Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Nov 2009

The most common problems limiting the medical use of aminoglycosides have been the nephro- and oto-toxicities and the increasing bacterial resistance. It has been shown that encapsulation of drugs into liposomes enhances their efficacy while reducing their toxicities. The aim of this study was designated to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of free and liposomal amikacin. Encapsulated amikacin into liposome prepared by sonication. The drug contained in the liposome was measured by HPLC after lysis of vesicles by 0.2% Triton X-100. Release kinetics of amikacin from liposomes in presence of normal human pooled plasma were also evaluated. The MICs of this drug for P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), E. coli (ATCC 25922), S. faecalis (ATCC 29212) and S. aureus (ATCC 29213) were determined and compared to those the respective free drug using a broth dilution method. In the presence of plasma, liposomal retention of amikacin was 80.25 ± 0.55% after 1 h of incubation and then remained nearly constant over period of 24 h period of the study. The encapsulation efficiency of liposomal preparation was 24.36% ± 1.14 of the initial amount of the drug in solution. The MICs of liposomal amikacin against all bacterial strains tested were lower than MICs of free amikacin. Our data suggest that liposome-entrapped amikacin could successfully resolve infections caused by all Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial studied and should be developed for further evaluation in in vivo experimental studies.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinicopathologic condition characterized by significant lipid deposition, despite a proposed role of oxidative stress in its pathogenesis antioxidant treatments have not been investigated sufficiently. During a five-year period a cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with NAFLD referred to the Ahvaz JundiShapour University Hospitals (AJSUH) and Hepatitis Clinic from 2003 to 2006. The study included 142 NAFLD patients attending our center for management of liver disease. Viral hepatitis and other hepatic diseases and patients who had intake of ethanol or drugs known to produce fatty liver disease within the previous 6 months were excluded. Patients were randomized to two groups to receive vitamin E 400 IU per day (71 patients) or Silymarin treatment, Silybum marianum extract containing silymarin 70 mg three times daily (71 patients). Treatment was continued for 12 weeks and cases were evaluated every 4 weeks in the out-patient clinic. 142 subjects (60.95% male, 39.05% mean age 45.2.5±10.3), who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, were included in the analysis. At the end of the 12-week treatment period there was a significant decrease in the serum AST and ALT levels in both treatment groups. The mean serum baseline ALT level was 85 + 10 IU/mL and AST level was 51.9 + 10 IU/mL in study groups.The mean aspartate transaminase (AST) levels changed to normal 56.30% (40 of 71 cases) in the vitamin E group and 74.6% (53 of 71 patients) in the S. marianum group (P=0.01). The decrease in AST level in the S. marianum group as compared to the vitamin E group was significant (P<0.007). No side effects were reported in our cases.S. marianum and vitamin E treatment appears to be significantly effective in biochemical improvement and decreasing the ALT and AST levels in patients with NAFLD.

Adhesive capsulitis is a disabling painful and often prolonged shoulder condition that requires careful clinical diagnosis and management. Patients recover usually, but they may never regain their full range of motion. In order to evaluate the beneficial effects of short-course IV Prednisolone in increasing shoulder range of motion, this comparative study was planned. Two age-sex matched groups of thirty patients suffered from idiopathic adhesive capsulitis for more than four months from the onset were collected. The extreme range of shoulder active motions at external rotation and abduction were measured and the mean values were calculated. Patients’ pain in external rotation was qualified via visual analog scale before and after the two weeks course of the treatment. The first group received oral Diclofenac (100mg/day), Omeprazole 20mg oral for two weeks associated with physiotherapy, but the second group received 500mg IV Prednisolone for three consecutive days at the beginning of the treatment in addition to the schedule for the first group. Data obtained from before and after the treatment showed that mean improvement in shoulders external rotation in the first group was 30.7 degrees, while it was 51.4 degrees for the second group, this difference was significant at p<0.001. Also, the mean value of shoulder abduction improvement for the first group was 34.1 degrees while it was 26.1 degrees for the second group. Patients from both groups reported a significant reduction in pain severity. It can be concluded that adding 500mg IV prednisolone for three consecutive days to the routine treatment may improve shoulder movements at shoulder external rotation and abduction which reduces disability caused by adhesive capsulitis.

It is well known that some herbal medicine play an important role in therapy. The hydro-alcoholic extract of Radish seed was obtained by maceration technique. Animals were weighed and divided in eight groups (each group consists of seven mice). The control groups received normal saline and olive oil for four consecutive days. The positive control group received normal saline in days first and 4th and CCL4 (0.2ml/kg) in days 2nd and 3rd. The test groups received oral crude extracts in doses of (100, 200, 400, 600, 800 mg/kg) on day first and day fourth. Then on day second and 3rd they received oral CCL4 one hour before crude extract administration. On day fifth all groups were weighed and then administered intrapretoneal (ip) with hexobarbital sodium (0.25mg/kg) to determine the sleeping time. Blood samples was withdrawn and serum was prepared for AST and ALT activities. Liver was removed and kept in 10% formalin solution for histopathological studies. Results of histopathological findings showed that groups received (600 and 800 mg/kg) were significant (reduction in liver damage) as compared with positive control group. Also, results of serum enzyme activities were analyzed by one-way ANOVA method indicated that these two groups (600 and 800 mg/kg) were also significant as compared with CCL4 group (p<0.01). In conclusion according to results obtained from crude extract of Radish seed in dose of (600 and 800 mg/kg) may be good enough to protect liver damage induced by CCL4.

Throughout the world, there has been an increasing incidence of fungal infections, and because of drug resistance and toxicity associated with long-term treatment with antifungal drugs, search for new drugs to treat fungal infections is ongoing. The aim of the present study was to formulate herbal antifungal cream containing hydro-alcoholic extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis as an anti-dermatophytic preparation and evaluate its physicochemical properties and stability. Firstly, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of hydro-alcoholic extract of leaves of E. camaldulensis was determined against various dermatophyte species by in vitro tube dilution technique. To select the best cream formulation, one general formula of cleansing cream was considered and then corrected. The best base formula was chosen according to its monotonousness, straightness and external attractiveness. The formulation containing 1% of the plant extract was prepared and controlled by standard methods. Finally, a cream containing bees wax 10%, liquid paraffin 58.8%, hard paraffin 1.2%, spermaceti 5%, borax 1.5%, tween 80 1.5%, 0.15% methyl paraben, 0.05% propyl paraben, 0.15% lactic acid, 1% Eucalyptus extract and water was chosen as the best formulation. The final product was a w/o emulsion cream with suitable appearance and desirable physicochemical stability. Due to the stability of the extract in the cream formulation, it can be formulated for treatment of fungal skin infections.

lid retraction is the most common presenting sign of thyroid Ophthalmology, which can cause several ophthalmologic problems such as dry eye, redness, lacrimation, exposure keratitis, and corneal ulcer or blindness. In this study, we evaluated disport injection via sub-conjunctival for management of lid retraction. This study is a prospective, non comparative, interventional case series. The study enrolled 25 patients (38 lids) with lid retraction secondary to thyroid Ophthalmopathy. The disport was injected in sub-conjunctival space at the superior margin of the tarsal plate. One –third of the total dose (10 unite) was administrated in three points of the lid and if eyelid retraction recurs another dose of disport was injected. Patient followed up for 12 months. In this study 8 patients (10 lids) showed improvement with single injection for 12 months or more. Other cases need more than one injection. There was negative correlation between age and satisfactory outcome. So that young patients had the best response, but with increasing age, especially above 50 years, amount and duration of response have decreased. Furthermore, other factors such as sex, duration of the systemic thyroid disease and proptosis lid have no influences on drug effectiveness. Our study shows sub-conjunctival injection of disport provides an effective and safe treatment for eyelid retraction due to thyroid Ophthalmopathy.