Preparation of Spilanthes acmella based emulgel: Antimicrobial study and evaluation.

SSTIs (Skin and soft tissue infections) are the most commonly occurring infections among all age groups. This study aimed to create an herbal emulgel for the treatment of bacterial skin infections as many bacteria have developed strong resistance against antibiotics. Spilanthe acmella plant extract contains spilanthol which has strong anti-bacterial properties. Methanolic S. acmella extract-based emulgels being promising drug delivery systems have been evaluated for various parameters like physical characteristics, viscosity, pH, spreading coefficient, Bioadhesive strength determination, Extrudability, antioxidant and antibacterial activity. 200µg/100µl exhibited the highest antioxidative activity 60.01±0.28% radical scavenging activity. MIC values of pure extract found in the range of 0.83±0.21 to 1.66±0.41µg/100µl, MBC values found in the range of 1.66±0.41 to 3.33±0.83µg/100µl for all strains of bacteria. Statistically significant antibacterial activity of all extract containing emulgels was observed against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, E. coli p-value = 0.00, while maximum antibacterial effect all formulations have produaced zone of inhibitions against E. Coli p-value = 0.00. The current study thus suggests the use of S. acmella extract-based emulgel for the treatment of bacterial skin infections caused by S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and E. coli.

Development of grape seed extract based formulations by using non-invasive biophysical technique and its impact on skin aging.

Given the substantial benefits of grape seed extract (GSE) in reducing oxidative stress, the study aimed development, characterization and comparative analysis of GSE-based formulations. The development entailed extraction of GSE from Vitisvinifera L. HPLC confirmed catechin, epicatechin, gallic acid, epicatechingallate and procyanidin dimers. Storage of Formulations observed, Stability & rheological parameters determined. Olive oil used as a permeability enhancer. Presence of the highest oleic acid content (65-86%) in Olive oil, skin permeability within the stratum corneum was enhanced hence better transdermal skin absorption. Using two-way ANOVA, and T-test, efficacy of formulations and impact on slowing down skin aging by countering exogenous factors of oxidative stress determined. Non-invasive biophysical technique showed emulgel substantially reduced roughness, scaliness, winkles, and sebum content by 55%, 26%, 23.9% and 30.3% respectively enhancing elasticity and hydration by 50% and 32.2% respectively. Emulsion reduced roughness, scaliness, winkles and sebum content 14%, 13%, 21% and 26.13% respectively enhancing elasticity and hydration 45.3% and 29.85% respectively. The formulations significantly offset exogenous factors of aging and impact on free radicals and oxidative stress and may be safe to incorporate bio-active botanical antioxidants for evaluation of derma cosmetic benefits in management of dehydrated and aged facial skin.

The Safety of Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Vitiligo and Hypermelanosis: A Systematic Review of Use and Reports of Harm.

INTRODUCTION: Vitiligo is disfiguring and devastating condition that can humans feel stigmatic and devalued. Melasma is a general condition of hyperpigmentation particularly involving the face. The pigmentation disorders of vitiligo (hypopigmentation or de-pigmentation) and melasma (Hypermelanosis) are common among the world's population (around 1% for vitiligo). OBJECTIVE: The identification of medicinal plants used in the treatment of vitiligo and hypermelanosis. A systematic literature review on harms associated with the medicinal plants used in the treatment of vitiligo and hypermelanosis. To review and summarize information on reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with these medicinal plants contained in (where access is available) national and global individual case safety report databases. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature with special reference to all types of clinical trial and case reports using biomedical databases including Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and so forth to identify medicinal plants alone or as an adjuvant with other treatments and their safety/tolerability in the treatment of vitiligo and Hypermelanosis. Other sources of this search were medicinal plants text books, pharmacopoeias and authentic websites discussing possible treatments for vitiligo/hypermelanosis. It also included databases such as VigiAccess containing data from spontaneous reporting schemes for ADRs. RESULTS: A total of 55 articles (47 clinical trials and 8 case reports) met the inclusion criteria. Some trials did not reported safety information, some did report, but not very well. Reports of blistering, erythema, acute hepatitis and mutagenesis with Psoralea corylifolia. Adverse effects of erythema (mild to severe), phototoxic reactions, mild raise in liver transaminases, gastrointestinal disturbances, burns, itching, scaling, depigmented macules, pruritis, and giddiness with the use of psoralens. Khellin-related erythema, perilesional hyperpigmentation, gastrointestinal disturbances, mild raise in liver transaminases and orthostatic complaints. Infrequent side effects with Ginkgo biloba. Lower grade of erythema and edema reported with the use of Polypodium leucotomos. CONCLUSION: Primarily the retrieved clinical studies were efficacy oriented and safety parameters were secondary in priority whilst the general protocol of clinical trials requires the screening of drugs/medicinal plants on the basis of safety studies before testing the clinical aspects of efficacy. Thereby it is recommended that efficacy studies may be followed once the safety has been established for a particular medicinal plant in treating vitiligo and hypermelanosis.

A Conceptual Framework of the Way Forward to a Community Pharmacist-General Practitioner Collaborative Medication Therapy Management Model for Chronic Diseases in Malaysian Primary Care: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing global interest in formulating such policies and strategic plans that help devise collaborative working models for community pharmacists (CPs) and general practitioners (GPs) in primary care settings. OBJECTIVE: To conceptualize a stakeholder-driven framework to improve collaboration between CPs and GPs in Malaysian primary care to effectively manage medicines in chronic diseases. DESIGN AND SETTING: A qualitative study that involved individual semi-structured interviews of the leadership of various associations, guilds, and societies representing CPs, GPs, and Nurses in Malaysia. METHODS: This study collected and reported data in accordance with the guidelines of the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting of Qualitative Studies. Key informants were recruited based on purposive (expert) sampling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data were coded based on the principles of thematic analysis in NVivo. RESULTS: A total of 12 interviews (5 CPs, 5 GPs, and 2 nurses) were conducted. Five themes emerged: Theme 1 highlighted a comparison of community pharmacy practice in Malaysia and developed countries; Theme 2 involved current practices in Malaysian primary care; Theme 3 encompassed the advantages of CP-GP collaboration in chronic diseases; Theme 4 highlighted the barriers which impede collaboration in Malaysian primary care; and Theme 5 delineated the way forward for CP-GP collaboration in Malaysia. CONCLUSION: The actionable insights obtained from the Malaysian stakeholders offered an outline of a framework to enhance collaboration between CPs and GPs in primary care. Generally, stakeholders were interested in CP-GP collaboration in primary care and identified many positive roles performed by CPs, including prescription review, adherence support, and patient education. The framework of the way forward includes: separation of CP and GP roles through a holistic revision of relevant legislation to grant an active role to CPs in chronic care; definition of protocols for collaborative practices; incentivization of both stakeholders (CPs and GPs); and design and implementation of an effective regulatory mechanism whereby the Malaysian Ministry of Health may take a leading role.

Green synthesized selenium doped zinc oxide nano-antibiotic: synthesis, characterization and evaluation of antimicrobial, nanotoxicity and teratogenicity potential.

A facile, green synthesis of selenium doped zinc oxide nano-antibiotic (Se-ZnO-NAB) using the Curcuma longa extract is reported to combat the increased emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The developed Se-ZnO-NAB were characterized for their physicochemical parameters and extensively evaluated for their toxicological potential in an animal model. The prepared Se-ZnO-NABs were characterized via Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy to get functional insight into their surface chemistry, scanning electron microscopy revealing the polyhedral morphology with a size range of 36 ± 16 nm, having -28.9 ± 6.42 mV zeta potential, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry confirming the amount of Se and Zn to be 14.43 and 71.70 mg L-1 respectively. Moreover, the antibacterial activity against MRSA showed significantly low minimum inhibitory concentration at 6.2 µg mL-1 when compared against antibiotics. Also, total protein content and reactive oxygen species production in MRSA, under the stressed environment of Se-ZnO-NAB, significantly (p < 0.05) decreased compared to the negative control. Moreover, the results of acute oral toxicity in rats showed moderate variations in blood biochemistry and histopathology of vital organs. The teratogenicity and fetal evaluations also revealed some signs of toxicity along with changes in biochemical parameters. The overall outcomes suggest that Se-ZnO-NAB can be of significant importance for combating multi-drug resistance but must be used with extreme caution, particularly in pregnancy, as moderate toxicity was observed at a toxic dose of 2000 mg kg-1.

Identification and evaluation of novel drug combinations of Aurora kinase inhibitor CCT137690 for enhanced efficacy in oral cancer cells.

Oral cancer is the most prevalent subtype of head and neck cancers and arises mainly from squamous cells of the oral cavity. Patients with advanced metastatic disease have poor overall survival resulting primarily from limited treatment options. Recent advances in the understanding of molecular basis of oral tumorigenesis provide an opportunity for identification and validation of new drug targets. The deregulated expression of the Aurora family of mitotic kinases, for example, has been associated with pathogenesis and poor prognosis in oral cancer. Here, we have evaluated the efficacy of the pan-Aurora inhibitor (CCT137690) alone and in combination with different chemotherapeutic and targeted drugs to identify its synergistic partners in oral cancer cell lines (ORL-48 and ORL-115). CCT137690 effectively inhibits Aurora kinases in both the cell lines and displays potent antiproliferative activity towards them. Prolonged treatment of these cells with CCT137690 results in abrogated mitotic spindle formation, misaligned chromosome attachment and polyploidy that ultimately leads to apoptotic cell death. We further identified that inhibitors of EGFR (gefitinib) and PI3-kinase (pictilisib) synergize with CCT137690 to inhibit the proliferation of the oral cancer cell lines. Moreover, we demonstrate that polyethylene glycol-based nanocapsules harboring combinations of CCT137690 with gefitinib or pictilisib inhibit the growth of oral cancer cell lines in 3D spheroid cultures and induce apoptosis that is comparable to free drug combinations. In conclusion, we have demonstrated the in vitro efficacy of CCT137690 in oral cancer cell lines, identified novel drug combinations with CCT137690 and synthesized nanocapsules containing these drug combinations for co-administration.

Lecithin-gold hybrid nanocarriers as efficient and pH selective vehicles for oral delivery of diacerein-In-vitro and in-vivo study.

We report the synthesis and evaluation of lecithin-gold hybrid nanocarriers for the oral delivery of drugs with improved pharmacokinetics, Au-drug interactive bioactivity and controlled drug releasing behavior at physiological pH inside human body. For this purpose, diacerein, a hydrophobic anti-arthritic drug, was loaded in lecithin NPs (LD NPs), which were further coated by Au NPs either by in-situ production of Au NPs on LD NPs or by employing pre-synthesized Au NPs. All LDAu NPs were found to release drug selectively at the physiological pH of 7.4 and showed 2.5 times increase in the oral bioavailability of diacerein. Pharmacological efficacy was significantly improved i.e., greater than the additive effect of diacerein and Au NPs alone. LDAu NPs started suppressing inflammation at first phase, whereas LD NPs showed activity in the second phase of inflammation. These results indicate the interaction of Au NPs with prostaglandins and histaminic mediators of first phase of carrageenan induced inflammation. Acute toxicity study showed no hepatic damage but the renal toxicity parameters were close to the upper safety limits. Toxicity parameters were dependent on surface engineering of LDAu NPs. Apart from enhancing the oral bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs and improving their anti-inflammatory activity, these hybrid nanocarriers may have potential applications in gold-based photothermal therapy and the tracing of inflammation at atherosclerotic and arthritic site.

From porous gold nanocups to porous nanospheres and solid particles--a new synthetic approach.

We report a versatile approach for the synthesis of porous gold nanocups, porous gold nanospheres and solid gold nanoparticles. Gold nanocups are formed by the slow reduction of gold salt (HAuCl4⋅3H2O) using aminoantipyrene (AAP) as a reducing agent. Adding polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to the gold salt followed by reduction with AAP resulted in the formation of porous gold nanospheres. Microwave irradiation of both of these porous gold particles resulted in the formation of slightly smaller but solid gold particles. All these nanoparticles are thoroughly characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and bright-field tomography. Due to the larger size, porous nature, low density and higher surface area, these nanomaterials may have interesting applications in catalysis, drug delivery, phototherapy and sensing.

Whitening efficacy of plant extracts including Hippophae rhamnoides and Cassia fistula extracts on the skin of Asian patients with melasma.

INTRODUCTION: Melasma/hyperpigmentation and solar damage of the skin remains a difficult problem to treat. Various types of whitening agents are used to treat hyperpigmentation. A change has been observed recently to use plant extracts as skin whitening agents. AIM: To compare the effectiveness of emulsion formulations containing plant extracts that include catechins/polyphenols and placebo without plant extracts, on patients with melasma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two groups of 25 patients each (aged 21-35 years), who reported to the outpatient department of BV Hospital and Personal clinic of a dermatologist, were included in the study. Volunteers applied the formulations with plant extracts and placebo to one side of the cheek. Prior to the study, signed consent was obtained from each patient. The tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the extracts and formulations was tested in vitro. The pigment density of patients was evaluated biometrologically using Mexameter(®) and subjectively using a visual survey before and after treatment of 12 weeks. The approval of the Institutional Ethics Committee of Faculty of Pharmacy, the Islamia University of Bahawalpur was obtained before the study. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the level of melanin was determined in all 50 patients who used a plant extract containing catechin (p ≤ 0.05). The difference between pre- and post-treatment levels of melanin was statistically significant (p = 0.05). Formulations prepared with plant extracts containing catechin were found effective on melasma, compared to the placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Formulations containing plant extracts that are not yet being used widespread commercially on melasma could be an effective alternative treatment of melasma.

In situ growth of gold nanoparticles on latent fingerprints-from forensic applications to inkjet printed nanoparticle patterns.

Latent fingerprints are made visible in a single step by in situ growth of gold nanoparticles on ridge patterns. The chemicals, among the essential components of human sweat, found responsible for the formation and assembly of gold nanoparticles are screened and used as ink to write invisible patterns, using common ball pen and inkjet printer, which are then developed by selectively growing gold nanoparticles by soaking them in gold salt solution.