Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2013 in |
Legumes are plants in the family Fabaceae characterized by seeds in pods that are often ediblethough sometimes poisonous. The nutrient content (protein, carbohydrate and micronutrients) of legumes contribute to address under-nutrition, especially protein-calorie malnutrition among children and nursing mothers in developing countries where supplementing cereal-based diets with legumes is suggested as one of the best solutions to protein calorie malnutrition. Anti-nutritional factors, in legumes, may limit their biological value and acceptance as a regular food item, yet they are readily removable and recent research has shown potential health benefits of some of these compounds; and hence, manipulation of processing conditions may be required to remove or reduce only those unwanted components. Moreover, legumes play a role in prevention, improvement and/or treatment of disease conditions such as, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, cancer diseases (e.g breast and prostate cancers) and lowers blood cholesterol level. Most of these disease conditions are associated with over-nutrition and obesity and are considered as diseases of the rich. It is, therefore, claimed that including legumes in...
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Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2013 in |
Protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are key players in cellular signal transduction events and have essential roles in cell growth, survival, differentiation and migration. Perturbations in protein tyrosine kinase activity have been implicated in a number of abnormalities, particularly cancer. Selective small molecule inhibitors are potential therapeutic agents targeting protein kinases involved in cancer and other diseases. The most dramatic clinical responses have been observed in cancer types that are strictly dependent on oncogenic kinases. In this case, targeting these kinases seems to be sufficient to provoke apoptotic response, thus limiting the process of tumorigenesis. Among tyrosine kinase inhibitors, imatinib mesylate (Gleevec®; Novartis) has demonstrated magnificent clinical efficacy in more than one type of cancer and received FDA approval for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Imatinib has set a paradigm for the treatment and management of CML as BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor. It binds kinase domain of PTK as an ATP-competitive inhibitor thus preventing the interaction with effector proteins and subsequent signaling pathway. Imatinib has...
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Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2013 in |
Heliotropium indicum Linn., commonly known as ‘Indian heliotrope’ is very common in India with a long history of traditional medicinal uses in many countries in the world. The plant is reported to possess antibacterial, antitumor, uterine stimulant effect, antifertility, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive and diuretic activities. Several pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been isolated from this species. The active principle Indicine-N-oxide has reached Phase 1 clinical trials in advanced cancer patients. But severe toxic side-effects showed that a therapy with indicine-N-oxide was not justified. Most of the alkaloids are hepatoxic and therefore internal use of Heliotropium species is not recommended. External application to promote wound healing and to fight infections seems to be less hazardous, but more research is needed. The comprehensive account of the chemical constituents and the biological activities are presented in this review such that the potential use of this plant in various traditional medicines can be systematically...
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Posted by admin on Mar 1, 2013 in |
Obesity is a chronic disease and a major health problem which require long term treatment in developed and affluent society of developing countries. Pharmacotherapies for obesity have to be given for a long duration with lifestyle modifications. Anti-obesity drugs acts through various targets in the body which reduce the food intake, decrease absorption and increase metabolism. Many drugs were approved and used in the past but were removed or abandoned in the later stages due to the various adverse drug reactions associated with the drugs. At present orlistat is the only approved drugs but it’s also associated with steatorrhoea and other side effects. Lorcaserin and the combination of phentermine and topiramate have shown to reduce greater weight loss and fewer side effects than orlistat. There are new combinations from existing drugs are in various phase of clinical trials like bupropion/naltrexone, bupropion/zonisamide and pramlintide/metreleptin. Many single agents like tesofensine, liraglutide, cetilistat, etc are in various phases of clinical trials and have shown promise to be in the league of the...
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Posted by admin on Mar 1, 2013 in |
Evolution of an existing drug molecule from a conventional form to a novel delivery system can significantly improve its performance in terms of patient compliance, safety and efficacy. In the form of a Novel Drug Delivery System an existing drug molecule can get a new life. An appropriately designed Novel Drug Delivery System can be a major advance for solving the problems related towards the release of the drug at specific site with specific rate. The need for delivering drugs to patients efficiently and with fewer side effects has prompted pharmaceutical companies to engage in the development of new drug delivery system. This article covers the basic information regarding Novel Drug Delivery Systems and also different types of the...
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