فهرست مطالب

Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume:8 Issue: 1, Feb 2013

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1391/04/28
  • تعداد عناوین: 9
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  • A. Keshavarz, M. Minaiyan, A. Ghannadi, P. Mahzouni Page 1
    Carum carvi L. (Apiaceae family) or caraway is a common household plant grown around the world including Iran. Caraway fruits are used as flavoring agent in foods and beverages, and have various traditional uses in ethnomedicine. Anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, carminative and immunomodulatory properties of caraway suggest that it might exert beneficial effects on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effects of caraway hydroalcoholic extract (CHE) and its essential oil (CEO) in an immunological model of colitis in rats induced by trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). Different doses of CHE (100, 200, 400 mg/kg) and CEO (100, 200, 400 ml/kg) were administered orally (p.o.) and also doses of CHE (100, 400 mg/kg) and CEO (100, 400 ml/kg) were given intraperitoneally (i.p.) to the separate groups of male Wistar rats (n=6). Administration of the doses started 6 h after induction of colitis and continued daily for 5 consecutive days. Wet colon weight/length ratio was measured and tissue damage scores as well as indices of colitis were evaluated both macroscopically and histopathologically. CHE and CEO at all doses tested were effective in reducing colon tissue lesions and colitis indices and the efficacy was nearly the same when different doses of plant fractions were administered p.o. or i.p. Administration of prednisolone (p.o., 4 mg/kg), Asacol® (mesalazine microgranules, p.o., 100 mg/kg) and hydrocortisone acetate (i.p., 20 mg/kg) as references were effective in reducing colon tissue injures as well. These data suggest that caraway fractions are both effective and possess anti-colitic activity irrespective of the dose and route of administration.
  • S. Aflakiyan, H. Mir Mohammad Sadeghi, M. Shokrgozar, M. Rabbani, S. Bouzari, A. Jahnian, Najafabadi Page 9
    Reteplase is a potent thrombolytic agent which is widely used in the management of acute myocardial infarction and stroke. It belongs to the third generation of the thrombolytic drugs and has been derived from native human tissue plasminogen activator by removing three domains of it and keeping the Kringle 2 and Serine protease domains. However, the high cost of this drug, has limited the application of this drug especially in the developing and third world countries. The most laborious steps in the bacterial production of this drug is its purification and refolding steps which keep the process yield low and the cost high. Therefore, in the present study we evaluated the expression of reteplase by a non-lytic insect cell expression system. Following cloning and transfection procedures, recombinant Sf9 insect cell clones expressing the reteplase protein were selected. Primarily, the expression was verified by dot-blot analysis and subsequently it was confirmed by Western Blotting showing a band of about 45 kD on nitrocellulose membrane. The biological activity of the expressed protein was also evaluated and showed to be about 29 IU/ml. This confirmed the possibility of expression and the correct folding of the expressed protein. Hence, optimization of the expression followed by purification of the protein could be the next steps of the study.
  • H. Sadraei, G. Asghari, S. Emami Page 17
    Flower of Rosa damascena Mill is widely used in Iran for gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. However, its pharmacological action on ileum contraction has not been studied. In this research we have investigated ileum motility effect of essential oil of flower petals of R. damascena growing in Kashan, Iran, and two of its constituents. The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation were investigated by a combination of GC and GC/MS. More than 34 compounds have been identified. The main constituents of the essential oil were β-citronellol (23%), nonadecane (16%), geraniol (16%) and heneicosane (5%). A portion of rat isolated ileum was suspended under 1g tension in Tyrode’s solution at 37°C and gassed with O2. Effect of the R. damascena essential oil (2.5-160 µg/ml), geraniol (0.2-3.2 µg/ml) and citronellol (0.8-6.4 µg/ml) were studied on ileum contractions induced by KCl, acetylcholine (ACh) and electrical field stimulation (EFS) and compared with standard drugs atropine and loperamide. The contractile response of EFS was mediated mainly through the intramural nerve plexuses, because its response was inhibited by loperamide and partially reduced by atropine. The essential oil concentration dependently inhibited the response to KCl (IC50=67 ± 8.4 µg/ml) and EFS (IC50=47 ± 10.6 µg/ml). Geraniol (IC50=1.7 ± 0.15 µg/ml for KCl) and citronellol (IC50=2.9 ± 0.3 µg/ml for KCl) also had inhibitory effect of ileum contraction and both were more potent than the essential oil. It was concluded that R. damascena essential oil mainly had an inhibitory effect on ileum contractions and geraniol and citronellol had a major role in inhibitory effect of the essential.
  • S. Mohammadi, Samani, R. Miri, M. Salmanpour, N. Khalighian, S. Sotoudeh, N. Erfani Page 25
    In this study, Fe3O4 superparamagnetic nanoparticles were synthesized and stabilized by chitosan. Then the nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particle size distribution and Zeta potential of the particles also was assessed using Malvern Zetasizer. The paramagnetic behaviors of the uncoated and chitosan coated nanoparticles were measured using vibrating scanning magnetometry Particles morphology and size ranges of uncoated iron oxide nanoparticles were evaluated by TEM, showing uniform and narrow size distribution about 10 nm. After coating nanoparticles with chitosan and loading of methotrexate (MTX), the change in size was assessed using Zetasizer. Considerable increase in size was observed following the coating of the particles with chitosan and loading with MTX (the average size was 152 nm). Paramagnetic properties of the uncoated and chitosan-coated particles were assessed showing significant decrease in paramagnetic behavior after coating with chitosan, but it was enough to respond to the magnetic field. Finally loading efficiency, release rate and cytotoxicity of MTX were assessed indicating slow release behavior with the same levels of cell toxicity in SK-BR-3 cell lines, suggesting this formulation as a good candidate for the controlled delivery of MTX.
  • S. E Sajjadi_Y. Shokoohinia_P. Mehramiri Page 35
    Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff. is an Iranian endangered endemic edible plant with enormous use in the middle region of Iran as food and spice especially yogurt seasoning, and as medicinal herb as anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular purposes. Although antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hypolipidemic effects of this plant have so far been studied, but chemical analyses of the non volatile constituents of the plant have not yet been reported. Therefore, identification of chemical constituents of different parts of plant was investigated in the present study. In this direction, two steroids including stigmasterol and β-sitosterol and one phthalide namely 3-butyliden-4,5-dihydrophthalide were isolated from the plant fruits. In addition, the essential oil composition of the fruits was studied. Thirty eight compounds were identified, of which the major components were found to be Z-ligustilide (29.2%), germacrene-B (15.9%) and germacrene-D (15.5%). According to the previous bioassays of the isolated compounds such as anti-inflammatory and anti-lipidemic effects of phthalides and steroids, a chemical-biological relation can be postulated.
  • L. Safaeian, A. Jafarian, N. Afshar, Moghaddam, S. Sarahroodi Page 43
    Apoptosis has a critical role in the pathogenesis of bleomycin induced-pulmonary fibrosis. The severity of fibrosis varies among different strains of mice. Recent studies have indicated that expression of apoptotic regulatory genes may be specific in different cell types in various strains. In this study, bleomycin-induced pulmonary apoptosis in NMRI albino mice were compared with C57BL/6 black mice. Pulmonary fibrosis induced by single intratracheal administration of bleomycin (3 U/kg). Control mice were instilled with the same volume of saline. After 2 weeks, fibrotic responses were studied by biochemical measurement of collagen deposition and histological examination of pathological lung changes. Apoptosis was detected and quantitated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Bleomycin significantly (P<0.05) increased lung collagen content and also induced fibrotic histological changes in both strains. Apoptosis was detected in the bronchiolar and alveolar epithelial cells after bleomycin instillation. TUNEL-positive alveolar epithelial cells in bleomycin-treated lungs of C57BL/6 and NMRI mice (19.5% + 2.7 and 17% + 2.0, respectively) were significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of saline-treated lungs (1.5% + 0.5) with no significant difference between two strains of mice (P>0.05). Despite some murine strain variation in the expression of apoptotic regulatory genes in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, the results of the present study revealed no significant differences in alveolar epithelial apoptosis between NMRI (Naval Medical Research Institute, USA) and C57BL/6 black mice. However, these results confirm the role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis and suitability of both strains as experimental models of lung fibrosis.
  • A. Jafarian Dehkordi, M. Alehashem Page 51
    Vegetables are an inevitable and important part of a healthy and balanced diet. They could be contaminated by heavy metals in many ways including irrigation by sewage water and industrial effluents sewage sludge, vehicular emissions, industrial waste and atmospheric deposition. In this study, we sought to determine if some vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, potatoes, onions, carrots, persian leeks, dill, spinach, coriander, parsley) grown locally in the suburban of Isfahan city and sold in the urban markets are contaminated with cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb). Vegetables were sampled from August to October 2010. After washing, they were oven-dried and digested using three-acid mixture (70% HNO3, 65% HClO4 and 70% H2SO4). Analyzes of the heavy metals was performed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. To validate the assay method, intra-day and inter-day variation studies were performed. The concentrations (mg/g) of heavy metals in the samples ranged from 0.00 to 3.66 for Cd, 0.00 to 6.00 for Cr and 0.00 to 7.14 for Pb. The highest concentration of heavy metals was for Pb. The results showed that the amount of Cd, Cr and Pb of some samples exceeded the recommended levels. The amount of Cd in cucumber, tomatoes, potatoes with skin, carrots, and spinach was significantly higher in the samples collected from Isfahanak, Dashti and Ilchi farms than those of Dorche farms. Also, the amount of Cr in onion, carrots, and spinach was significantly higher in samples collected from Isfahanak, Dashti and Ilchi farms than those of Dorche farms. However, the amount of Pb in the carrots and leek was significantly higher in the samples collected from Dorche farms than those of Isfahanak, Dashti and Ilchi farms. It can be concluded from the findings of this study that the amounts of Cd, Cr, and Pb were higher than the acceptable levels recommended by WHO/FAO. Also, higher amount of Cd and Cr in some samples collected from Isfahanak, Dashti and Ilchi farms compared to that of the samples collected from Dorche farms may indicate the influence of contaminants that enter ZayadeRood River as it passes Isfahan.
  • G. Vaseghi, M. Rabbani, V. Hajhashemi Page 59
    Abrupt cessation of morphine leads to withdrawal signs and cognitive deficits. Endocannabinoid system is activated during withdrawal; therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the effects of AM281, cannabinoid antagonist/inverse agonist, on memory deficit following spontaneous morphine withdrawal. Cognition was evaluated by using the object recognition task. The novel object recognition task was tested in a square wooden open-field box using objects. The test was consisting of three sections: 15 min exploration, first trial for 12 min and second one for 5 min. In the second trial the difference in exploration between a previously seen object and a novel one, was considered as an index of memory performance (recognition index - RI). Male mice were made dependent by increasing doses of morphine (30-90 mg/kg) subcutaneously twice daily for 3 days. AM281 (0.62, 1.25 and 2.5 mg/kg) were used in chronic form concurrent with morphine i.p. or acutely (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg) on the last day. RI was evaluated on the third day 4 h after the last dose of morphine. Chronic administration of AM281 at 2.5 mg/kg improved RI to the 22.1 ± 4.8 and single dose of AM281 at 5 mg/kg improved the memory impairment to the 8.5 ± 4, as compared with vehicle-treated which was 4.8 ± 2.5. The results suggested that administration of AM281 at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg in chronic form and 5 mg/kg in acute dose improved memory.
  • M. Mojarrab, A. Delazar, S. Esnaashari, F. Heshmati Afshar Page 65
    The essential oils of the aerial parts of A. armeniaca and A. incana, collected from Arasbaran area (East Azarbaijan province, Iran) were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. In total, 16 and 40 constituents were identified and quantified in the oils of A. armeniaca and A. incana representing 80.5% and 84.6% of the oils, respectively. The essential oil of A. armeniaca was mainly composed of non-terpene hydrocarbons (24.8%). The major components of the oil were α–pinene (10.7%), nonadecane (10.0%), 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (9.4%), spathulenol (7.8%) and Z-verbenol (5.8%). The essential oil of A. incana was dominated by oxygenated monoterpenes (41.6%), with camphor (20.4%), 1,8-cineol (10.3%), Z-verbenol (8.7%), β-thujone (8.3%) and α-thujone (5.6%), as major components. The essential oils were also subjected to general toxicity assay using brine shrimp lethality method. The toxicity profile of both oils indicated some degree of toxicity in comparison with podophyllotoxin.