International Patent Survey of Products and Processes Concerning Homeopathy.

BACKGROUND: Homeopathy is a complementary medicine characterized by the use of diluted and potentized medicines. Innovations in this area are constantly being proposed in the relevant literature, such as scientific articles and patents. The objective of this study was to carry out a patent survey of homeopathic products and processes. METHODS: A free and international patent database, Espacenet, was used. The search was carried out using the keyword homeop*, with two approaches: (1) no date restrictions for the search and (2) a date limit for the publication years 2008 to 2018. The patents from the limited period were organized as depositor countries, ownerships and groups, including homeopathic formulations, equipment, packaging, production procedures, and analytical methods. RESULTS: Without date restriction, 601 patents were identified in the survey. Of these, 174 were related to homeopathy and published in the period 2008 to 2018. Technologies come mainly from the following countries: United States (55 patents), Russia (24), Germany (15), France (13), India (12), Ukraine (11), Brazil (6), and China (6). Among the ownerships, 69% of patent applications were by independent depositors, 23% by companies, 7.5% by universities, and 0.5% by company/university partnerships. New formulations represented 75.9% of technologies, whilst the others comprised 14.3% for equipment, 3.8% for drugs packaging, 3.8% for production procedures, and 2.2% for analytical methods. CONCLUSIONS: The present review helps visualize the homeopathy-related patents published in recent years, as well as the main countries and researchers investing in the field of homeopathy.

Skin Permeation and Oxidative Protection Effect of Soybean Isoflavones from Topical Nanoemulsions-a Comparative Study of Extracts and Pure Compounds.

Soybean isoflavone-rich extracts have been considered as promising skin antiaging products due to their antioxidant activity. This study investigates the effect of soybean isoflavone forms on porcine ear skin permeation/retention from topical nanoemulsions and their potential in protecting skin against oxidative damage caused by UVA/UVB light. Soybean non-hydrolyzed (SNHE) and hydrolyzed (SHE) extracts, mainly composed of genistin and genistein, were produced. Nanoemulsions containing SNHE (NESNHE) and SHE (NESHE) were prepared by spontaneous emulsification procedure and yielded monodispersed nanoemulsions. A delay of isoflavone release was observed after extracts incorporation into nanoemulsions when compared to a propyleneglycol dispersion of pure compounds. An increase of isoflavone skin retention from nanoemulsions was also achieved. However, from extracts, a higher amount of genistin (NESNHE) and a lower amount of genistein (NESHE) were detected in the skin in comparison to pure isoflavones. Finally, the protection of porcine ear skin by formulations against UVA/UVB oxidative stress was evaluated. Extract-loaded nanoemulsions offered better skin protection than pure isoflavones. Skin lipids were similarly protected by NESHE and NESNHE, whereas skin proteins were more protected by NESNHE. Overall, nanoemulsions containing isoflavone-rich soybean extracts may be considered a better topical formulation aiming skin protection from UVA/UVB oxidative damage.

Characteristics, Properties and Analytical Methods for Determination of Dropropizine and Levodropropizine: A Review.

Dropropizine is a peripheral antitussive drug that acts by inhibiting cough reflex through its action on the peripheral receptors and their afferent conductors. It is marketed in a racemic form or its pure enantiomer called levodropropizine and both are available worldwide in various drug dosage formulations such as tablets, sirup and oral solution. Due to the widespread use of antitussives in the clinic it is necessary to develop efficient analytical methodologies for quality control and also for pharmacokinetic, bioavailability and bioequivalence studies. This review presents a survey of the characteristics, properties and analytical methods used for drug determination, being carried out through scientific articles as well as in official compendia. From the analyzed studies, the majority reports the use of HPLC/UV techniques for drug determination, but also spectrophotometric UV/Vis methods as well as gas chromatography, and voltammetric, potentiometric and conductometric titration methods. In addition, the methodologies addressed the determination of dropropizine or levodropropizine in different types of matrices such as raw material, pharmaceutical formulations, plasma and urine. Despite the extensive clinical use of dropropizine, data from this review evidenced a still limited number of studies dealing with analytical methods for its determination in different matrices, which may be of concern since the applicability of these methods is important for quality assurance, efficacy and safety of the medicine.

Hydrogels containing soybean isoflavone aglycones-rich fraction-loaded nanoemulsions for wound healing treatment - in vitro and in vivo studies.

Soybean isoflavone aglycones have been investigated as potential wound healing compounds for topical application. The aim of this study was to evaluate the wound healing properties of a soybean isoflavone aglycones-rich fraction (IAF) when incorporated into lipid nanoemulsions dispersed in acrylic-acid hydrogels. Formulations exhibited a mean droplet size in the sub 200 nm range, negative ζ-potential (-60 mV), and displayed non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behavior. The addition of a gelling agent decreased the IAF release from formulations and improved the retention of these compounds in intact porcine ear skin when compared with a control propylene glycol solution. No IAF were detected in receptor fluid of Franz-type diffusion cells. However, increasing amounts of IAF were noticed in both skin layers and the receptor fluid when the tissue was partially injured (tape stripping), or when the epidermis was completely removed. In vitro studies showed that IAF elicits an increased proliferation and migration of keratinocytes (HaCaT cell line). Subsequently, the healing effect of the formulations was evaluated in a model of dorsal wounds in rats, by assessing the size of the lesions, histology, inflammatory markers, and antioxidant activity. Overall findings demonstrated the potential of IAF-loaded formulations to promote wound healing by increasing angiogenesis by ∼200 %, reducing the lipid oxidation (TBARS) by ∼52 % and the inflammation (TNFα) by ∼35 %, while increasing re-epithelialization by ∼500 %, visualized by the epithelium thickness.

Hypericum species: An analysis on the patent technologies.

Hypericum (Hypericaceae) is a genus that comprises approximately 500 species around the world. The industrial relevance of these plants is based on the occurence of specialized metabolites that exhibit a range of pharmaceutical potential. Besides that, several species are relevant due to their ornamental value. Taking to account the vast market worth of products and processes involving Hypericum, the present study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of patents concerning this subject between 2007and 2017. For this purpose, a survey was performed in free databases (Espacenet®, PatentScope® and Google Patents®) using the keyword Hypericum in the patents title or title plus abstract. The documents were then organized by groups (medicinal and non-medicinal approaches), subgroups, type of applicants and countries. Espacenet® was chosen to data analysis, and a total of 174 patents were found. The majority of the applicants are from China and companies appear as the principal owners of patents. Several technologies are not intended for medicinal purposes, being mainly related to the development of new cultivars for ornamental uses. Concerning the medicinal approaches, the chief subject is related to extraction and incorporation into formulations. The main species cited in the documents is H. perforatum and the therapeutic use is for central nervous system diseases. In general, this study covers the patents published in recent years hoping to boost the scientists and companies that invest in Hypericum researches to visualize the state of art, opportunities and challenges for innovation in this area.

Recent Patents Concerning the use of Nanotechnology-based Delivery Systems as Skin Penetration Enhancers.

Nanotechnology-based delivery systems have been considered a promising approach for topical application, considering their characteristics of penetration into/across the skin. The present review aimed to evaluate the recent international scenario of patents concerning the use of nanotechnology- based delivery systems as skin penetration enhancers. A survey of recent patent documents was conducted by using the Espacenet patent database including the terms "skin" in the title and "promot* or enhanc* and penetrat* or absorp* or permeat*" and "nano*" with the truncation symbol (*) in the abstract of documents. A total of 110 patents were published from 2008 to 2018, with 94 technologies being considered. The results demonstrated an increase in innovations concerning nanotechnologybased delivery systems as skin penetration enhancers in recent years. Most patent applicants are from China (60.6%) and Korea (21.3%), and companies (68%) were the most prominent owners. The majority of patent applications (76%) were intended for cosmetic purposes; the types of products and nanostructures were also investigated. Overall results demonstrated the increased interest around the world in patenting products involving skin permeation promotion and nanotechnology for pharmaceutical and, mainly, for cosmetics purposes.