Mucoadhesive microcapsules of pioglitazone were prepared using sodium alginate as a shell forming polymer and Carbapol 974, HPMC, Sodium CMC as a mucoadhesive polymer for the potential use of treating acute and chronic diabetes mellitus. Large spherical microcapsules with a coat consisting of sodium alginate and a mucoadhesive polymer could be prepared by orifice-ionic gelation process. The microcapsules exhibited good mucoadhesive properties and drug release from these mucoadhesive microcapsules was slow and extended over longer periods of time, depending on the composition of the coat. These mucoadhesive microcapsules are, thus, suitable for oral controlled release of pioglitazone.

The synthesis of superporous hydrogel composites (SPHCs) with various concentrations of chitosan as a composite material was carried out by solution polymerization. The characterization studies were performed by measurement of apparent density, porosity, swelling studies, mechanical strength studies, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In double distilled water, SPHCs showed tremendous increase in their equilibrium swelling capacity. But, when the same SPHCs were placed into simulated gastric fluid for swelling, they showed very less equilibrium swelling capacity. The chitosan altered swelling characteristics in both the swelling media. SPHCs showed improved mechanical strength as the chitosan concentration increased. SEM images clearly indicated the formation of interconnected pore, capillary channels, and the cross-linked chitosan molecules were observed around the peripheries of pores.

In the present study, gliclazide-loaded niosomes are formulated and evaluated for their in vitro as well as in vivo characteristic in an attempt to improve the oral bioavailability of the drug. Formulation of niosomes was optimized for highest percentage of drug entrapment. Microscopic observation confirmed that all particles were uniform in size and shape. The entrapment efficiency was determined by separating the unentrapped drug using dialysis. The in vitro release studies of drug from niosomes exhibited a prolonged drug release as observed over a period of 24 h. The positive values of zeta potential indicated that the gliclazide niosomes were stabilized by electrostatic repulsive forces. Results from stability study have shown that the drug leakage from the vesicles was least at 4ºC followed by 25 and 37ºC. The niosomes showing maximum entrapment and suitable release rate were selected for in vivo evaluation. In conclusion, the niosomal formulation could be a promising delivery system for gliclazide with improved bioavailability and prolonged drug release profile.

The present study has been designed with the objective to examine the ethanol extract of Mentha arvensis leaves, in order to evaluate its chemical composition, investigate its in vitro antimicrobial potential against strains of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella flexineri, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Sthaphylococcus aureus, and find its toxicity toward Artemia salina and. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of catechic tannins, flavones, flavonols, xantones, flavonols, flavonones and steroids. The antibacterial activity is more significant against Sthaphylococcus aureus. In toxicity tests on Artemia salina, the ethanol extract from Mentha arvensis leaves showed LC ₅₀ value of 100 ΅g/mL. These results may justify the popular use of this species as it has antimicrobial activity and demonstrate its significant toxic effect on brine shrimp. However, in order to evaluate possible clinical application in therapy of infectious diseases, further studies about the safety and toxicity of isolated compounds are needed.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a phenomenon whereby cellular damage in a hypoxic organ is accentuated following the restoration of oxygen delivery. Wistar rats of either sex (250-300 g) were treated for 15 days with alcoholic extract of Emblica officinalis fruits (250-500mg/kg) prior to ischemic reperfusion. After 15 days ischemia was produced by clamping the right common carotid artery for 25 min and reperfusion for 40 min by unclamping. Brain was dissected out to prepare a homogenate to measure the level of malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, catalase, vitamin C and protein estimation. Animals subjected to ischemic reperfusion without any treatment were included as model control and animals treated with vitamin E were included as a standard. Animals subjected to ischemic reperfusion without any treatment showed higher level of oxidative enzymes and lower level of protective enzymes as compared with the animals treated with alcoholic extract of amla fruits. In histopathology, protection against the injury in the animals treated with alcoholic extract of amla fruits was noted.

Barleria cristata linn (family acanthaceae) has been used traditionally for the treatment of variety of diseases including anemia, toothache, and inflammatory disorders. Due to lack of sufficient scientific evidence indicating the utility of this plant in the treatment of inflammation, the present study was aimed at investigating the antiinflammatory activity of the plant in different experimental screening methods. Antiinflammatory activity of aqueous extract of Barleria cristata leaves (BCW) at doses of 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg was evaluated in acute inflammatory models against carrageenan induced paw edema in rats, prostaglandins inhibitory activity, and acetic acid induced capillary permeability in mice. Results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett's test P < 0.05 and considered significant compared to control. BCW significantly inhibited edema induced by carrageenan, inhibited significantly prostaglandin activity, and vascular permeability in mice dose dependently. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg) was used as a positive control. It is concluded that, aqueous extract of Barleria cristata Linn leaves exhibited significant antiinflammatory activity.

The present study deals with the investigation of the neurobehavioral effects of the methanolic extract of Phoenix dactylifera (PD) fruits, studied on locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, motor coordination, hot-plate test, haloperidol-induced catalepsy, sodium nitrite-induced respiratory arrest, maximum electroshock-induced convulsions using mice. The results revealed that the extract in mice considerably reduced the exploration time in closed arms with an increased exploration in open arms, increased the time spent in mirrored chamber, increased the discrimination index, potentiated the haloperidol-induced catalepsy, reduced the onset of death in sodium nitrite-induced respiratory arrest. These results suggest that the methanolic extract of P. dactylifera fruits possess a wide range of CNS activities, which need further investigation.

This inventory scrutinizes the effect of methanolic extract of Sida rhomboidea.Roxb (SR) on high fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia in male Charles foster rats. The changes in body weight, food and water intake, feed efficiency ratio and whole weight of liver and epididymal fat pad were recorded in both control and experimental groups. In addition to the above parameters, the changes in plasma lipid profile, hepatic lipid profile, fecal total lipids (TL), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), cholic acid (CA) and deoxycholic acid (DCA) and activity levels of plasma SGOT and SGPT were also assessed in both control and experimental groups. Plasma TC, TG, low density lipoproteins (LDL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) and free fatty acids (FFA) levels were decreased along with significantly increased plasma HDL levels. Hepatic TL, TC, TG were significantly decreased in HL+SR400 group, whereas fecal TL, TC, TG, CA and DCA contents were higher after feeding SR to hyperlipidemic rats, probably due to reduced intestinal absorption and effective elimination of TC, TG and bile acids through feaces. The results obtained with methanolic extract of SR are in accordance with our previous study using crude extract. Hence, this study further adds to the existing information that the polar fraction of SR is equally potent as the crude extract. This report provides an ideal platform for the isolation, purification and characterization of known bioactive/novel compounds present in the polar fraction of SR.

During the last few decades, chemo preventive and chemotherapeutic compounds against various types of cancer have been isolated from various plants. Glycyrrhezic acid (2-20%), Glycyrrhizin, is present as a major chemical constituent of natural anticancer compound Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Fabaceae). The present work is aimed to investigate the in-vitro cytotoxic screening of standard 18 β-glycyrrhetic acid and also for natural anticancer drug Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Fabaceae) using three different extracts (chloroform, methanol and water) of the drug through MTT method. Cell viability of previously identified 18 β-glycyrrhetic acid in three different extracts of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Fabaceae) was determined by two fold trypan blue method using two different cell lines MCF7-cancerous and Vero-normal cell line and it was quantified through HPTLC method. The results of the HPTLC study indicated that the amount of 18 β-glycyrrhetic acid into three different extracts (chloroform, methanol and water extract) of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Fabaceae) was 26.6, 12.5 and 5.6 μg/g, respectively. The percentage viability of two different cell lines was 45.71% for Vero-normal cell line and 78.78% for MCF7-cancerous cell line. IC 50 values of standard 18 β-glycyrrhetic acid was 0.412±0.004 μM and those for the three different extracts (chloroform, methanol and water)of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Fabaceae) on MCF7 cell line were 0.4485±0.001, 0.9906±0.001 and 1.288±0.005 μM, respectively. From the above result, it can be said that 18 β-glycyrrhetic acid could be considered as a potential source of natural anticancer component and the percentage of which was higher in the chloroform extract.

The antianaphylactic activity of alcoholic extract of Eclipta alba with two different doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg was studied by using different animal models such as effect on mast cell degranulation using rat mesentery, passive cutaneous anaphylaxis using rat, by measuring leakage of Evans blue dye in skin, passive paw anaphylaxis using rat by measuring the paw volume by plethysmometer. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BaL) fluid study in guinea pig trachea, measurement of different blood cells, and level of histamine in lung tissues was performed. Treatment with alcoholic extract of Eclipta alba showed a dose dependent beneficial effect on degranulation of mast cells in rats when challenged with Compound 48/80. Further, a dose-dependent beneficial effect was also observed on leakage of Evans blue dye in skin challenged with antigen. Eclipta alba showed beneficial effect on paw anaphylaxis induced by antiserum and also on infiltration of various inflammatory cells as well as on histamine release from lungs. Antianaphylactic activity of alcoholic extract of Eclipta alba may be possibly due to its membrane stabilizing potential, inhibition of antigen induced histamine release, and inhibition of release of various inflammatory mediators.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disease which has claimed twenty million lives worldwide in the last two decades. Recently imidazole derivatives, such as N-aminoimidazoles (NAIMS), have been discovered as novel anti-HIV agents. Herein, the results of comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices (CoMSIA) analysis on these inhibitors have been reported. The CoMFA model produced statistically significant results with cross-validated, conventional, and predictive correlation coefficients of 0.517, 0.965, and 0.47, respectively. The combination of electrostatic hydrophobic and donor fields in CoMSIA gave the best results with cross-validated, conventional and predictive correlation coefficients of 0.532, 0.930, and 0.80, respectively. The information obtained from CoMFA and CoMSIA models may be utilized in the design of more potent NAIMS analogs and anti-HIV agents.

A rapid, simple, and selective high performance thin layer chromatographic method was developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of telmisartan and amlodipine besylate in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The method employed TLC aluminium plates precoated with silica gel 60F-254 as the stationary phase. The solvent system comprised: tetrahydrofuran: dichloroethane: methanol: ammonia solution (6.0:2.0:1.0:0.4 v/v). This system was found to give compact spots for both telmisartan (Rf value of 0.22 ± 0.02) and amlodipine besylate (Rf value of 0.45 ± 0.02). Spectrodensitometric scanning-integration was performed at a wavelength of 326 nm. The polynomial regression data for the calibration plots showed good linear relationship with r2 = 0.9993 in the concentration range of 1,200-7,200 ng for telmisartan and 400-1,400 ng for amlodipine besylate with r2 = 0.9996. The method was validated for precision, accuracy, ruggedness, and recovery. The minimum detectable amounts were found to be 149.41 ng and 53.07 ng for telmisartan and amlodipine besylate, respectively. The limits of quantitation were found to be 452.78 ng for telmisartan and 160.83 ng for amlodipine besylate. Statistical analysis proves that the method is reproducible and selective for the simultaneous estimation of telmisartan and amlodipine besylate.

A new RP-HPLC method has been developed for the simultaneous estimation of nebivolol hydrochloride and hydrochlorothiazide in pharmaceutical dosage forms, using ultra violet (UV) detector. Elution was carried out using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (pH 3.2 ± 0.1) in the ratio of 50:50 v/v and flow rate was set on 1.2 ml/min at 282 nm. The retention time for hydrochlorothiazide and nebivolol hydrochloride was found 3.57 and 6.66 mins, respectively. The method was found to be linear in the range of 8-32 mg/ml and 20-80 mg/ml for nebivolol hydrochloride and hydrochlorothiazide, respectively. In the linearity study, regression equation and coefficient of correlation for nebivolol hydrochloride and hydrochlorothiazide were found to be: y = 284761x + 215452, r = 0.9995; and y = 698395+105272, r = 0.9998, respectively.

An isocratic, reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) method was developed for the quantitative determination of oxcarbazepine, used in the treatment of epilepsy. This method can be also employed for the related substance determination in bulk samples. Forced degradation studies were performed on bulk sample of oxcarbazepine using acid (1.0 N hydrochloric acid), base (0.1 N sodium hydroxide), oxidation (3.0% hydrogen peroxide), heat (80°C) and photolytic degradation. The chromatographic method was fine tuned using the samples generated from forced degradation studies. Good resolution between the peaks corresponds to degradation products and the analyte was achieved on Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 250 X 4.6 mm, 5 µm column. The mobile phase consists of a mixture of 0.005 M KH2PO4: Methanol: Acetonitrile (70:05:25% v/v/v) effluent was monitored at 215 nm using PDA detector. The method was linear over the concentration range of 1-1000 µg/ml (r = 0.9999) with a limit of detection and quantitation 0.1 and 0.3 µg /ml, respectively. The method has the requisite accuracy, selectivity, sensitivity and precision to assay oxcarbazepine in bulk form and pharmaceutical dosage forms. Degradation products resulting from the stress studies did not interfere with the detection of oxcarbazepine and the assay is thus stability-indicating.

The patients and health care professionals worldwide depend largely on the internet for health care information due to its easy ubiquitous accessibility and economy, unlike the print media. The clinicians, health care professionals and asthma patients depend on the internet resources. The authentication of information on the web is an unmet demand. There is a growing need to provide quality information to the patients who desire education in the internet. As there is no system of validation of quality of information on internet, there can be a possibility of misleading or biased information on the internet. The present study aimed to evaluate the quality and content of information of websites providing patient education of asthma. Google search engine were used to identify 192 websites providing education on asthma, among which 42 were analyzed by Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HON code); Core Educational Concepts and Health Summit Working Group (HSWG) guidelines. On the basis of core educational concepts and HSWG criteria, websites were graded as excellent, good and average. Among the 42 websites, the HON code compliance was found to be very low (19%). A majority of the sites were compliant to basic HSWG criteria while lacking in few key elements. The HSWG scores were affected by development factors, and higher among those developed from public organizations of developed countries with non commercial interest. HSWG criteria and information on missing core educational concepts of HON code must be incorporated for an enhanced quality of information for asthma patient education.