In vivo gastric residence and gastroprotective effect of floating gastroretentive tablet of DA-9601, an extract of Artemisia asiatica, in beagle dogs.

OBJECTIVE: DA-9601, an extract of Artemisia asiatica containing eupatilin and jaceosidin as active compounds, has been prescribed to treat gastritis in Asia. In recent times, sustained-release, floating gastroretentive (GR) tablets of DA-9601 are available on the market. In the present study, the physical properties and in vitro drug release profile, in vivo gastric residence time, and gastroprotective effect of GR tablet were compared to those of immediate release (IR) tablets of DA-9601. METHOD: In vitro buoyancy behavior (floating lag time and duration) and release profile of eupatilin were assessed in acidic medium. The in vivo intragastric behaviors of the barium sulfate-loaded IR and GR tablets were evaluated in beagle dogs by radiographic studies. Local gastroprotective effect was compared in an experimentally induced gastric lesion in beagle dogs after oral administration of IR (three times per day) or GR (twice daily) tablets for 15 days. RESULTS: Upon contact with gastric juice, a low-density floating tablet (apparent density of 0.93 g/cm(3)) was buoyant on the medium and was upheld for 14 hours, providing sustained drug release profile, whereas the IR tablet disintegrated within 10 minutes, showing complete drug release within 2 hours. In vivo radiographic studies showed that the GR tablet was retained for >4 hours in the stomach. Both DA-9601 formulations remarkably alleviated gastric mucosal injury compared to placebo group, when observed by gastric endoscopy. CONCLUSION: Twice-daily GR tablets exhibited a prolonged gastric residence time and a remarkable mucosal restoration effect in animal models. Therefore, the GR system of DA-9601 could be a substitute dosage form for the treatment of gastritis, while reducing the dosing frequency and thus improving patient compliance.

Reduced Food-Effect on Intestinal Absorption of Dronedarone by Self-microemulsifying Drug Delivery System (SMEDDS).

The oral absorption of dronedarone (DRN), a benzofuran derivative with anti-arrhythmic activity, is significantly affected by food intake. The absolute bioavailability of the marketed product (Multaq, Sanofi, U.S.) was about 4% without food, but increased to 15% when administered with a high fat meal. Therefore, to reduce the food-effect on the intestinal absorption of DRN, a novel self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) was formulated and the comparative in vivo absorption studies with the marketed product were carried out using male beagle dogs either in the fasted or fed state. The SMEDDS consisted of the drug, Labrafil M 1944CS, and Kolliphor EL in a weight ratio of 1 : 1 : 2, rapidly formed a fine oil-in-water emulsion with a droplet size less than 50 nm. An in vivo absorption study revealed that the area-under-curve (AUC0-24 h) and maximal plasma concentration (Cmax) were 10.4-fold (p<0.05) and 8.6-fold (p<0.05) higher, respectively, after the marketed product was orally administered to beagles in the fed state when compared to those in the fasted state. This food-effect were remarkably alleviated by SMEDDS formulation, with AUC0-24 h and Cmax 2.9-fold (p<0.05) and 2.6-fold (p<0.05) higher in the fed state when compared to the fasted state, by facilitating intestinal absorption of DRN in the fasted state. The results of this study suggest that SMEDDS may decrease the differences in oral absorption of DRN between the prandial states, improving therapeutic efficacy as well as patient compliance.

Mechanical properties and in vivo healing evaluation of a novel Centella asiatica-loaded hydrocolloid wound dressing.

To develop a novel sodium alginate based Centella asiatica (CA)-loaded hydrocolloid wound dressing (HCD) providing excellent mechanical properties and improved wound healing, numerous CA-loaded HCDs were prepared with various ingredients using the hot melting method. The effect of sodium alginate, styrene-isoprene-styrene copolymer (SIS) and petroleum hydrocarbon resin (PHR) on the mechanical properties of CA-loaded HCDs was investigated. The effect of disintegrants on swelling and drug release was assessed. Moreover, the in vivo wound healing potentials of the selected CA-loaded HCD in various wound models such as abrasion, excision and infection were evaluated in comparison with the commercial product. Polyisobutylene and SIS hardly affected the mechanical properties, but PHR improved the tensile strength and elongation at break. Disintegrants such as croscarmellose sodium, sodium starch glycolate and crospovidone improved the swelling ratio of the CA-loaded HCD. Furthermore, the CA-loaded HCD without croscarmellose sodium poorly released the drug, but that with 2% croscarmellose sodium showed about 27% drug release in 24h. In particular, the CA-loaded HCD composed of CA/polyisobutylene/SIS/PHR/liquid paraffin/sodium alginate/croscarmellose sodium at the weight ratio of 1/8/25/25/12/27/2 furnished excellent mechanical properties and drug release. As compared with the commercial product, it offered improved healing effects in excision, infection and abrasion type wounds in rats. Thus, this novel CA-loaded HCD could be a potential candidate for the treatment of various wounds.

Effects of Noscarna™ on hypertrophic scarring in the rabbit ear model: histopathological aspects.

In this study, we evaluated the effects of silicone-based gel on the healing of hypertrophic scars in the rabbit ear model. After 4-week application of silicone-based gel containing allantoin, dexpanthenol and heparin (Noscarna™) to scars in a rabbit ear model of hypertrophic scarring, significant improvements in hypertrophic scar healing and a great loss of skin pigment were observed compared to the non-treated control, base or silicone control-treated scars. Furthermore, histological analysis of Noscarna™-treated scars revealed a significant reduction in scar elevation index (SEI), anterior skin and epithelial thicknesses, inflammatory cells, vessels, collagen disorganization and fibroblasts compared to all control hypertrophic scars. Furthermore, Noscarna™ showed more favorable effects on hypertrophic scars than a commercial product, Contractubex®. Therefore, these results clearly demonstrated that the newly developed silicone-based gel, Noscarna™, could be a promising formulation as an effective therapeutic agent for hypertrophic scars.