Nausea and vomiting remain among the most feared side effects of chemotherapy for cancer patients. Significant progress has been made in the last 15 years in developing more effective and better-tolerated measures to minimize chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). During the 1990s, the selective 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor antagonists were first introduced for the treatment of CINV, and resulted in more effective and better tolerated treatment of CINV. Despite recent progress, however, a significant number of patients still develop CINV, particularly during the 2-5-day period (delayed emesis) following chemotherapy. There is evidence that this may be an underappreciated problem on the part of some caregivers. Recently, two new antiemetics, aprepitant, the first member of the neurokinin-1 antagonists, and palonosetron, a second-generation 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor antagonist, received regulatory approval in the U.S. Both represent useful additions to the therapeutic armamentarium for the management of CINV.

Glycyrrhizic acid has been used in Indian traditional medicine for ages. It is obtained from the root extract of Glycyrrhizaglabra. There is seasonal variation of Glycyrrhizic acid content in the roots of the plant. So a proper method for quantification of the same is necessary from the polyherbal preparation available in the market. A simple, rapid, sensitive and specific reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method have been developed for the quantitative estimation of glycyrrhizic acid from polyherbal preparation containing aqueous root extract of Glycyrrhizaglabra using a photodiode array detector. The identity confirmation was carried out using mass spectrometry. Baseline resolution of the glycyrrhizic acid peak was achieved on a reverse phase C18 column (125 mm × 4.0 mm, 5 μ) using an isocratic mobile phase consisting of 5.3 mM phosphate buffer and acetonitrile in the ratio 65:35 v/v. Chromatograms were monitored at 252 nm.5.3 mM phosphate buffer was replaced with 0.5mM ammonium acetate buffer in the mobile phase when MS detector was used. The method was found to be linear in the concentration range of 12.4 to124 μg/ml with a correlation co-efficient of 0.999. The limit of detection and the limit of quantitation were 3.08 μg/ml and 10.27 μg/ml respectively. The average recovery from three spike levels was 99.93 ± 0.26%. Identity confirmation of the chromatographic peak was achieved by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and similar molecular ion peak was obtained for both sample and standard. The developed method is suitable for the routine analysis, stability testing and assay of glycyrrhizic acid from polyherbal preparations containing aqueous extracts of Glycyrrhizaglabra.

Transdermal drug delivery has attracted much attention as an alternative to intravenous and oral methods of delivery. But the main barrier is stratum corneum. Terpenes classes of chemical enhancers are used in transdermal formulations for facilitating penetration of drugs. The aim of the study is to evaluate terpenes as skin penetration enhancers and correlate its relationship with permeation and lipophilicity. In this study, alfuzosin hydrochloride (AH) hydrogels were prepared with terpenes using Taguchi orthogonal array experimental design. The formulations contained one of eight terpenes, based on their lipophilicity (log P 2.13-5.36). The percutaneous permeation was studied in rat skin using diffusion cell technique. Flux, cumulative amount, lag time and skin content of AH were measured over 24 hours and compared with control gels. Nerolidol with highest lipophilicity (log P 5.36 ± 0.38) showed highest cumulative amount (Q24) of 647.29 ± 18.76 μg/cm2 and fluxrateof 28.16 ± 0.64 μg/cm2/hour. It showed decreased lag time of 0.76 ± 0.15 hours. Fenchone (2.5%) (log P 2.13 ± 0.30) produced the longest lag time 4.8 ± 0.20 hours. The rank order of enhancement effect was shown as nerolidol > farnesol > limonene > linalool > geraniol > carvone > fenchone > menthol. Lowest skin content was seen with carvone. Increase in lipophilicity of terpenes showed increase in flux, cumulative amount (Q24), and enhancement ratio which was significant with P < 0.000. But lag time was decreased and no correlation was found between lipophilicity and skin content. Histological studies showed changes in dermis which can be attributed to disruption of lipid packing of stratum corneum due to effect of nerolidol within lipid lamellae. It was found that small alcoholic terpenes with high degree of unsaturation enhance permeation of hydrophilic drugs, liquid terpenes enhance better than solid terpenes and terpenes with high lipophilicity are good penetration enhancers.

Aconitum heterophyllum is an endangered Himalayan plant included in “lekhaneyagana,” a pharmacological classification mentioned by Charaka in “Charakasamhita” which means reduce excess fat. The subterranean part of the plant is used for the treatment of diseases like nervous system disorders, fever, diarrhea, obesity, etc. In the present study, we are reporting the hypolipidemic effect of methanol fraction of A. heterophyllum. The methanol extract of A. heterophyllum was orally administered in diet-induced obese rats. After four weeks treatment, blood samples were collected for the estimation of serum lipids and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT). Liver was collected for the assay of HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR). The fecal samples were also collected to estimate the fecal fat content. The A. heterophyllum treatment markedly lowered total cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoprotein B concentrations in blood serum. It also showed positive effects (increase) on serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and apolipoprotein A1 concentrations. On the other hand, A. heterophyllum treatment lowered HMGR activity, which helps to reduce endogenous cholesterol synthesis and also activated LCAT, helping increase in HDL-c. An increase in fecal fat content is also an indication of the hypolipidemic effect of A. heterophyllum. The significant hypolipidemic effect of A. heterophyllum may be linked to its ability to inhibit HMGR activity and block intestinal fat absorption. The increase in HDL-c may be linked to its ability to activate LCAT enzyme.

The present work aims towards the design and development of extended release formulation of freely water-soluble drug diltiazem hydrochloride (DLTZ) based on osmotic technology by using controlled porosity approach. DLTZ is an ideal candidate for a zero-order drug delivery system because it is freely water-soluble and has a short half-life (2-3 h). Sodium chloride (Osmogen) was added to the core tablet to alter the solubility of DLTZ in an aqueous medium. Cellulose acetate (CA) and sorbitol were used as semipermeable membrane and pore former, respectively. The effect of different formulation variables namely concentration of osmogen in the core tablet, % pore former, % weight gain, pH of the dissolution medium and agitation intensity on the in vitro release was studied. DLTZ release was directly proportional to % pore former and inversely proportional to % weight gain. The optimized formulation (F8) delivered DLTZ independent of pH and agitation intensity for 12 h at the upper level concentration of % pore former (25% w/w) and middle level concentration of % weight gain (6% w/w). The comparative study of elementary osmotic pump (EOP) and controlled porosity osmotic pump revealed that it superior than conventional EOP and also easier and cost effective to formulate.

The present study was undertaken to develop a validated, rapid, simple, and low-cost ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometric method for estimating Etoricoxib (ETX) in pharmaceutical formulations. The analysis was performed on λ max 233 nm using 0.1 M HCl as blank/diluent. The proposed method was validated on International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines including parameters as linearity, accuracy, precision, reproducibility, and specificity. The proposed method was also used to access the content of the ETX in two commercial brands of Indian market. Beer's law was obeyed in concentration range of 0.1–0.5 μg/ml, and the regression equation was Y = 0.418x + 0.018. The mean accuracy values for 0.1 μg/ml and 0.2 μg/ml concentration of ETX were found to be 99.76 ± 0.52% and 99.12 ± 0.84, respectively, and relative standard deviation (RSD) of interday and intraday was less than 2%. The developed method was suitable and specific to the analysis of ETX even in the presence of common excipients. The method was applied on two different marketed brands and ETX contents were 98.5 ± 0.56 and 99.33 ± 0.44, respectively, of labeled claim. The proposed method was validated as per ICH guidelines and statistically good results were obtained. This method can be employed for routine analysis of ETX in bulk and commercial formulations.

Herbal medicines have been widely used all over the world since ancient times and have been recognized by physicians and patients for their better therapeutic value as they have fewer adverse effects as compared with modern medicines. Phytotherapeutics need a scientific approach to deliver the components in a sustained manner to increase patient compliance and avoid repeated administration. This can be achieved by designing novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) for herbal constituents. NDDSs not only reduce the repeated administration to overcome non-compliance, but also help to increase the therapeutic value by reducing toxicity and increasing the bioavailability. One such novel approach is nanotechnology. Nano-sized drug delivery systems of herbal drugs have a potential future for enhancing the activity and overcoming problems associated with plant medicines. Hence, integration of the nanocarriers as a NDDS in the traditional medicine system is essential to conflict more chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, cancer, and others.

Viruses have the property to replicate very fast in host cell. It can attack any part of host cell. Therefore, the clinical efficacy of antiviral drugs and its bioavailability is more important concern taken into account to treat viral infections. The oral and parenteral routes of drug administration have several shortcomings, however, which could lead to the search for formulating better delivery systems. Now, a day's novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) proved to be a better approach to enhance the effectiveness of the antivirals and improve the patient compliance and decrease the adverse effect. The NDDS have reduced the dosing frequency and shorten the duration of treatment, thus, which could lead the treatment more cost-effective. The development of NDDS for antiviral and antiretroviral therapy aims to deliver the drug devoid of toxicity, with high compatibility and biodegradability, targeting the drug to specific sites for viral infection and in some instances it also avoid the first pass metabolism effect. This article aims to discuss the usefulness of novel delivery approaches of antiviral agents such as niosomes, microspheres, microemulsions, nanoparticles that are used in the treatment of various Herpes viruses and in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections.

Investigation of in vitro/in vivo behavior of fast-dissolving tablets containing solid dispersions of pioglitazone hydrochloride (PIO) is the focus of the present research work. The effect of various hydrophilic polymers on the aqueous solubility of PIO was studied. Poly vinyl pyrrolidine K 30 (PVPK 30) carrier was selected and solid dispersions were prepared by various methods. Evaluation of solid dispersion for percentage yield, drug content, solubility, and Fourier Transform Infrared-indicated kneading method was most appropriate. Furthermore, the dissolution studies exhibited an enhancement in drug dissolution. One-way ANOVA of in vitro data suggested that there was significant (P ≤ 0.05) difference in dissolution profile of PIO solid dispersion when compared with pure drug and commercial product. Infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and powder X-ray diffraction performed on solid dispersion indicated lack of physicochemical interaction between the drug and the carrier. The selected formulation is compressed into fast-dissolving tablets which were further evaluated for tablet properties and in vitro drug release. In vivo studies of pure drug, selected formulation, and marketed product were carried out in male Wistar rats and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using Kinetica software 2000. The best formulation has shown Tmax of 1 hour which was highly significant (P < 0.01) when compared with pure drug and marketed formulation. Therefore, the solid dispersions prepared by kneading method using PVPK 30 as hydrophilic carrier can be successfully used for improvement of dissolution of PIO and resulted in faster onset of action as indicated by in vivo studies.

In the present work, Caesalpinia bonduc seed coat extract (CBSCE) has been evaluated for anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity C. bonduc seeds have been attributed with anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties in the folklore medicine. Here in our study, we have tried to carry out the systematic evaluation of the seed coat extract of C. bonduc to substantiate these claims. C. bonduc seed coat was extracted with 95% ethanol and concentrated; further, the extract was screened for anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity. The studies were carried using Carrageenan-induced Paw Edema, Egg albumin-induced paw edema, Eddy's Hot Plate Test, Tail Immersion Method so as to prove acclaimed properties. The data was analyzed statistically by Students’ ‘t’ test. The results indicate that seed coat extract has the ability to decrease the induced inflammation at varied doses in Carrageenan model as well as in the Egg albumin model in rats. The antinociceptive results indicate that the extract has the ability to increase the pain threshold of the animals and reduce the pain factor, thereby inducing analgesia. Thus, it can be concluded that CBSCE posses analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity.

Pharmacology as a subject depends largely on experiments conducted in laboratory animals. Experimental animals like rat, guinea pig, rabbit, etc. are used for the biological assay. For the teaching purposes to use isolated strip preparations from various organs, the laboratory animal species has to be sacrificed just for a piece of tissue. The present study was aimed to develop ex vivo model for pharmacological experimentation, which will mimic the actual laboratory condition without sacrificing the experimental animals. Dose response curve of acetylcholine alone and in presence of different concentrations of atropine was plotted using isolated chicken ileum, chicken duodenum, rat ileum, and rat duodenum and their EC50 values were compared. The effect of atropine in terms of its type of antagonism was predicted based on Schild plot and pA2 values were obtained. The chicken ileum and duodenum were also evaluated for four- and three-point bioassay, respectively. The results suggested that acetylcholine produced a dose-dependent increase in contraction in both chicken and rat ileum and duodenum preparation. The concentration response curve of acetylcholine in chicken ileum shifted toward left side of rat ileum with a higher EC50 value. Atropine shifted the concentration response curve of acetylcholine toward right with a change in EC50 value. Schild plots indicated that antagonism produced by atropine was found to be competitive in nature. The pA2 values of atropine were found significantly high with isolated chicken ileum as compared to rat ileum preparation. It is concluded that isolated chicken ileum and duodenum preparation can be employed for routine experiments of pharmacology subject and the use of these isolated preparations is a novel approach for managing pharmacological experiments and importantly, without sacrificing the experimental animals.

The starch was isolated from jackfruit seeds and evaluated for its preformulation properties, like tapped density, bulk density, and particle size. The fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis was done and compared with that of the commercially available starch which confirmed the properties. Using the various concentrations of jackfruit seed starch, the microspheres were prepared, combining with gelatin by ionotropic gelation technique. The developed microspheres were subjected to analysis of particle size, drug content, entrapment efficiency, and percentage yield. The spectral analysis confirmed the presence of drug and absence of interactions. Scanning electron microscope image showed that the particles were in spherical shape with a rough surface. The in vitro drug release in water for 12 hours proved to be in the range of 89 to 100%. The various kinetic models were applied using release data to confirm the mechanism of drug. It was concluded that the jackfruit starch-gelatin microspheres gave satisfactory results and met pharmacopieal limits.

Prevention of myocardial injury has been considered as the most important therapeutic challenge of today. Fibrates, the agonists of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-a receptor, have been regarded as potent therapeutic agents in this context. Hence, the present study has been designed to investigate the effect of fibrates, i.e., Clofibrate and Fenofibrate, the potent agonists PPAR-a, on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced myocardial injury. The isolated Langendorff-perfused rat hearts were subjected to global ischemia for 30 minutes followed by reperfusion for 120 minutes. Myocardial infarct size and the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) in coronary effluent have been conducted to assess the degree of cardiac injury. Moreover, the oxidative stress in the heart was assessed by measuring lipid peroxidation, superoxide anion generation, and reduced glutathione. Clofibrate and Fenofibrate showed cardioprotection against I/R-induced myocardial injury in rat hearts as assessed in terms of reductions in myocardial infarct size, LDH, and CK levels in coronary effluent along with reduction in I/R-induced oxidative stress. It may be concluded that the observed cardioprotective potential of Clofibrate and Fenofibrate against I/R-induced myocardial injury was due to the reductions in infarct size and oxidative stress.

The present study investigated the probable role of simvastatin, 3-hydroxymethyl-glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, in abrogated cardioprotection in hyperhomocysteinemic (Hhcy) rat hearts. Isolated Langendorff's perfused normal and Hhcy rat hearts were subjected to 30-min global ischemia (I) followed by 120-min reperfusion (R). Assessment of myocardial damage was done by measuring infarct size and analyzing the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK-MB) in coronary effluent. In addition, the oxidative stress in the heart was assessed by measuring lipid peroxidation and superoxide anion generation. I/R produced myocardial injury in normal and Hhcy rat hearts by increasing myocardial infarct size, LDH and CK in coronary effluent and oxidative stress. Hhcy rat hearts showed enhanced myocardial injury and high oxidative stress as compared to normal hearts. Treatment with Simvastatin (10 μMol) afforded cardioprotection against I/R-induced myocardial injury in normal and hyperhomocysteinemic rat hearts as assessed in terms of reductions in myocardial infarct size, LDH and CK levels in coronary effluent and oxidative stress. The reductions in the high degree of oxidative stress may be responsible for the observed cardioprotection afforded by simvastatin against I/R-induced myocardial injury in normal and hyperhomocysteinemic rat hearts.

Diet plays a vital role in the management of cancer because they are the source of important physiologically functional components. Scientific observations support the idea that dietary supplement can prevent breast cancer recurrences. Strong correlations are established between the high intake of saturated fat and the incidence of different types of cancer. It is found that chronic alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of cancers of oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, and larynx. Again, some evidences are also found regarding phosphorous, glutamate level in the body, and incidence of cancer. Different physiologically functional components are found in the dietary materials. Fibers, the major dietary components, have long been recognized for the unique properties in the treatment of cancer, which are related to its antineoplastic functions. Antioxidant rich diet has been added to the list of cancer-preventing dietary components. Also, recently published research has shown that natural carotenoids in the diet leads to a normalization of body epithelial cells and protects against the risk of stomach and esophagus cancer, and improves the immune system's response. Again, fruit juices, processed vegetable juices, orange peel, green tea, vitamins, flavonoids, and trace materials have cancer inhibitory properties. Clearly, there has been increasing recognition of chemoprotective functions. Now, it can be recognized for another kind of functionality for the improvement of the health of mankind.

Most of the drugs which are used for wound healing are imported in Mongolia. It is required to develop drug formulation and increase local productions used for the treatment of wound healing. For the purpose of solving the above problems, we aimed to prepare new drug formulation from Cacalia hastata L. for the treatment of wound healing. Cacalia hastata L. is a medicinal plant, member of the family Asteraceae. Cacalia hastata L. is widely used for the Mongolian traditional medicine to treat wound healing, gastric ulcer, poisoning fever, liver fever, bile fever, oral cavity, and gynecological diseases. We prepared Cacalia gel from semi-solid extract of Cacalia hastata L. using various excipients such as gel former, solvent, neutralizer, antimicrobial preservative, and humectant. Gel formulation was standardized by such criteria, as the amount of biologically active compound, appearance (color, smell), pH, viscosity, and bacterial contamination. Stability testing of gel formulation was studied by long-term method. The quality of the Cacalia gel which was stored in room temperature, its appearance, viscosity, and amount of biological active compound were stable. The stability testing of the gel formulation from Cacalia hastata L. is continued.

Taste is an important organoleptic property governing acceptance of products for administration through mouth. But majority of drugs available are bitter in taste. For patient acceptability and compliance, bitter taste drugs are masked by adding several flavoring agents. Thus, taste assessment is one important quality control parameter for evaluating taste-masked formulations. The primary method for the taste measurement of drug substances and formulations is by human panelists. The use of sensory panelists is very difficult and problematic in industry and this is due to the potential toxicity of drugs and subjectivity of taste panelists, problems in recruiting taste panelists, motivation and panel maintenance are significantly difficult when working with unpleasant products. Furthermore, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-unapproved molecules cannot be tested. Therefore, analytical taste-sensing multichannel sensory system called as electronic tongue (e-tongue or artificial tongue) which can assess taste have been replacing the sensory panelists. Thus, e-tongue includes benefits like reducing reliance on human panel. The present review focuses on the electrochemical concepts in instrumentation, performance qualification of E-tongue, and applications in various fields.

Furosemide is a powerful diuretic and antihypertensive drug which has low bioavailability due to hepatic first pass metabolism and has a short half-life of 2 hours. To overcome the above drawback, the present study was carried out to formulate and evaluate sustained release (SR) pellets of furosemide for oral administration prepared by extrusion/spheronization. Drug Coat L-100 was used within the pellet core along with microcrystalline cellulose as the diluent and concentration of selected binder was optimized to be 1.2%. The formulation was prepared with drug to polymer ratio 1:3. It was optimized using Design of Experiments by employing a 32 central composite design that was used to systematically optimize the process parameters combined with response surface methodology. Dissolution studies were carried out with USP apparatus Type I (basket type) in both simulated gastric and intestinal pH. The statistical technique, i.e., the two-tailed paired t test and one-way ANOVA of in vitro data has proposed that there was very significant (P≤0.05) difference in dissolution profile of furosemide SR pellets when compared with pure drug and commercial product. Validation of the process optimization study indicated an extremely high degree of prognostic ability. The study effectively undertook the development of optimized process parameters of pelletization of furosemide pellets with tremendous SR characteristics.

Hypochlorhydria is a common problem in any age of people like other gastric disorders. It has so many etiologies such as sympathetic dominance, antiseretory drug use, excess sugar and refined foods, etc. In the present study, our objective was to search out the effective solvent extract of fruit of Benincasa hispida T. for the management of hypochlorhydria in model male albino rats. Hypochlorhydria was induced in rat as per standard method by oral administration of ranitidine. Different solvent extracts (Hydro-methanol, ethyl acetate, and aqueous) of ripe fruit of B. hispida were prepared following the standard protocol. Various parameters in this concern like free acidity, total acidity, pH, pepsin concentration, chloride and vitamin C levels in gastric juice were measured by standard biochemical and titrimetric methods. It was found that pre-administration followed by co-administration of aqueous extract of B. hispida (ABH) resulted significant correction of ranitidine-induced hypochlorhydria in rat. This aqueous extract-treated group showed increased levels of vitamin C, pepsin, and chloride concentration in gastric juice as well as the antioxidant status significantly (P<0.05) in respect to other extract-treated groups. From the results, it can be concluded that the ABH has most effective anti-hypochlorhydric and antioxidative efficacy than other solvent extracts of said plant fruit.