Posted by admin on May 1, 2011 in |
The present article reveals an important role and wide applications played by the resins. Herbal system is considered as a complimentary and alternative system of medicines plays a significant role in India. Resins being the natural products are the secondary metabolites which have therapeutic actions in humans and which can be refined to produce the drugs. Humans have been using plant resins for thousands of years. Because wide use of resins they are collected by artificial injury to plants though they are secreted by plants in response to protect the plant. Resin is a viscous compound hardens over time but softens on melting and does not react with water. This unique property makes the resins as a choice in preparing many excipients in the pharmaceutical dosage forms and even for preparing sustained release medicament formulation. The softer odoriferous oleo-resins and gum resins containing essential oils are more largely used for therapeutic purposes and incense. Thus resins play immense role in today’s...
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Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2011 in |
The bioavailability of some orally administered botanical extracts is erratic and poor due to limited gastro-intestinal absorption. Bioavailability can be improved by using new delivery systems which can enhance the rate and the extent of solubilization into aqueous intestinal fluids and the capacity to cross biomembranes. Phospholipids based drug delivery system have been found promising for better and effective delivery of drug and providing much appropriate systematic drug delivery. The phospholipids molecular structure includes a water-soluble head and two fat-soluble tails, because of this dual solubility, the phospholipids acts as an effective emulsifier, which is also one of the chief components of the membranes in our cells. In other words, complexing the polyphenolic phytoconstituents in molar ratio with phosphatidylcholine results into a new herbal drug delivery system- “Phytosome”. Phytosomes are an advanced botanicals technology that offers improved absorption, enhanced delivery and increased bioavailability of herbal extracts. Phytosomes exhibit better pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile than conventional herbal extracts Phytosome technology has been effectively used to enhanced the bioavailability of many...
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Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2011 in |
The blood- brain barrier (BBB) denies many therapeutic agents access to brain tumors and other diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Despite remarkable advances in our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the development of the brain diseases and the actions of neuroactive agents, drug delivery to the brain remains a challenge. For more than 20 years, extensive efforts have been made to enhance delivery of therapeutic molecules across vascular barriers of the CNS. BBB allows a selective entry of nutrients and minerals across it and limits the entry of foreign substances like drugs as well as neuropharmaceutical agents. This makes the CNS treatment ineffective. The conventional drug delivery systems which release drug into general circulation fail to deliver drugs effectively to brain and is therefore not very useful in treating certain diseases that affect CNS including Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, mood disorder, AIDS, viral and bacterial meningitis. The current challenge is to develop drug delivery strategies that will allow the passage of drug molecules through the...
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Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2011 in |
Learning is the process of acquisition of information and skills, while subsequent retention of that information is called memory. Learning and memory together called as cognition. Also, memory is a process involving encoding, storing, and recalling information. Thus, memory records various facts and events, make it available for further use, and hence can be considered as most valuable health asset. To elucidate the biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying learning and memory could be considered as one of the challenging tasks for neuroscientists. Poor memory, lower retention, and slow recall are common problems in today’s stressful and competitive world, especially with associated ageing process. Furthermore, the drugs currently available in market for the treatment of various learning and memory disorders are associated with several side effects indicating need of substitute medication from alternative system of medicine. On the other hand, several medicinal plants, designated as ‘‘Rasayan Drugs’’ in Ayurveda, are supposed to have specific influence on brain functions, and could be effectively used to treat such disorders without the associated...
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Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2011 in |
The mainly deliberate endocrine product of the pineal gland, melatonin, has been reported to be involved in the feedback between neuroendocrine and immune functions and to exert oncostatic action, at least in certain experimental conditions. Melatonin seems to be a vital part of the immune system, by exerting direct and/or indirect stimulatory effects on both cellular and humoral immunity. Likewise, an antitumor activity of melatonin has been shown in several experimental models in vivo and in vitro. The means by which melatonin exerts its effects on immunity and neoplastic growth have not been elucidated. The different putative mechanisms of action of melatonin investigated so far are at this juncture briefly...
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