Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2010 in |
Diabetes, a global burden, is characterized by fast elevation of blood sugar level. The incidence of diabetes mellitus is rising all over the world, especially in Asia. Many oral hypoglycemic agents, such as biguanides and sulphonylurea are available along with insulin for the treatment of diabetes mellitus but they have significant side effects and sometimes they are found to be ineffective in chronic diabetic patients. Thus, there is an increasing demand of natural and synthetic products with high antidiabetic potential and lesser side effects. Lawsonia inermis(Henna) is a flowering plant of family Lythracea. Ethanolic extract was investigated for hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic effect in normal and diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in albino rats by a single intra-peritoneal ingestion of streptozotocin (45 mg/kg of body weight). Ethanolic extract of Lawsonia inermis was administered orally (150, 300 and 500 mg/kg of body weight) for 28 days and changes in body glucose were examined. The level of blood glucose was significantly increased in diabetic rats. Oral administration of ethanolic extract of Lawsonia...
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Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2010 in |
Natural products are an important source of new structures leading to drugs in all major disease areas. They represent a pool of privileged structures that are optimized by evolution to interact with proteins and other molecules. Bombax ceiba is an important medicinal plant of tropical and subtropical India. Its medicinal usage has been reported in the traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. The present commentary includes the detailed exploration of phytochemical properties along with the TLC ratios of various extracts of Bombax ceiba in an attempt to provide a direction for further...
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Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2010 in |
Currently, natural polysaccharides are being utilized increasingly in the markets because they exhibit biodegradability, biocompatibility, versatility, and are found abundant in nature. Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide that possesses excellent biological properties. It has been recognized for its antibacterial activity, in that it is destructive towards the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The major problem associated for its use in formulation is its water insolubility. This research entails the chemical modification of chitosan with N-acylation and crosslinking using substituted benzoyl chloride to enhance its solubility and antimicrobial properties. The derivative also shoe antifungal activity against Candida species. It is believed that these types of hydrophilic derivatives shows better bioadhesion and inhibit the growth of bacteria by initial electrostatic interactions with negatively charged groups of the bacterial cell surface. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the water soluble N-acyl crosslinked chitosan were investigated using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. Substituted benzoyl chloride derivative of chitosan exhibited a MIC of 45 μg/mL against Escherichia coli...
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Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2010 in |
Rimonabant is an anti-obesity drug which acts as Cannabinoid-1 receptor antagonist. Its main avenue of effect is reduction in appetite. The drug was formulated in the form of Sodium Alginate – Guar gum microspheres following ionotropic gelation method to reduce its dose related side effects. A detailed study of physical and chemical parameters including percentage drug loading and cumulative drug release was carried out and statistically evaluated. Each and every test on all batches was carried out in triplicate. After the experiment the microspheres showed good flow properties with drug entrapment efficiency recorded highest at 71.6%, drug loading results ranged from 12.91-18.20% and the yield percentage was recorded over 90% for all the formulations. The rate of drug release followed Higuchi matrix model equation....
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Posted by admin on Aug 15, 2010 in |
Pimenta dioica commonly known as Allspice was used by early Central American civilizations as a flavoring for chocolate and found to have good anti-microbial action. The current study was therefore carried out to provide requisite pharmacognostic details about the plant. The results of the study could be useful in setting some diagnostic indices for the identification and preparation of a monograph of the...
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