Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume:21 Issue: 1, Jun 2015

5-(Hydroxymethyl) furfural (5HMF) is a compound that is formed by during thermal processing or heat sterilization of glucose, fructose and sucrose solution formulations, dialysis fluids and medical syrups. Examinations show that the storage quality dramatically reduces owing to the formation of toxic compound 5-HMF. 5HMF is considered as an irritating substance and is irritating to eyes, upper respiratory tract, skin and mucous membranes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of pH and storage temperature on 5-HMF production in USP syrup. The USP syrups prepared with mixing method without heating at pH 3,4,5,6 and 8 and stored in oven at 50, 60, 70oC. The sampling has been done in several days and the amounts of 5HMF have been immediately determined by simple difference spectrophotometric method. The results elucidated that low pH for preparing USP syrups leads to invert sucrose to sugars and increasing the rate of fructose dehydration, therefore an increase in 5HMF formation observed. Eventually, the high pH of syrup preparation delays the formation of 5HMF in different storage temperatures. Although, temperature influences on 5HMF formation, but the role of pH is more remarkable. The obtained results of this research indicated that optimal temperature and pH selection in preparation and storage of syrup cause increasing stability and reducing 5HMF formation.

Essential oils usually exhibit different characteristics such as antimicrobial and flavoring effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate chemical composition and in vitro antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Ferulago angulata (Schlecht.) Boiss aerial parts against bacterial food-borne pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7). The chemical composition of the essential oil was analysed by gas chromatograph coupled with mass spectrometer detector (GC-MS). The antibacterial activity of the essential oil was assessed using broth micro-dilution and agar disk diffusion methods. According to results of GC-MS analysis, 33 constituents were identified. The dominant components were α-pinene (28.43%), (Z)-beta-ocimene (20.12%), bornyl acetate (7.92%), ɣ-terpinene (5.72%), germacrene D (5.63%), myrcene (4.67%) and p-cymene (2.17%). The results obtained in this study showed that L. monocytogenes and B. cereus had the most sensitivity to the essential oil (MIC and MBC= 40µg/mL; Inhibition zone: 9mm). Our results indicated that F. angulata essential oil might be a potential rich source of compounds with antibacterial properties against food-borne bacteria.

Phlomis olivieri Benth. and Phlomis persica Boiss. (Lamiaceae) are two medicinal species endemic to Iran. In the present study, we investigated the chemical compositions and general toxicity potentials of the essential oils obtained from the aerial parts of these two Phlomis species. The essential oils of the plants were extracted using hydrodistillation method. CG and CG-MS were applied to analyze the chemical constituents of the essential oils and brine shrimp lethality test (BSLT) was used for the evaluation of general toxicity effects of the essential oils. A total of 46 compounds were identified in the plants essential oils, among them β-caryophyllene (25.7%) and germacrene D (19.5) in P. olivieri and germacrene D (17.2%) and γ-elemene (15.4%) in P. persica were the main compounds. The essential oils of P. olivieri and P. persica exhibited a moderate toxicity activity (LD50: 24.2 ± 0.5 and 41.6 ± 0.8 μg/ml, respectively) in brine shrimp lethality test compared to podophyllotoxin (LD50: 2.8 ± 0.3 μg/ml). The results of present study report essential oils of P. olivieri and P. persica as two sesquiterpene rich oils with the moderate toxic activity. The chemical constituents of the analyzed essential oils were also found to be different from those reported from other regions of Iran, which may be due to the existence of possible different chemotypes between the populations of these two species.

Although ferns possess great potential because of some interesting medicinal properties, the phytochemical potential of ferns is relatively unexplored. Due to the lack of scientific evidence to support the traditional use of fern species in Iran, the present work focuses on evaluating the phenolic content, cytotoxicity and antioxidant properties of these plants. Toxicity of extracts was assessed by the brine shrimp test. Screening of antioxidant capacity of the rhizome and aerial parts of eight fern species was carried out using DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assays. The total phenol content (TPC) of the methanol extracts were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Compared to podophyllotoxin (with LC50 of 30 µg/ml), Athyrium filix-femina and Pteris cretica demonstrated a significant cytotoxic activity (with LC50 of 6.1 and 15.5 µg/ml, respectively). The methanol extract of Polystichum aculeatum was found to have significant antioxidant properties with IC50 value of 0.45 ± 0.02 µg/ml. Athyrium filix-femina exhibited the strongest ABTS radical scavenging activity (29.85 ± 1.39 µmol Trolox/g plant). Rhizome parts generally had higher DPPH scavenging capacity and showed better ABTS scavenging activity than aerial parts. Results showed that these ferns could be used for discovery of new and biologically active natural compounds.

Drug Utilization Evaluation (DUE) studies are designed to evaluate drug usage appropriateness. In this study we evaluated the relevant use of vancomycin in a teaching hospital in Iran. The results of this study may be of help for clinicians to improve the patient care. The use of vancomycin was evaluated in a cross-sectional and prospective study from October 2011 until June 2012. Vancomycin administration was assessed according to CDC and ASHP guidelines. Predesigned data collection was implemented in this study. Information collected from medical records, patient’s history, medical orders, nursing reports and the experimental results available in the patient’s records. During the study period, 75 cases were been evaluated from all of the hospital wards. The median age of patients was 46.65±20.04 years (mean ± SD). The median time of vancomycin use in the study population was 9.35±5.70 days. most of the patients received vancomycin, had been hospitalized for trauma problems. In this study 30.7% of cases received vancomycin appropriately and in accordance to standard guidelines. Based on the results of our study, a substantial percentage of the patients (69.3%), received vancomycin inappropriately. It is essential to promote practical guidelines about utilizing culture and sensitivity testing when considering the use of important and broad spectrum antibiotics. Also educational programs for health care professionals regarding rational use of antibiotics can be helpful in improving antimicrobial medications utilization and monitoring.

Scientometric data is used in evaluating research activities and the publications indexed in known databases are one of the most frequently used tools in scientometric investigations. The number of publications from Tabriz, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and its affiliated research centers during last two decades was investigated using the gathered data from Scopus® and the findings were discussed in comparison to the number of publications from Iran. Sharp increased pattern was observed for the publications of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences which is in agreement with the increased pattern of national publications. The increased rate of publication number in national level was obtained for Tabriz affiliation and an increase in relative contribution of Tabriz among national publications was observed from year 2005.

Progressive incidence of cervical cancer persuaded the scientists to find the most effective and appropriate treatment approaches such as herbal medicine. Hence, it was aimed in this study to evaluate antitumoral effects of Purtulaca oleracea (P. oleracea) aqueous extract on HeLa cell line. Materials: HeLa cell line was cultured and submitted to different concentrations of P. oleracea extract for 24 and 48 hours. Cell proliferation and viability were conducted by MTT assay and trypan blue staining respectively. our results showed that cell proliferation was decreased significantly along with increase in P. oleracea extract concentrations as well as time lapse (p < 0.05). Also, the same result was obtained for cell viability. it is suggested that P. oleracea aqueous extract has antiprolifrative effects on HeLa cell line depending on concentration and time. Though, it appears that this extract decreased the growth of HeLa cells but its cytotoxicity on non-tumoral cells must be considered. Also, it is necessary to know which mechanisms cause its antiprolifrative properties.

Phenolic compounds act as receiver of the free radicals and antioxidant activity of the extracts has high correlation with these compounds amount. Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) presently is an interesting technique for recovering the valuable compounds from the vegetal materials. The aim of this research was optimization of the extraction condition of UAE using response surface methodology (RSM). Effects of extraction time and ultrasound intensity on the total phenolic contents (TPC), antioxidant properties, as well as ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of Beta vulgaris extract were investigated. The results showed that 92.68% of intensity and 15.85 min were the optimum extraction condition for highest TPC extraction. The amount of TPC, EC50 and FRAP in extract of Beta vulgaris in optimum conditions of UAE were equal to 0.916 mg gallic acid/g of extract, 0.937 mg/mL and 1.20 mmol/mL, respectively. Therefore, results showed that ultrasound intencity has a positive effect on the extraction efficiency of phenolic compounds and ferric reducing antioxidant power, but has a negative effect on the free radical scavenging ability. It can be concluded that the extraction efficacy of Beta vulgaris extract could be enhanced significantly by optimization of the extraction process by means of RSM.