Posted by admin on Jun 1, 2012 in |
In the present study methanol and aqueous extract of the medicinal plant Desmodium gyrans were tested for the antimicrobial and wound healing properties. The antimicrobial activity of this plant was tested against the clinical pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae and Klebsiella pnemoniae. The methanol extract of this plant showed efficient antimicrobial activity against clinical pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae and Staphylococcus aureus. The aqueous extract of this plant was found to be effective against Klebsiella pnemoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. The phytochemical screening of this plant revealed the presence of the phytoconstituents such as alkaloids, steroids, tannins and saponins. The aqueous extract of this plant was found to be effective in healing the wounds when it was tested in rabbits of Orychtolacus sp and this was compared with standard antibiotic cream...
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Posted by admin on May 2, 2012 in |
Aims & Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the baseline knowledge of awareness regarding the ADRs and Pharmacovigilance activity in the undergraduate medical students of different Medical Colleges in Gujarat, India. Material and Methods: Questionnaire was developed to assess the knowledge of the ADRs and Pharmacovigilance activity. A total 18 questions were divided in two groups: Type-A regarding the ADRs and Type-B regarding the Pharmacovigilance. The questions were distributed to all 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate medical students and allowed to write down the answers independently. Each correct answer was given a score of ‘1’ whereas the wrong/not given answer was given a score of ‘0’. The total score was 18.Settings and Design: A cross-sectional questionnaire based multicentric study in six Government Medical Colleges of Gujarat (India). Statistical analysis: We applied appropriate statistical test and used Epi Info software for analysed the data. Data was expressed in number as well as percentage. Results: The study involved total 880 undergraduate medical students, of them 526 were the...
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Posted by admin on May 1, 2012 in |
Malaria remains one of the most prevalent infections in the tropical regions of the world. The increased resistance of the parasite to many available antimalarials backs the need to develop novel antimalarial drugs with effective mode of action. Several plants with antiplasmodial properties have been proved as sources for novel antiplasmodial compounds. Azadirachta indica has widely been reported for its medicinal properties. The leaf extract is used in folklore medicine to treat malaria. Previous in vitro studies has shown that the leaf extract of A. indica possess antiplasmodial properties. In the current research, the antiplasmodial activity of both aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of A. indica (ALEAI and ELEAI respectively) were studied in vivo using Plasmodium berghei infected BALB/c mice at 50, 100 and 200mg/kg/day dosages. The extracts were also screened for phytochemicals using standard methods. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins, reducing sugars, flavonoids and polyphenols in both extracts. Both ELEAI and ALEAI demonstrated significant antiplasmodial activity in vivo against plasmodium berghei in a...
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Posted by admin on May 1, 2012 in |
Gynura procumbens has been known to be used as traditional medicine for treatment of kidney disease, rashes, fever and for hypertension. We report here the cardiovascular effects of the different ethanol (95%, 75%, 50%, 25% v/v) and water extracts using in vitro studies. Gynura procumbens leaves extract was prepared by maceration process. The cardiac effects (chronotropic and ionotropic) of each extract were examined on isolated right and left atrium which was prestimulated with 5×10-8 M Isoprenaline. Vasorelaxant effect was examined on intact isolated endothelium rat aorta rings precontracted with 10-6 M Phenylephrine. Water extract was found to be most potent to exhibit dose dependent vasorelaxation and negative chronotropic and ionotropic effects. Chemical analysis of GPWE showed the presence of significant amounts of polyphenolic and flavonoid constituents. The data suggests GPWE contains cardiovascular active substances which are responsible for significant dose-dependent cardiovascular effects. Such cardiovascular effects can possibly be attributed to the high polyphenolic content of this...
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Posted by admin on May 1, 2012 in |
The conventional chemotherapeutic agents in oncology drug discovery still exhibit poor specificity in reaching tumor site and often restricted by dose-limiting toxicity. The combination of developing drug formulation by utilizing both controlled release technology and drug targeting technology may provide a more efficient and less harmful solution to conquer the limitations found in conventional chemotherapy. In this study, the anticancer drug curcumin was encapsulated in a polymeric magnetic nanoparticle which was synthesized with polymers β-cyclodextrin cross linked with epichlorhydrin, hydrophobically modified dextran byoleoylchloride and magnetite as magnetic material. Particle size, surface morphology, zeta potential and magnetic measurements were used to characterize the developed drug formulations. The developed drug-iron conjugated nanoparticles were found to be within the size range of 100nm with excellent negative surface charge (>-30eV) and spherical in shape. The magnetic susceptibility and magnetization curve substantiate the super paramagnetic property of the developed drug formulation. Furthermore, the drug content and encapsulation efficiency found was directly proportional to epichlorhydrin β-cyclodextrin concentration in the developed formulation. The in-vitro release profile...
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