ABSTRACT

Falls are the major cause of morbidity and mortality among the elderly. Falls are caused by a combination of factors. Most of these falls are caused by intricate interactions between environmental and internal causes. The use of benzodiazepines is linked to a high proportion of falls among older people. Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs that can treat a range of conditions. Doctors often prescribe them to treat anxiety, seizures, and insomnia. The short-term use of these medications is usually safe and effective, but long-term use can lead to tolerance, dependence, and other adverse effects. After falls, older people frequently experience a loss in functional status and social activities, as well as a lower quality of life. Therefore, they should be provided to elderly patients under the current clinical standards and reviewed on a regular basis. The therapy of choice should be short-acting benzodiazepines in the elderly population. It should be given as a short-term treatment and gradually tapered thereafter. Benzodiazepines should be replaced with safer alternatives such as sleep restriction therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and sleep hygiene psychoeducation. In this article, we examine the evidence on the prevalence of benzodiazepine usage and drug dependence, as well as the fall risk of benzodiazepines in the elderly.

Keywords: Benzodiazepine use, Older people, drug dependence, adverse effects, fall risk, drug withdrawal.

ABSTRACT

Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are two inflammatory joint conditions that lead to degeneration of the synovial region leading to pain and deterioration of the joints finally culminating into loss of joint function. Natural herbal extracts like Boswellia serrata have been found to contain components like Boswellic acids which exhibit the property of inhibition of certain enzymes which are mediators of inflammation in the tissue region. These active components aid to inhibit enzymes like 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LO) and 5-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) thus inhibiting the inflammation component of joint damage. The poor aqueous solubility of the extract of Boswellia serrata poses a challenge for designing effective dosage forms for administering the boswellic acid enriched extract to the site of action. The present work comprises of formulation of a clear isotropic microemulsion system and microemulsion gel containing solubilized Boswellia serrata extract and Primrose oil. The microemulsion was evaluated for globule size, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, entrapment efficiency, stability and irritation potential by HETCAM assay whereas the microemulsion gel was evaluated for pH, viscosity and irritation potential. The microemulsion was found to exhibit a globule size of 403.1 nm,  no changes in chemical structure, entrapment efficiency of 91 % and stable at all conditions of temperatures of 25°C,  30°C  and 40°C, light, freeze-thaw, centrifugation test and non-irritant in nature. The microemulsion gel was found to have a pH of 5.5, viscosity of and non-irritant by HETCAM assay.

Keywords: microemulsion, osteoarthritis, inflammation, HETCAM, entrapment efficiency, boswellic acid

ABSTRACT

In December 2019, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, reported an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown cause. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market was found to be associated with instances of pneumonia. Inoculation of respiratory materials into human airway epithelial cells, Vero E6 and Huh7 cell lines, resulted in the isolation of a novel respiratory virus, which was later identified as a novel coronavirus linked to SARS-CoV after genome analysis (SARS-CoV-2). The beta coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the Sarbecovirus subgenus.¹ Corona virus causes pneumonia, colds, sneezing, and coughing in humans, while it causes diarrhoea and upper respiratory infections in animals. Corona virus spread from person to person or animal to animal through airborne droplets. Corona virus enters human cells via the ACE-2 exopeptidase receptor on the cell membrane. WHO and ECDC recommended avoiding public places and close contact with infected people and pets.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, Immunoglobulin G, RT-PCR, Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals

ABSTRACT

Screening of phytochemicals is a precious stair in the detection of bioactive principles present in particular medicinal plant and may lead to novel drug discovery. In the present study, Bacopa monnieri root extracts are tested for phytochemical and biochemical studies. Ethanolic extract shown good number of compounds compared to methanolic, ethyl acetate, aqueous and chloroform extracts. Phytochemical analysis of ethanolic tuber extract of Bacopa monnieri has shown the biological compounds like carbohydrates, cholesterol, Amino acids, Steroids, Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Cardiac glycosides, Saponins, Tannins, Terpenoids, Phlobatinins, Fattyacids, Coumarins and Phenols. The result suggests that the phytochemicals present in Bacopa monnieri tuber extracts may show antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Keywords: Bacopa monnieri, Phytochemical, Solvent extraction, Biochemical studies.

ABSTRACT

A specific HS-GC-MS method has been developed, optimized and validated for the determination of five genotoxic impurities namely Nitromethane, Nitroethane, 2-Nitropropane, 1-Nitropropane and 1-Nitrobutane in TRB-G, intermediate of Trabectedin drug substance. Chromatographic separation of five genotoxic impurities was achieved on Capillary GC column (Rtx-1701. Fused silica capillary column; 30 m length; 0.25mm internal diameter. coated with 14% Cyanopropylphenyl and 86% dimethyl polysiloxane stationary phase of 1.0 µm film thickness) and passing helium carrier gas with Electron Impact ionization (EI) in Selective Ion Monitoring (SIM). The mass fragments (m/z) were selected for the quantification of m/z-30 for Nitromethane, m/z-29 for Nitroethane, m/z-43 for 2-Nitropropane and 1-Nitropropane and m/z-57 for 1-Nitrobutane. The performance of the method was assessed by evaluating the specificity, linearity, sensitivity, precision and accuracy experiments. The established limit of detection values for the genotoxic impurities were in the range of 0.25 µg/g – 0.58 µg/g and limit of quantification values were in the range of 0.75 µg/g – 1.75 µg/g. This developed method was found to be linear with correlation coefficient is greater than 0.999. The average recoveries for the accuracy were in the range of 89.4–106.8%. Developmental and validation experiments were discussed in detail in this paper.

Keywords: Trabectedin (TRB), HS-GC-MS, Genotoxic impurities and Method validation.

ABSTRACT

Barriers to an early antimicrobial conversion from parenteral to non-parenteral routes are an important problem in the current scenario. Barriers such as a lack of appropriate guidelines for conversion therapies, a lack of culture sensitivity tests for selecting sensitive antibiotics, a lack of supervision by healthcare professionals on converted regimens, a lack of awareness among the patient population about the effectiveness of conversion therapy, and a lack of oral variant antibiotics for its intravenous agents on the market must be identified and resolved. The majority of barriers could be resolved by means of educational, interventional, and structural organizational changes. This may reduce the duration of parenteral antibiotic therapy and the consequent length of stay in hospital. This article review focuses on barriers involved in intravenous to oral antimicrobial conversion therapy and their rectifiable methods. Antibiotics are the most powerful weapons for infectious diseases and could be used in the most appropriate manner by resolving the barriers involved in such conversion therapies and improving the quality of life.

Keywords: Intravenous (IV), Antibiotic, Parenteral, Non-parenteral.

ABSTRACT

The triazoles possess wide spectrum of biological activities like including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, antihypertensive, analgesic, and hypoglycemic properties. The present reviews attempted to gather the basic developments in synthesis and biological activities of triazole derivatives. The novel chemical moiety used in medicinal active substance either (R) or (L) hence Dextro or Levo rotatory form. The broad spectrum of activity is due nitrogen hence nitrogen containing loan pair of electron transfer to another substance and formation of covalent bond.

Keywords Pharmacological activity, Triazole, Synthesis, Isomers, Bio conjugation

ABSTRACT

The excess use of drugs for various ailments is resulting in increasing cases of drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Acute kidney injury is the most common type of drug-induced nephrotoxicity, which accounts for 85% of cases of nephrotoxicity. Herbal medications, due to the presence of various phytoconstituents, possess nephroprotective activity and are used in the treatment of kidney disorders like acute kidney injury, nephrotic syndrome, chronic interstitial nephritis, etc. The present review aimed to elucidate the list of medicinal plants which are scientifically proven to have nephroprotective activity against drug-induced nephrotoxicity. 

Keywords: Nephrotoxicity, Nephroprotective activity, Gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity, Medicinal plants.