Karnataka

Plants have been an important source for developing drugs since time immemorial. Various medicinal herbs are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and Asparagus is one such plant. Asparagus racemosus Willd., more commonly known as Shatavari, has been traditionally used in many systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. It has been used for decades as a galactogogue, uterine tonic, adaptogen, and rejuvenator. Also it has been used to mitigate symptoms of peptic ulcer, as an immunostimulant, hepatoprotective, and aphrodisiac. In addition, several other health benefits of this wonder plant, such as antidepressant, antiamnesic, antianxiety, hypolipidemic, antidiabetic, and anticonvulsant effects have been discovered in the recent years. In this article, an effort has been made to comprehensively enumerate all the health benefits of A. racemosus, known so far.

The condensation of 2-hydrazino-4-phenyl thiazole and 3-formyl-2-hydroxyquinoline has led to the synthesis of a new Schiff base (L) and its series of mononuclear Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes have also been synthesized. The synthesized Schiff base and its metal complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, spectral techniques (FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, GC-MS, ESI-MS, UV-Vis, etc;) and magnetic studies. Elemental analyses reveals the [M(L)2.(H2O)2] stoichiometry, where M= Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II); “L”= doubly deprotonated ligand. The synthesized metal complexes are completely soluble in DMF and DMSO. The molar conductivity values indicate that, the metal complexes are non-electrolytic in nature. The newly synthesized compounds are good anti-tuberculosis and cytotoxic agents. They have been screened for in-vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities by MIC method. The DNA cleavage activity is studied by agarose gel electrophoresis method using pBR322 Plasmid DNA.

The current investigation was delineated to find out the anticancer activity of three different formulations of Triphala and to find the best Triphala formulation for anticancer activity among the three. Aqueous extracts of Terminalia chebula, Termialia bellerica and  Phyllanthus emblica were obtained from Amruta herbals, Indore was dissolved in purified water to make Triphala 1:1:1, 1:2:3, 1:2:4 (F1, F2, F3 respectively) formulation. The number of 1x106 Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell was inoculated in mice. Group I served as untreated negative control while group II was considered as positive control. Group III cancerous animals received standard drug cyclophosphamide 25 mg/kg b.w., whereas group IV to VI cancerous animals were treated with F1 150, 300 and 600mg/kg b.w., group VIII to IX with F2 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg b.w and group X to XII with F3 150, 300 and 600mg/kg b.w., respectively. Different parameter such as change in body weight, determination of survival time, total ascites fluid volume, packed cell volume and haematological parameters were perceived. At the end of investigation, 6 animals from each group were immolated, blood samples were collected and WBC, RBC, Hb content was reckoned. The effect of all three formulations on reduction in body weight, tumor volume, packed cell volume, percentage increase in life span (%ILS) and haematological parameters were compared. The data revealed were suggested that all the three Triphala formulation possessed significant anticancer activity and Triphala 1:2:3 formulation at 600 mg/kg b. w., possessed maximum anticancer activity among the 9 groups compared. Key words: Triphala, Antitumor activity; Ehrlich ascites carcinoma.

Carica papaya, a member of the family Caricaceae, is commonly known for its food and nutritional value throughout the world. During last few decades considerable progress has been achieved regarding the biological activity and medicinal application of papaya and now it is considered as valuable neutraceutical fruit plant. The present study was designed to determine the antimutagenic and anticytotoxic activities of different fractions (Aqueous, Chloroform, Ethanol and Ethyl acetate extracts) of Carica papaya leaves. Antimutagenic activity was determined by the Allium cepa root chromosomal assay using Cyclophosphamide monohydrate as the mutagenic agent and anticytotoxic activity of the extracts was evaluated by determination of mitotic index. All the four fractions displayed significant antimutagenic and anticytotoxic activities against cyclophosphamide-induced chromosomal aberrations and alltogether, the results of our study lend pharmacological credence to the anti-cancerous and ethnomedical use of this plant in traditional system of medicine and these results could be used to develop antimutagenic compounds for cancer therapy.

Dalbergia sissoo (family: Fabaceae) is an Asian deciduous rosewood tree. It is the state tree of Punjab state (India) called as Shisham used for antipyretic, emesis, ulcers, leucoderma, stomach troubles and skin disease, memory enhancer etc. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antidepressant activity of ethanolic leaf extracts of Dalbergia sissoo in mice. The animals were divided into five groups of 6 each. Group I was considered as normal control, II as Standard control (Imipramine), III, IV and V was treated group (ethanolic leaf extracts of Dalbergia sissoo 300, 450 and 600 mg/kg respectively). The animals were acclimatized for behavioral tests like Tail suspension test and Forced swim Test. In behavioral model of depression Tail suspension test and Forced swim Test, ethanolic leaf extracts of Dalbergia sissoo decreased the immobility time significantly and increase in the first latency in dose dependent manner. The findings in the behavioral model of depression showed significant effect was due to the monoamine theory of depression.

The use of bronchodilators has been increasing for the past few decades. Study was planned to evaluate the rational use of bronchodilator drugs by analyzing the appropriateness of the prescription. A prospective observational study was conducted in all the patients who were prescribed with bronchodilators in the pediatric ward. The demographic data and the bronchodilator prescribed were recorded in the data entry format. In the study population of 133 wheezing associated with lower respiratory tract infection was the most predominant disorder found in 35.3% children.  Of the 133 pediatric patients, the major prescription was for SABA (Short Acting Bronchodilators) (99.2%). Of which the major prescription was for salbutamol (63.2%). Most of the children with asthma were prescribed with combination therapy of salbutamol and ipratropium (81.3%). In WALRI (Wheezing Associated Lower Respiratory Tract Infection), patient were prescribed with salbutamol (40.4%) and. In acute bronchiolitis, the major prescription was found to be salbutamol and ipratropium combination (70.3%). In 52.6% of the prescriptions bronchodilator were given by nebulization and oral route, 31.6% were given by nebulization. In 95.5% of patient antibiotics were prescribed along with bronchodilators, followed by mucolytic 55.6% .Other concurrent prescriptions were with steroids (38.3%). It was found that 77.4% of pediatric patients not received any oxygen supplementation. The study found over use of antibiotics, sedatives and mucolytics and under use of steroids. Bronchodilator use was optimal but evaluation of therapy was not done commonly. The study highlighted the need for a local protocol and continuing staff and parent education.

Cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases are currently responsible for two thirds of global mortality. Hypertension is a consistent and independent risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney diseases and stroke. The prevalence of hypertension has increased in urban communities as well as in rural people. There is a strong correlation between changing lifestyle factors and increase in hypertension. Accurate and decisive data about hypertension prevalence and its risk factors is essential for scheming strategies for its effective regulation and prevention. A Community based cross-sectional study was carried out in rural community to monitor prevalence, risk factors, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in rural population. A total of 627 subjects (males n=369 and females n=258) participated in the study (age > 18 years). The participant’s blood pressure was measured and they were asked to answer a pretested questionnaire. As per the JNC VII report, hypertension was defined. Analysis of data was done using chi square test. The prevalence of hypertension was found to be 49.12% (males: 57.18% and female: 37.50%). About 1/4th of the hypertensive population did not knew about their health status. 60-79 year age group had the highest prevalence of hypertension (49.02%). Bivariate analysis of data was indicative of significant relationship between hypertension with that of age, gender, literacy, body mass index (BMI), physical inactivity, and smoking and alcohol consumption. Hence the prevalence of hypertension was found to be highly prevalent in rural community. We also realized the importance of clinical pharmacist and other health care professional’s involvement in monitoring of health problems reporting possible drug related problems, measuring therapeutic compliance and counselling on lifestyle modification in rural populations.

The RP-HPLC method development is to define a quality of the product and its process impurities to consistently deliver the intended quality of the drug substance. All the methods which are published are developed through knowledge base, traditional systematic scientific approach. The established method development for Nilotinib hydrochloride was through the vision of “Quality-by-Design” (QbD) approach to estimate the analytical target profile of the target analyte. The robustness of the method has been achieved with an emphasis on establishing the ‘design space’ of the method through the statistical model to ensure the establishment and use of knowledge on the subject. The proposed chromatographic method as Zorbax SB Phenyl (150mmX4.6mmX3.5µm) column thermo stated 45°C using 15 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) with pH-3.5 and Acetonitrile for the gradient elution with the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection was carried out with the VWD/PDA detector at 240nm. The established design space has been validated against the critical quality attributes (CQA) of the method within the regulatory framework.

Steroids are widely prescribed and used by practitioners due to powerful anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive actions. So, care should be exercised in the rational selection of steroids1. Hence this study was aimed to evaluate the utilization of corticosteroids with the secondary objective to assess co-prescription with corticosteroids, the nature and severity of adverse drug reactions and drug-drug interactions, with an intention to prevent the inappropriate use of corticosteroids. A prospective observational study was carried out in 215 In-patient from various departments of the hospital during 6 months period and subjected to statistical analysis. Out of 215 In-patients, 145 were male and 70 were female, in which most of the patients (22.7%) belongs to age group of 51-60 years. The major complaints were respiratory tract disorders (about 48%) and most of the patients (82%) were prescribed single corticosteroids as monotherapy (42.3%, budesonide) in same or different dosage forms. The commonly used route of administration was inhalation (48%) and is co-prescribed with antibiotics (19.5%). The average number of drugs prescribed was 7.16 drugs per prescription. The mean duration of corticosteroids use was 3.20 ± 1.98 days. The incidence of drug interactions observed were higher (78.6%), with most of them were moderate interactions. The ADR observed with study population were few and minor. The study concluded that, the prescription of corticosteroids is found to be rational except for drug interactions and dosage regimen. Hence the involvement of clinical pharmacists in clinical practice helps to increase proper usage of corticosteroids and optimum outcome.

In the present study, an attempt was made to prepare and evaluate matrix tablets of Ondansetron HCl using HPMC, EC and Eudragit for Sustained release of Ondansetron HCl. The matrix tablets were prepared by wet granulation method. All the formulations are evaluated for the Hardness, Friability, Weight variation, Drug Content, In-Vitro Drug Release. The weight variation and drug contents of all the tablets were found to be uniform with the low SD values. The FTIR study indicated that the drug is stable in the formulations. The prepared matrix tablets were capable of releasing the drug for 12 hours depending upon the formulation variables. The tablets prepared with HPMC and Eudragit combination have shown higher drug release Drug release mechanism followed non-Fickian transport from both the polymers matrices. The drug released from the formulation is depends on the concentration of the polymers.