Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume:9 Issue: 3, Summer 2013

In this study, freshwater fish Cyprinus carpio was exposed to sub lethal concentration of synthetic pyrethroids insecticide cypermethrin to evaluate the impact on nucleic acids in different organs. Fishes were exposed to sub lethal concentration (1/10th of LC50 value) of cypermethrin for three different durations, 7, 14 and 21 days. In seven day exposed fishes, DNA and RNA contents were not altered by cypermethrin. Whereas in 14 day and 21 day exposed fishes the DNA and RNA content decreased significantly in brain, gills and liver. However, the decrease was more in 21 day exposed fishes. The reduction in the DNA and RNA content in cypermethrin exposed fishes is comparatively less in liver when compared to the brain and gills. Cypermethrin treatment diminished RNA/DNA ratio in all the fish organs tested. In all the three organs studied, the influence of cypermethrin was found to be exposure time dependent.

Diphenhydramine, as an antihistamine drug is widely used for the treatment of allergies. However, being classified as an over the counter medication and the general belief on the low adverse effect profile of this drug has made it widely accessible to the families. Recent reports of diphenhydramine intoxication and mortality, noticeably in children and infants have raised some serious concerns. In the present study, 241 mothers who referred to four different regional locations of mother and child health care service centers were asked to fill up a questionnaire on diphenhydramine. The results of our study showed that besides the lack of adequate information on the indications and safety of the drug, 97% of the mothers used this medication for different illness conditions of the children, with more than 20% misindications on respiratory infections, fever and pain conditions. More than 40% of mothers did not have specific idea about the age related restrictions of the medication and 81% had no information on the proper dose indication. Furthermore 86% of mothers had no information about its adverse effects and the rest of them knew only about drug induced drowsiness. The results of this study show that diphenhydramine usage should be more closely observed, the pharmacists should make consult families before providing them with diphenhydramine, the pharmaceutical companies should be obliged to provide a drug information sheet in the packaging, and the public media and various health care providers should also feel responsibility to forewarn mothers about the results of self-prescribed medication.

Chemometric techniques in spectral analysis have gained importance in the quality control of  the drugs mixtures and pharmaceutical formulations containing two or more drugs with overlapping spectra. Since theophylline and etophylline have common chromophore, they cannot be analyzed simultaneously using conventional UV methods. Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of etophylline and theophylline was performed by partial least-squares (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR) methods. The absorbance values in the UV-Vis spectra were measured for the 71 wavelength points (from 230-300) in the spectral region 200-400 nm considering the intervals of 1 nm. The accuracy and the precision of the methods were determined and validated by analyzing synthetic mixtures of the drugs. The numerical calculations were performed with the ‘Unscrambler 10.3 X software. The calibration ranges were found to be 6-30 µg/ml for etophylline and 2-10 µg/ml for theophylline. The chemometrics analysis methods were satisfactorily applied to the simultaneous determination of etophylline and theophylline in the tablet dosage form.

Ovarian cancer is one of the major causes of death in women. Parabens are a class of chemicals widely used as preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, they mimic estrogens, which are known to play a role in the development of different cancers in women. The Aim of this study was to investigate the proliferative effects of Methyl Paraben (MP) and Propyl Paraben (PP) on human ovarian adenocarcinoma C13 cell line.C13 cell line grown in phenol red-free RPMI 1640, supplemented with 10% NCS, were exposed to either 0-100 µM of estradiol (E)or tamoxifen (T). After 5 days, the number of live cells in each well (12 well plate) was counted using trypan blue assay to obtain the EC50 or LC50 of E and T using the regression fitness analysis on GraphPad Prism© software. The acquired EC50 for E was used for MP and PP exposure, alone or in a co-treatment with LC50 of T to investigate their effects on C13 growth curve.LC50 and EC50 of T and E were 3.125 µg/ml and 12.5 µg/ml, respectively. In a co-administration of these two, T showed to be a good cell growth inhibitor for the first 9 days, when the proliferative effect of estrogenic compounds lead to cell mitosis. Parabens showed estradiol pattern boost in cell growth for the first 8 days, but had more sustained and powerful proliferative effect compared to estradiol with a 300% increase in cell number on day 10. In co-administration with T, MP and E reversed T inhibitory effects from the beginning with MP boosting cell proliferation up to 500% on day 10.Both MP and PP showed delayed proliferative effects much stronger than E on C13 cells. MP was the most potent growth stimulating paraben on C13 cells with a rank order of MP>PP>E. It is concluded that parabens are much toxic in human than thought before, but with a delayed toxicity pattern. More investigation on chronic uses of paraben containing products is required for the safety measurement of these compounds.

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) has a vital role in controlling nutritional deficiencies especially in patients with critical conditions who are confined to bed in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Complete evaluation of the nutritional status of these patients is necessary to achieve their nutritional goal. The aim of this investigation was to study the Complete Blood Count (CBC), coagulation parameters, renal function and electrolyte status of patients hospitalized in ICU of a teaching hospital in Iran. A retrospective study was designed in which adult patients hospitalized in the ICU of Ayatollah Taleghani general hospital in Tehran, Iran, during March 2006 to September 2008, were enrolled in the study. The medical records of 203 patients admitted in the ICU were reviewed. 22 (10.8%) patients had received TPN. Hospitalization days were 12±8 (mean±SD) and the days of TPN were 8±6 ( mean±SD). CBC results, coagulation parameters, renal function tests, electrolyte status, mortality rate and duration of hospitalization of patients were extracted from their hospital records. Data relevant to baseline (before starting TPN), 1st, 2nd and the last day of TPN was analyzed/compared by Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS, version 19.0). CBC and coagulation status did not significantly change during TPN. Serum sodium did not also change significantly during TPN, however serum potassium in the last day (4.71±1.44 mg/dl) was higher than the 1st day (3.77±1.04 mg/dl), (P=0.02), and 2nd day (3.84±0.81 mg/dl), (P=0.04), of TPN. Not surprisingly, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) in the last day (58.00±35.90 mg/dl) was more than the baseline (32.27±22.59 mg/dl), the 1st day (34.50±21.40 mg/dl) (p<0.01) and the 2nd day after starting TPN (36.55±19.80 mg/dl), (P=0.04).Our results showed that TPN in ICU patients can be associated with changes in potassium and BUN levels. However, further studies with higher sample size are required leading to more comprehensive Conclusion.

Root ofPlumbago indica Linn is used in ayurveda and siddha medicine for the treatment of colic inflammations bronchitis, helminthiasis, hemorrhoids, elephantiasis, hepatosplenomegaly, amenorrhea, odontalgia, piles, and diabetes. The present study aims to investigate the anatomical characters of thin and thick root and to confirm the physicochemical characters of the root. Anatomical studies and physiochemical evaluation of root were performed based on the customary protocols mentioned in WHO guidelines and Indian ayurvedic pharmacopoeia. Anatomical studies of root tissues were done as photographs with different magnifications by using Nikon lab photo 2 microscopic Unit. The elemental analysis was done by using perkin elmer 5000 atomic absorption spectrophotometer. We compared the anatomy of thin root to thick root; the periderm of the thin root was 70-80 µm thick, whereas in thick root the periderm was measured about 100 µm thick. In powder microscopy, two kinds of fibers were found; Wide fibers were 300-500 µm long and 30 µm wide, Narrow fibers were 340 µm long and 15 µm wide. Vessel elements are estimated about 140 µm long.  Physio-chemical parameters such as total and acid-insoluble ash (8.33% w/w, 1.55% w/w, respectively), extractive values (aqueous 11.21% w/w and alcoholic 5.30% w/w) were performed. The study provides the quantitative data that was given assurance to identify and differentiate this species correctly for the purpose of traditional medicinal use.

Cigarette smoking is one of the main risk factors for premature human death associated to a variety of respiratory and vascular diseases, and cancer due to containing Hundreds of toxicants. Rat mitochondria were obtained by differential ultracentrifugation and incubated with different concentrations (1, 10 and 100%) of standardized cigarette smoke extract (CSE). Our results showed that cigarette smoke extract (CSE) induced a rise in mitochondrial ROS formation and mitochondrial membrane potential decrease before   mitochondrial swelling ensued in isolated eye and kidney mitochondria.  Disturbance in oxidative phosphorylation was also confirmed by decrease in ATP concentration in the CSE treated mitochondria. In addition, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and mitochondrial swelling caused release of cytochrome c via outer membrane rupture or MPTpore opening. Our results suggested that cigarette smoke induced toxicity in both external directly exposed and visceral tissues is the result of disruptive effect on mitochondrial respiratory chain that leads to ROS formation, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial membrane potential decline and cytochrome c expulsion which starts apoptosis signaling and cell loss.

Helicobacter pylori infection is one of the most common human infections which have been associated with many upper gasterointestinal complications. Different treatment regimens for Helicobacter pylori eradication have been used. One of these regimes is the quadruple therapy regimen which metronidazole is one of the medications. In recent years several reports on H. pylori resistance to this antibiotic has been presented. This study was performed to compare the effects of garlic and peppermint extract combination with metronidazole in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. In this randomized double blind clinical trial, 142 patients who were eligible for inclusion in study after completing the questionnaire and consent form were randomly divided into two groups, receiving garlic and peppermint extract or metronidazole. Moreover, for both groups the drugs; amoxicillin, omeprazole and bismuth were also administrated. Two weeks after drug administration completion, urease breath test (UBT) was performed and based on the obtained data, the recovery rate in the two groups were compare using SPSS 16 software T-test and Ki squire. The patients mean age was 43.89± 13.37 years. Evaluating the age and sex factors, we found no significant difference between two groups. Results suggest that although the combination of amoxicillin, omeprazole, bismuth plus garlic and peppermint was not successful in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori such as the quadruple therapy, but less than half of cases lead to eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection.