Influence of anti-hyperlipidemic activity by co-administration of polyamines and rutin with simvastatin

Introduction: Natural polyphenols, rutin, endogenous polycations, and polyamines (spermine and spermidine) are reported to have beneficial effects on hyperlipidemia, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The present study attempts to evaluate the combined effects of polyamines or rutin and simvastatin on hyperlipidemic rats. Methods: Wistar rats were maintained on a high-fat diet (HFD) for 60 days. The HFD rats were administered from the 31st day onward with polyamines (PAs), rutin, and simvastatin for the next 30 days. The body weight, serum lipid profile, biomarkers, liver cholesterol, triglycerides, hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase activity, antioxidants, and marker enzymes in HFD rats were estimated along with the liver histoarchitecture of the rats. Results: The experimental findings demonstrated abnormal alterations in body weight, serum lipid profile, hepatic lipid, and HMG-CoA reductase activity, hepatic antioxidants, serum marker enzymes, blood glucose, total protein, and histoarchitecture of the liver in HFD rats. The aforementioned treatment elicited a significant reduction in the biochemical parameters, biomarkers, and the evaluated enzymes in the present study. Furthermore, an improvement in the histoarchitecture of the liver was observed. Conclusion: The experimental results point out the positive role of antioxidant polyamines along with rutin on different parameters in HFD rats. Thus the combinatorial effect of polyamines and rutin with simvastatin (5 mg/kg) was found to be greater than simvastatin (10 mg/kg) alone. The enhancement in the anti-hyperlipidemic effect of simvastatin may be due to the intrinsic antioxidant property of polyamines and rutin.

A Contemporary Exploration of Traditional Indian Snake Envenomation Therapies

Snakebite being a quick progressing serious situation needs immediate and aggressive therapy. Snake venom antiserum is the only approved and effective treatment available, but for selected snake species only. The requirement of trained staff for administration and serum reactions make the therapy complicated. In tropical countries where snakebite incidence is high and healthcare facilities are limited, mortality and morbidities associated with snake envenomation are proportionately high. Traditional compilations of medical practitioners’ personal journals have wealth of plant-based snake venom antidotes. Relatively, very few plants or their extractives have been scientifically investigated for neutralization of snake venom or its components. None of these investigations presents enough evidence to initiate clinical testing of the agents. This review focuses on curating Indian traditional snake envenomation therapies, identifying plants involved and finding relevant evidence across modern literature to neutralize snake venom components. Traditional formulations, their method of preparation and dosing have been discussed along with the investigational approach in modern research and their possible outcomes. A safe and easily administrable small molecule of plant origin that would protect or limit the spread of venom and provide valuable time for the victim to reach the healthcare centre would be a great lifesaver.

Curriculum for pharmacology in pharmacy institutions in India: opportunities and challenges

The curriculum of pharmacy institutions in India is regulated by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) at degree and diploma levels. However, it has been over two decades that the syllabi have been revised by these regulatory agencies. Considering the dynamic character of pharmacology, it is essential to prepare a syllabus that caters to the contemporary needs of the academic institutions and pharmaceutical industry, the community. Pharmacists are also witnessing a greater role in community pharmacy practice as well as in several healthcare sectors. Considering these facts, a panel discussion was held at IPSCON 2013, (the Annual Conference of Indian Pharmacological Society) at Bangalore. The discussion saw several recommendations for syllabi for institutions offering various pharmacy courses to meet the objectives of teaching, learning and research in Pharmacology. This article documents a summary of the discussion. For B. Pharm. course, a balance between industry-oriented pharmacology and clinical pharmacy has been recommended. Redundant animal experiments should be replaced with the simulation experiments or those which are feasible in the light of stringent regulations of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA). It is recommended that the M. Pharm curriculum should focus on preclinical research with the inclusion of molecular biology and experiments on gene expression, proteomics, pharmacogenomics, cell culture and tissue culture. In general, at all levels, exposure of students to hospitals and clinicians is needed. Pharm. D., syllabus too should lay lesser emphasis on experimental pharmacology. Present experiments in the D. Pharm. course have no relevance to the program objectives and hence, only experiments through demonstrations or simulated preparations or interactive videos maybe undertaken. Regulatory bodies as well as universities should design a comprehensive syllabus and plan an effective pedagogy to prepare graduates who are competent and capable of bringing positive changes in the community and healthcare in India.

Formulation and in vitro Evaluation of Floating Capsules of Theophylline

Sustained release floating capsules for theophylline were fabricated using drug:polymer ratio of 30:70. The hydrocolloids were used in different proportions and four formulations were prepared. These formulations were optimized on the basis of buoyancy, matrix integrity, duration of floating and in vitro drug release. All the four formulations showed good buoyancy and matrix integrity. The duration of floating was more than 12 h for all formulations. In vitro drug release study of these formulations indicated controlled release of theophylline and about 76 percent drug was released at the end of 12 h.

Evaluation of antidiarrheal and in vitro antiprotozoal activities of extracts of leaves of Alocasia indica

CONTEXT

Alocasia indica Schott (Araceae) is used in several regions of India, especially in rural communities, by traditional medicine practitioners to treat diarrhea. However, no scientific data are available to justify the traditional potentials of the plant species in gastrointestinal disorders.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the antidiarrheal and in vitro antiprotozoal activities of extracts of leaves of Alocasia indica using various pharmacological models.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In vitro antidiarrheal activity of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Alocasia indica was evaluated against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella flexneri and Staphylococcus aureus by agar well diffusion method. In vivo antidiarrheal activity of the extracts was studied against recinolic acid-induced diarrhea and magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhea. The effect of the extracts on normal intestinal transit, recinolic acid-induced intestinal transit, recinolic acid-induced intestinal fluid accumulation (enteropooling) and gastric emptying was assessed. In vitro antiprotozoal activity of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Alocasia indica was studied against Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia intestinalis.

RESULTS

The aqueous and ethanol extracts exhibited significant in vitro antidiarrheal activity compared to the standard drug ciprofloxacine (10 µg/mL). The plant extracts showed significant (P <0.05) and dose-dependent antidiarrheal activity comparable to that of the reference drug, loperamide (10 mg/kg). The plant extracts exhibited significant in vitro antiprotozoal activity against both protozoa compared to the standard amebicidal and giardicidal drugs, metronidazole and emetine.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The results showed that the extracts of Alocasia indica have significant antidiarrheal and in vitro antiprotozoal activities which support its use in traditional herbal medicine practice.

Improvement in the dissolution profile of diacerein using a surfactant-based solid dispersion technique

In an attempt to improve the dissolution rate of poorly aqueous soluble diacerein (DCN), solid dispersions (SDs) were prepared with a surfactant Pluronic® F 127 (PXMR) at drug to polymer ratios of 1:0.5, 1:1.5, and 1:2.5 (w/w) by an ordinary melting technique. The interaction of DCN with PXMR in all solid binary systems was evaluated by thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. TLC indicated an absence of chemical interaction of DCN with PXMR whereas FTIR studies demonstrated an existence of strong hydrogen bonding between them. A uniform molecular dispersion of DCN was observed in DSC thermograms, and this finding was further supported by loss of the crystalline and irregular shape of DCN detected in SEM photomicrographs. Dissolution studies were promptly conducted to examine the release rate performance of DCN from all binary systems. The drug dissolution properties of binary systems improved significantly in comparison to crystalline DCN. The rate and extent of DCN release were observed to be strongly dependent on the proportion of PXMR present within the formulations.

Influence of Simulated Gastrointestinal Fluids on Polymorphic Behavior of Anhydrous Carbamazepine Form III and Biopharmaceutical Relevance

The dissolution behavior and bioavailability of carbamazepine (CBZ) is rate-limited by formation of carbamazepine dihydrate (CBZ-D) in dissolution fluids. The present investigation involves formation and biopharmaceutical evaluation of CBZ-D obtained from simulated gastrointestinal fluids. The results obtained from solubility studies revealed that formation of CBZ-D was pH-dependent. The minimum solubility of 115 ± 1.7 mg/L obtained with simulated gastric fluid without pepsin indicates that the strongly acidic pH favors formation of CBZ-D and it was confirmed by the powder X-ray diffractography. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms of samples revealed formation of CBZ-D and subsequent transition of CBZ form I. The percentage relative crystallinty for dihydrate was found to be 77.51%. Triton X present in fasted-state simulated gastric fluid (FaSSGF) increased the extent of crystallinty in dissolution media upto 86.50%. However, CBZ-D obtained from FaSSGF showed highest solubility of 335.36 ± 4.813 mg/L and dissolution of 36.74% in 60 min. This may be due to presence of surfactant on the surface of CBZ-D. The linear correlation was established between pH of simulated gastrointestinal fluids and percentage relative crystallinty with a correlation coefficient of 0.9904. CBZ form I had a better dissolution profile than any of the other polymorphs. Stabilization of CBZ form I in in vitro and in vivo conditions using pharmaceutical polymers in dosage form may bring better clinical outcomes than present-day therapies.

Hepatoprotective activity of hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Alocasia indica (Linn.)

Oral administration of hydroalcoholic extract of A. indica (250 and 500 mg/kg) effectively inhibited CCl4 and paracetamol induced changes in the serum marker enzymes, cholesterol, serum protein and albumin in a dose-dependent manner as compared to the normal and the standard drug silymarin-treated groups. Hepatic steatosis, fatty infiltration, hydropic degeneration and necrosis observed in CCl4 and paracetamol-treated groups were completely absent in histology of the liver sections of the animals treated with the extracts. The results suggests that the hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of A. indica possess significant potential as hepatoprotective agent.

Monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) as a liver function test in cirrhosis

AIMS

To compare the performance of monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) test and conventional liver function tests (LFT) in differentiating between healthy volunteers and patients with different severity of liver cirrhosis, as judged using Child-Pugh (CP) classification.

METHODS

One hundred and four patients with cirrhosis (CP class A, 47; B, 32; C, 25) and 25 healthy volunteers were studied between January 2005 to June 2006. In these subjects, conventional LFT were done, and serum specimens collected 15, 30 and 60 minutes after lidocaine injection were analyzed for MEGX.

RESULTS

Conventional liver function tests showed minor differences between healthy volunteers and patients with Child class A, whereas these discriminated well between patients with Child class C and healthy volunteers. The changes in ALT, AST, bilirubin, albumin, AP and PT values were statistically significant in CP class B and C but not in class A when compared with healthy volunteers. MEGX concentration at 60 min was significantly higher in healthy volunteers (131.2 ng/mL) as compared to patients with cirrhosis (CP A - 51.3 ng/mL; CP B - 37.1 ng/mL; CP C - 17.3 ng/mL). There were significant differences (p <0.001) among all four groups (healthy volunteers and patients with CP classes A, B and C) for MEGX concentrations at each time point. MEGX test correlated well with CP scores (p <0.0001).

CONCLUSION

MEGX test is a useful marker to stratify patients with liver cirrhosis based on liver function.

Prognostic value of the monoethylglycinexylidide test in alcoholic cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

The existing conventional liver function tests (LFTs) are indirect, inferior and have limited prognostic value. Therefore, the monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) test, which provides a direct measure of the actual functional state of the liver, is proposed as a real-time liver function test. The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic value of the MEGX test in cirrhosis by comparing it with Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP), the Mayo end stage liver disease (MELD) and discriminant function (DF) scores.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was carried out in Satara, India during the period of January 2005 to June 2006 and included 79 adult alcoholic cirrhotic patients. The serum specimen from each patient was analyzed using conventional LFTs and the MEGX test. The prognostic scores-CTP, MELD and DF scores were calculated and statistical analyses was performed.

RESULTS

Based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the MELD score and MEGX60 showed excellent sensitivity and specificity. The comparison of area under ROC curves showed that MELD and MEGX60 had superior prognostic accuracy when compared to other scores. Kaplan-Meier survival curves for corresponding cutoff values clearly differentiated between patients with different survival times.

CONCLUSION

The MEGX test has shown more sensitivity, specificity and accuracy than CTP and DF scores in determining cases with the possibility of three- and six-month survival. Thus, it can be concluded that MEGX test along with MELD, is an effective prognostic tool in the hands of clinicians for predicting short-term survival.

Cardiotonic activity of aqueous extract of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium

The present study was undertaken to evaluate cardiotonic activity of aqueous extract of heartwood of P. marsupium. This plant species contains 5,7,2-4 tetrahydroxy isoflavone 6-6 glucoside which are potent antioxidant and are believed to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Cardiotonic effect of aqueous extract of heartwood of P. marsupium was studied by using isolated frog heart perfusion technique (IFHP). Calcium free Ringer solution was used as vehicle for administration of aqueous extract of P. marsupium as a test extract and digoxin as a standard. A significant increase in height of force of contraction (positive inotropic effect) and decrease in heart rate (negative chronotropic effect) at a very low concentration (0.25 mg/ml) was observed with test extract as compared to the same dose of a standard digoxin. The present results indicated that a significant increase in height of force of contraction with decrease in heart rate was observed as the dose of test extract increased. The test extract produced cardiac arrest at 4 mg/ml, a higher concentration, as compared to standard, digoxin (0.5 mg/ml). Compared to digoxin, a drug with narrow therapeutic window, P. marsupium showed wide therapeutic window.

Non-enzymatic glycation of proteins: a cause for complications in diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common non-communicable diseases, and is the fifth leading cause of death in most of the developed countries. It can affect nearly every organ and system in the body and may result in blindness, end stage renal disease, lower extremity amputation and increase risk of stroke, ischaemic heart diseases and peripheral vascular disease. Hyperglycemia in diabetes causes non-enzymatic glycation of free amino groups of proteins (of lysine residues) and leads to their structural and functional changes, resulting in complications of the diabetes. Glycation of proteins starts with formation of Shiff's base, followed by intermolecular rearrangement and conversion into Amadori products. When large amounts of Amadori products are formed, they undergo cross linkage to form a heterogeneous group of protein-bound moieties, termed as advanced glycated end products (AGEs). Rate of these reactions are quite slow and only proteins with large amounts of lysine residues undergo glycation with significant amounts of AGEs. The formation of AGEs is a irreversible process, causing structural and functional changes in protein leading to various complications in diabetes like nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy and angiopathy. The present review discusses about role of glycation in various complications of diabetes.

Role of protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors in cancer therapeutics

Protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are critical in regulating cell growth and differentiation and are deeply involved in several cancers. PTK-inhibitors are mainly ATP-site directed and are finding use in the treatment of several cancers, and more than 30 such agents are now in phase I-III clinical trials. The present review focuses mainly on the development of PTK inhibitors in clinical trials, with special emphasis on imatinib mesylate, a rationally designed, potent oral anticancer agent and selective inhibitor for Abl tyrosine kinase, including Bcr-Abl, C-kit and platelet-derived growth factor-receptor tyrosine kinases, which has been implicated in several malignancies, including chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumour.

Liquid membrane phenomenon in diuretics

Surface activity and critical micelle concentrations are reported for two diuretic drugs, furosemide and triamterene. The drugs generate a liquid membrane on a supporting membrane. Transport of chloride, sodium, and potassium ions through the liquid membranes generated by the drugs was studied. The data suggest that the phenomenon of liquid membrane formation may contribute to the diuretic action.

Liquid membrane phenomenon in reserpine action

Reserpine was shown to generate a liquid membrane. Transport of adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, glutamic acid, and gamma-aminobutyric acid in the presence of the reserpine liquid membrane was studied. The data indicate that the phenomenon of liquid membrane formation is likely to play a role in the mechanism of reserpine action.

Liquid membrane phenomena in chlorpromazine action

Chlorpromazine has been shown, in the present study, to generate a liquid membrane at an interface in accordance with Kesting's hypothesis [5]. The specific orientation of chlorpromazine molecules in a liquid membrane with hydrophobic ends facing the permeable substances has been found to reduce the permeability of catecholamines and neurotransmitter amino acids. This observation is discussed in the light of the orientation of receptor proteins in general. The data on transport of catecholamines and neurotransmitter amino acids are discussed in the context of the mechanism of action of chlorpromazine.

Liquid membrane phenomena in haloperidol action

Haloperidol, a surface-active neuroleptic drug, was shown to generate a liquid membrane on a supporting membrane. Transport of adrenalin, noradrenalin, dopamine, serotonin, histamine, glutamic acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and sodium, potassium, and calcium ions through the haloperidol liquid membrane was studied. The data indicate that the phenomenon of a liquid membrane plays a significant role in the mechanism of action of haloperidol.