Tissue regeneration properties of hydrogels derived from biological macromolecules: A review.

The successful tissue engineering depends on the development of biologically active scaffolds that possess optimal characteristics to effectively support cellular functions, maintain structural integrity and aid in tissue regeneration. Hydrogels have emerged as promising candidates in tissue regeneration due to their resemblance to the natural extracellular matrix and their ability to support cell survival and proliferation. The integration of hydrogel scaffold into the polymer has a variable impact on the pseudo extracellular environment, fostering cell growth/repair. The modification in size, shape, surface morphology and porosity of hydrogel scaffolds has consequently paved the way for addressing diverse challenges in the tissue engineering process such as tissue architecture, vascularization and simultaneous seeding of multiple cells. The present review provides a comprehensive update on hydrogel production using natural and synthetic biomaterials and their underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, it delves into the application of hydrogel scaffolds in tissue engineering for cardiac tissues, cartilage tissue, adipose tissue, nerve tissue and bone tissue. Besides, the present article also highlights various clinical studies, patents, and the limitations associated with hydrogel-based scaffolds in recent times.

Protective Effects of Diets Rich in Polyphenols in Cigarette Smoke (CS)-Induced Oxidative Damages and Associated Health Implications.

Cigarette smoking has been responsible for causing many life-threatening diseases such as pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases as well as lung cancer. One of the prominent health implications of cigarette smoking is the oxidative damage of cellular constituents, including proteins, lipids, and DNA. The oxidative damage is caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS, oxidants) present in the aqueous extract of cigarette smoke (CS). In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the potential health benefits of dietary polyphenols as natural antioxidant molecules. Epidemiological studies strongly suggest that long-term consumption of diets (fruits, vegetables, tea, and coffee) rich in polyphenols offer protective effects against the development of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, and neurodegenerative diseases. For instance, green tea has chemopreventive effects against CI-induced lung cancer. Tea might prevent CS-induced oxidative damages in diseases because tea polyphenols, such as catechin, EGCG, etc., have strong antioxidant properties. Moreover, apple polyphenols, including catechin and quercetin, provide protection against CS-induced acute lung injury such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In CS-induced health problems, the antioxidant action is often accompanied by the anti-inflammatory effect of polyphenols. In this narrative review, the CS-induced oxidative damages and the associated health implications/pathological conditions (or diseases) and the role of diets rich in polyphenols and/or dietary polyphenolic compounds against various serious/chronic conditions of human health have been delineated.

An exhaustive comprehension of the role of herbal medicines in Pre- and Post-COVID manifestations.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has relentlessly spread all over the world even after the advent of vaccines. It demands management, treatment, and prevention as well with utmost safety and effectiveness. It is well researched that herbal medicines or natural products have shown promising outcomes to strengthen immunity with antiviral potential against SARS-COV-2. AIM OF THE REVIEW: Our objective is to provide a comprehensive insight into the preventive and therapeutic effects of herbal medicines and products (Ayurvedic) for pre-and post-COVID manifestations. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The database used in the text is collected and compiled from Scopus, PubMed, Nature, Elsevier, Web of Science, bioRxiv, medRxiv, American Chemical Society, and clinicaltrials.gov up to January 2022. Articles from non-academic sources such as websites and news were also retrieved. Exploration of the studies was executed to recognize supplementary publications of research studies and systematic reviews. The keywords, such as "SARS-COV-2, coronavirus, COVID-19, herbal drugs, immunity, herbal immunomodulators, infection, herbal antiviral drugs, and WHO recommendation" were thoroughly searched. Chemical structures were drawn using the software Chemdraw Professional 15.0.0.160 (PerkinElmer Informatics, Inc.). RESULT: A plethora of literature supports that the use of herbal regimens not only strengthen immunity but can also treat SARS-COV-2 infection with minimal side effects. This review summarizes the mechanistic insights into herbal therapy engaging interferons and antibodies to boost the response against SARS-COV-2 infection, several clinical trials, and in silico studies (computational approaches) on selected natural products including, Ashwagandha, Guduchi, Yashtimadhu, Tulsi, etc. as preventive and therapeutic measures against COVID. We have also emphasized the exploitation of herbal medicine-based pharmaceutical products along with perspectives for unseen upcoming alike diseases. CONCLUSION: According to the current state of art and cutting-edge research on herbal medicines have showed a significant promise as modern COVID tools. Since vaccination cannot be purported as a long-term cure for viral infections, herbal/natural medicines can only be considered a viable alternative to current remedies, as conceived from our collected data to unroot recurring viral infections.

Approaches to Address PK-PD Challenges of Conventional Liposome Formulation with Special Reference to Cancer, Alzheimer's, Diabetes, and Glaucoma: An Update on Modified Liposomal Drug Delivery System.

Liposomes nowadays have become a preferential drug delivery system since they provide facilitating properties to drugs, such as improved therapeutic index of encapsulated drug, target and controlled drug delivery, and less toxicity. However, conventional liposomes have shown some disadvantages, such as less drug loading capacity, poor retention, clearance by kidney or reticuloendothelial system, and less release of hydrophilic drugs. Thus, to overcome these disadvantages recently, scientists have explored new approaches and methods, viz., ligand conjugation, polymer coating, and liposome hybrids, including surface-modified liposomes, biopolymer-incorporated liposomes, guest-in-cyclodextrin-in-liposome, liposome-in-hydrogel, liposome-in-film, liposome-in-nanofiber, etc. These approaches have been shown to improve the physiochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of encapsulated drugs. Lately, pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) computational modeling has emerged as a beneficial tool for analyzing the impact of formulation and system-specific factors on the target disposition and therapeutic efficacy of liposomal drugs. There has been an increasing number of liposome-based therapeutic drugs, both FDA approved and those undergoing clinical trials, having application in cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and glaucoma. To meet the continuous demand of health sectors and to produce the desired product, it is important to perform pharmacokinetic studies. This review focuses on the physical, physicochemical, and chemical factors of drugs that influence the target delivery of drugs. It also explains various physiological barriers, such as systemic clearance and extravasation. A novel approach, liposomal-hybrid complex, an innovative approach as a vesicular drug delivery system to overcome limited membrane permeability and bioavailability, has been discussed in the review. Moreover, this review highlights the pharmacokinetic considerations and challenges of poorly absorbed drugs along with the applications of a liposomal delivery system in improving PKPD in various diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and glaucoma.

Biomedical applications and toxicities of carbon nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes are newer generation material broadly emerged for biomedical applications due to its tempting properties such as size and aspect ratio covering surface area to the length, electrical, mechanical and thermal properties in addition to their unique architecture. The view for CNT-based nanomedicines is attractive and promising. Carbon nanotubes compared to other nanocarriers can be easily modified for conjugation of bioactive compounds and ligands for targeting. The applications of carbon nanotubes are not only limited to drug delivery but also in diagnostic applications. Due to a variety of applications in drug delivery, it is necessary to bear in mind the toxicities of carbon nanotubes and catch the way to overcome the problems related to toxicities. Currently, many studies have explored the biodegradation mechanism of carbon nanotubes. Biodegradation shows a conspicuous pathway that enables degradation and removal of CNTs from living body and catalyzes the release of the load from the CNTs. Many articles have been published till date which evidentiary provides the promising applications of CNTs. The present review seeks to provide an overview on intracellular fate, applications and toxicities of CNTs.

An Insight into Anticancer Bioactives from Punica granatum (Pomegranate).

Cancer is one of the major reasons for mortality across the globe. Many side-effects are associated with the formulations available in the market, affecting the quality of life of the patients. This has caused the researchers to find an alternative source of medications, such as herbal medicine, showing a promising effect in anticancer treatment; one such source is Pomegranate, which belongs to the family Punicaceae. Punica granatum contains many polyphenols that have antioxidant, antidiabetic, and therapeutic effects in the treatment and management of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, as well as a favourable effect on anticancer therapy. Polyphenols like punicalin, punicalagin, and ellagic acid are a few of the many compounds responsible for the anticancer activity of pomegranate. Many preparations of pomegranate, such as Pomegranate Juice (PJ), Pomegranate Seed Oil (PSO), Pomegranate peel extract (PoPx), etc. are used in various clinical studies. These polyphenols show anticancer activity by either arresting the cell cycle in the G2/M phase, inducing apoptosis or damaging the DNA of tumor cells. This review explicitly discusses the role and mechanism of bioactives obtained from the pomegranate in the treatment and management of cancer. The chemical structure, properties, and role of pomegranate in the treatment of breast, lung, thyroid, colon, and prostate cancer have been focused on in detail. This review also discusses various targeted drug delivery approaches for tumour treatment as well as patented preparation of pomegranate compounds along with the ongoing clinical trials.

Systematic development and characterization of curcumin-loaded nanogel for topical application.

Curcumin (CUR) conventional formulation has poor oral bioavailability due to low solubility and low stability. Also, it extensively undergoes first-pass-metabolism showing low biological activity. The present work focuses on the systematic development and characterization of CUR-loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carrier (CUR-NLCs) having promising topical applications for skin diseases such as psoriasis. CUR-NLCs were prepared by using high-speed homogenization method. Quality by design approach was exploited to select out Critical Process Parameters i.e. homogenization speed (X1), homogenization time (X2), amount of lipid (X3), solid lipids (SL): liquid lipids (LL) (X4), and surfactant conc. (X5) using Plackett-Burman design and for obtaining critical quality attributes i.e. particle size (Y1) and entrapment efficiency (Y2) using Box-Behnken design. The developed NLCs were found to be nano-metric in size (189.4 ± 2.6 nm) with a low polydispersity index (0.262 ± 0.24), zeta potential (-21.45 ± 1.3 mV), and showed good encapsulation efficiency (86.72 ± 09%). Surface morphology determined by SEM and AFM revealed the spherical shape of the NLCs with a smooth surface. XRD studies showed NLCs in the amorphous state. After incorporation of NLCs into a nanogel, it was characterized for pH, rheological behavior, spreadability, in vitro occlusion, and in vitro release kinetics. The drug release from NLC in 24 h was found to be 60.2 ± 0.45% indicating a sustained release pattern. Ex vivo permeation studies revealed a good permeation flux (0.453 ± 0.76 µg/cm2.h) and retention (60.2 ± 0.45%) of CUR in the skin epidermis. Thus, developed CUR-NLCs can be a potential delivery system and a promising therapeutic approach for the effective treatment of psoriasis.