperglycemia, a disease that typically results in an excess of free radicals that stress tissues. The medical community is currently concentrating on creating therapeutic medications with roots in nature to lessen the damage associated with hyperglycemia. Solanum xanthocarpum has a number of medicinal benefits. The investigation aimed to produce and analyze niosomal formulations containing S. xanthocarpum extract (SXE). Niosomes were made by implementing the solvent evaporation process, which was further optimized using Box-Behnken design. Drug release, DPPH assessments, α-amylase inhibition assay, α-glucosidase inhibition assay, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) investigation were all performed on the developed formulation (SXE-Ns-Opt). SXE-Ns-Opt displayed a 253.6 nm vesicle size, a PDI of 0.108, 62.4% entrapment efficiency, and 84.01% drug release in 24 h. The rat's intestinal CLSM image indicated that the rhodamine red B-loaded SXE-Ns-Opts had more intestinal penetration than the control. Additionally, the antioxidant effect of the obtained formulation was demonstrated as 89.46% as compared to SXE (78.10%). Additionally, acarbose, SXE, and SXE-Ns-Opt each inhibited the activity of α-amylase by 95.11%, 85.88%, and 89.87%, and also suppressed the enzyme of α-glucosidase by 88.47%, 81.07%, and 85.78%, respectively. To summarise, the establishment of the SXE-Ns-Opt formulation and its characterization demonstrated the legitimacy of the foundation. A promising candidate for the treatment of diabetes mellitus has been shown as in vitro studies, antioxidant against oxidative stress, CLSM of rat's intestine and a high degree of penetration of formulation.

The genus Rumex (Polygonaceae): an ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological review

Rumex L., a genus in Polygonaceae family with about 200 species, is growing widely around the world. Some Rumex species, called "sorrel" or "dock", have been used as food application and treatment of skin diseases and hemostasis after trauma by the local people of its growing areas for centuries. To date, 29 Rumex species have been studied to contain about 268 substances, including anthraquinones, flavonoids, naphthalenes, stilbenes, diterpene alkaloids, terpenes, lignans, and tannins. Crude extract of Rumex spp. and the pure isolates displayed various bioactivities, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, cardiovascular protection and antiaging activities. Rumex species have important potential to become a clinical medicinal source in future. This review covers research articles from 1900 to 2022, fetched from SciFinder, Web of Science, ResearchGate, CNKI and Google Scholar, using "Rumex" as a search term ("all fields") with no specific time frame set for the search. Thirty-five Rumex species were selected and summarized on their geographical distribution, edible parts, traditional uses, chemical research and pharmacological properties.

Multifaced Role of Dual Herbal Principles Loaded-Lipid Nanocarriers in Providing High Therapeutic Efficacity

Although many phytochemicals have been used in traditional medicine, there is a great need to refresh the health benefits and adjust the shortcomings of herbal medicine. In this research, two herbal principles (Diosgenin and Glycyrrhiza glabra extract) coopted in the Nanostructured Lipid Carriers have been developed for improving the most desirable properties of herbal medicine—antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. The contribution of phytochemicals, vegetable oils and of lipid matrices has been highlighted by comparative study of size, stability, entrapment efficiency, morphological characteristics, and thermal behavior. According to the in vitro MTS and RTCA results, the dual herbal-NLCs were no cytotoxic toward endothelial cells at concentrations between 25 and 100 µg/mL. A rapid release of Glycyrrhiza glabra and a motivated delay of Diosgenin was detected by the in vitro release experiments. Dual herbal-NLCs showed an elevated ability to annihilate long-life cationic radicals (ABTS^•+) and short-life oxygenated radicals (an inhibition of 63.4% ABTS^•+, while the ability to capture radical oxygen species reached 96%). The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines was significantly inhibited by the newly herbals-NLC (up to 97.9% inhibition of TNF-α and 62.5% for IL-6). The study may open a new pharmacotherapy horizon; it provides a comprehensive basis for the use of herbal-NLC in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.