Trends in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume:8 Issue: 4, Dec 2022

Liver injury is a severe clinical complication associated with various diseases or xenobiotics exposure. Hence, finding safe and clinically applicable hepatoprotective agents have great value. Several naturally-derived chemicals have gotten attention for their biological functions. Polysaccharides are bioactive and safe chemicals produced by a variety of microorganisms. Several exciting features, including radical scavenging and antioxidative properties, have been attributed to polysaccharides. Recently we found that the exopolysaccharide derived from Pentoea sp. BCCS 001 GH (Pentoan exopolysaccharide; PEPS) revealed significant antioxidant and radical scavenging properties in an in vitro model. Hence, the current study was designed to evaluate the in vivo hepatoprotective effects of PEPS. Bile duct ligated (BDL) rats received PEPS (0.05 and 0.1% w: v in drinking water), and serum biomarkers of liver injury, liver tissue histopathological alterations, and hepatic markers of oxidative stress were monitored. Severely elevated serum biomarkers of liver injury and histopathological changes, including inflammatory cell infiltration, necrosis, bile duct proliferation, and tissue fibrosis, were evident in BDL animals. Moreover, a significant amount of reactive oxygen species, increased level of lipid peroxidation, and defects in tissue antioxidant capacity were apparent in BDL rats. It was found that PEPS significantly improved liver function, blunted hepatic pathological changes, and counteracted oxidative stress in the liver tissue. The radical scavenging and antioxidant properties of PEPS seem to play a fundamental role in its hepatoprotective properties.

To overcome developing drug resistance in cancer treatment, combination therapy could be an attractive strategy. It has been shown that doxorubicin anti-cancer properties are improved by P-glycoprotein inhibitors such as verapamil. Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) of poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) can simultaneously deliver verapamil and doxorubicin and provide an effective anti-cancer drug delivery system. The present study aimed to develop an efficient high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of doxorubicin and verapamil encapsulated in PLGA nanoparticles (NPs). Quantification of doxorubicin and verapamil was performed by the HPLC method. The method was developed by evaluating combination of different solvents ratios as mobile phase and modification of the mobile phase rate. A series of doxorubicin and verapamil solutions at concentrations of "6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 μg/ml" and "0.625, 1.25, 2.5 and 5 μg/ml" were prepared, respectively. The method was validated by calculating selectivity, linearity, accuracy, intra- and inter-day precision. The validated method was used to characterize prepared doxorubicin-verapamil PLGA NPs by determination of drug loading, encapsulation efficiency% and in vitro release. Results indicated that analysis method was selective with notable separation efficiency and acceptable limit of detection and limit of quantification which shows the sensitivity of the method. The linear standard curve with suitable accuracy and precision confirms the validation of method for simultaneous analysis of doxorubicin and verapamil in NPs.

The roots of Traditional Iranian Medicine (TIM) go back to thousand years ago. Based on TIM, black bile, one of the four humors within the body, is the concentrated part of the blood representing a cold and dry quality. Black bile tends to deposit in tissues, leading to diseases such as spasm, which is a painful paralysis-like immobility condition. One of its possible causes is muscle dehydration, resembling the dryness caused by dominance of black bile. In TIM, several medicinal plants are claimed to be effective in the regulation of black bile; among them, the presence of the Lamiceae family is very notable. In this review, the relationship between spasm as one of the symptoms of increasing black bile in the body was discussed. Also, the compounds reported in the black-bile eliminating plants have been found in the literature. The majority of them were from monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes such as citral, carvacrol, fenchone and pulegone in the essential oil of black bile reducing plants. The main compounds properties of black bile reducing plants can be used to orient quantitative system pharmacology models in further studies.

High drug-loaded actives such as paracetamol allow little alteration in bulk size, relying more on processing techniques in formulating its dosages. The aim of this study is to evaluate tableting properties of co-processed paracetamol, gelatin and microcrystalline cellulose. Batches of co-processed paracetamol granules (A-E) were prepared by melt-in agglomeration process using paracetamol with varying amounts of gelatin (1.0, 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0 % w/w) or starch (3.0 % w/w) and microcrystalline cellulose. A control batch (F) of conventional granules was prepared by wet granulation method with starch mucilage (4.0 % w/w). The granules were subjected to micromeritic, compaction and differential scanning calorimetric analyses. The granules were compressed into tablets and their tablet properties evaluated. Granules of batches A-D had higher percent maximum volume reduction of 12.25 - 16.13 % compared to the percent maximum volume-reduction (9.52 and 11.81) of granules from batches E and F respectively. Differential scanning result indicates amorphous solidification of co-processed paracetamol. Tablets formulated from batches A-D showed improve tensile strength (3.63 - 8.26 Nm-2) and faster disintegration time (1.32- 1.12 min) compared to the tensile strengths (5.09 & 5.01 Nm-2) and disintegration times (2.54 & 4.43 min) of tablets from batches E and F respectively. There were no significant difference (p ≥ 0.05) in maximum amounts (> 70 %) of paracetamol released after 40 min. Unlike reported increase in disintegration times of paracetamol tablets processed with gelatin-slurry, melt-in agglomeration of paracetamol, gelatin and microcrystalline cellulose improved granules tabletability parameters, tablets disintegration time and dissolution properties.

Stroke-related atrial fibrillation (AF), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) are among the most common thromboembolic events. recently, direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been slowly replacing warfarin. Rivaroxaban is a DOAC frequently prescribes to control thrombotic events. The safety and efficacy of Rivaroxaban are dependent on appropriate prescription, dosage, and other factors. This study is aimed to evaluate the Rivaroxaban utilization based on the standard protocol in both inpatient and outpatient settings. This cross-sectional/observational study was conducted for six months from 1st August 2018 to 1st February 2019 at a private hospital and also an outpatient clinic in Shiraz, Iran. First, a clinical pharmacist defined a standard protocol for Rivaroxaban utilization and several indexes (9 indexes for Non-valvular AF (NVAF) patients and 10 indexes for DVT/PE patients). Second, participants were classified into three groups (NVAF inpatients, NVAF outpatients, and DVT/PE patients). Finally, the adherence of Rivaroxaban utilization indexes in each group to was evaluated accordingly. Two hundred and forty one eligible patients were recruited into this study. Most patients (N=208), were NVAF. Rivaroxaban utilization was appropriate in 71.9%, 65.8%, and 50.6% of patients within groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Although medication interaction, administration regarding time/meal, and dose adjustment based on renal function showed the lowest compliance, the monitoring laboratory data and considering the underlying disorders were completely matched with the protocol. This study showed some critical errors in both settings, especially in DVT/PE patients (49.4% no match). Hence, the most productive collaboration must be developed between clinical pharmacists and clinical practitioners.

Cinnamaldehyde is the prevalent bioactive part of cinnamon essential oil which is liable for its regular scent and can be gotten from the bark, leaves, and twigs of various Cinnamomum species. Cinnamaldehyde is known to be generally considered non-toxic due to its high tolerance in animals and humans. Various extraction methods have been used for extracting cinnamaldehyde and different phytochemicals from plants. The methods generally adopted for cinnamaldehyde extraction are hydro distillation, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted hydro distillation, and water steam extraction. Cinnamaldehyde has been documented to have different useful properties against disease conditions as a result of oxidative stress, inflammation, loss of neurons, hyperglycemia, and malignant growth. Likewise, cinnamaldehyde has been recorded to possess strong antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogenic and food waste microorganisms. The mechanism through which cinnamaldehyde exerts these effects have been associated with the prevention of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species generation, free radical scavenging activity, inhibiting inflammatory cytokines, and disruption of the cell membrane of microorganisms. This article gives a thorough report of the sources, extraction techniques, validated therapeutic potentials and mechanisms of cinnamaldehyde. It likewise features other applications of cinnamaldehyde in agriculture, food, and other industries.

Kidney stone as a third important disease of the urinary tract is a common disease affecting 10-15% of the world population. Effective medical treatment for the disease is not yet well established. On the other hand, there is an increasing global demand to manage and control various diseases with natural medicine and medicaments originating from Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) is one of the most popular schools in the field of complementary and alternative medicine. There are numerous natural and clinical interventions for kidney stones, reported in TPM medical and pharmaceutical manuscripts. This review provides various related compound formulations for kidney stones from the standpoints of Persian scholars. These remedies have been cited in a series of traditional pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persian medicine, namely Qarābādin or prescription. With a view to the positive pharmacological or biological activities of the constituents of filtered formulations, many of those can be re-formulated and either experimentally or clinically evaluated to be introduced as new natural remedies in this field.

Cytotoxic and hazardous drugs, which mainly include chemotherapeutic agents,(1) have serious well-known side effects. Where we deliberately use these medicines to save the patient's life, these side effects are acceptable. But now we know that the treatment staff who are occupationally exposed to chemotherapeutic agents are at risk of contamination, which can be avoided. There are several reports on the occurrence of acute complications due to contamination with cytotoxic drugs among the personnel of oncology departments. The safety situation of oncology hospitals and clinics is worrying and should be addressed urgently and the health of the personnel should be prioritized. However, it seems that the main problem is not lack of equipment nor financial resources, but lack of attention and understanding the importance of safety. Paying attention to the safety issue not only reduces future financial costs, but can also prevent human disasters. In order to reduce the exposure risk and make the workplace safer for personnel, a combination of measures and controls must be taken.