Pharmacology

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is the major pharmacologically-active component of some propolis types, rich in polyphenols, such as poplar propolis types. CAPE has the potential to be applied as a pharmaceutical as it possesses most of the pharmacological activities of propolis, such as anti-proliferative, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. Its advantage is that it lacks some of the downsides of total propolis extracts, such as inability for unified standardization, which is cornerstone for implementing its therapeutic potential as a drug. The current paper provides an overview on the pharmacodynamic principles of CAPE. We present literature search outcomes form ClinicalTrials.gov database and from scientific publications, available on Scopus and Crossref databases. We take a round view of CAPE’s potential therapeutic implications in light of approved drugs with related modes of action.

The Moringa plant provides a rich and rare combination of zeatin, quercetin, sitosterol, caffeoylquinic acid and kaempferol. In addition to its compelling water purifying powers and high nutritional value, M. oleifera is very important for its medicinal value. Various parts of this plant such as the leaves, roots, seed, bark, fruit, flowers and immature pods act as cardiac and circulatory stimulants, antipyretic, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antiepileptic, diuretic, antiulcer, antispasmodic antihypertensive, cholesterol lowering, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antibacterial, hepatoprotective, and antifungal activities, and are being employed for the treatment of different ailments in the indigenous system of medicine, particularly in South Asia.

The concept of Mizaj-e-advia (temperament of drugs) in Unani medicine is not only unique in its own way of describing the properties of drug substances but also stands the test of time by proving extremely valuable in predicting the behavior of drugs on administration or topical application to humans. Mizaj-e-advia is a broad concept, which describes the pharmacological properties of crude drugs derived from plant, animal and mineral sources. This classical way of drug development may show promising results as an alternative to the extremely cumbersome and costly experimental phase of the conventional drug development process. However, it needs extensive research to unravel its yet obscure pharmacological correlations and scientific interpretations. This work reviews the concept of Mizaj-e-advia and assesses its role in drug developmental process in Unani Medicine. It also includes a review of some important research works so far undertaken in this field, lays emphasis, and highligh...

Madhuca longifolia (Mahua) belongs to family Sapotaceae. Madhuca commonly known as the Butter nut tree is a medium to large sized deciduous tree distributed in Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. Madhuca longifolia is a large tree, about 17m high with a large top. Mahua is a large, shady, deciduous tree doting much of the central Indian landscape, both wild and cultivated. Mahua seeds are of economic importance as they are good source of edible fats. Medicinal herbs are moving from fringe to mainstream use with a great number of people seeking remedies and health approaches free from side effects caused by synthetic chemicals. Madhuca longifolia is reported to contain sapogenins, triterpenoids, steroids, saponins, flavonoids and glycosides. It is used as spasmogenic, oxytocic, uterotonic, anti-bacterial, anti-implantation, anti-tumour, anti-progestational, antiestrogenic activity against menorrhagia and anti-cancer. This review contains the traditional uses of various parts of plant, Phytochemical constituent and different reported pharmacological activity.

Henry, archdeacon of Huntingdon, England (ca 1088–ca 1154) has been admired for centuries as the author of the monumental Historia Anglorum. The recent discovery of the Anglicanus ortus opens a new window onto this important English author as well as onto the uses of poetry and the knowledge of medicine in medieval England. Written in Latin verse, the Anglicanus ortus describes the medicinal uses of 160 different herbs, spices and vegetables. Henry drew on centuries of learned medicine to compose this work, employing the medical knowledge of ancient authors like Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides and of medieval scholars like Walahfrid Strabo, Macer Floridus and Constantine the African. But this is no ordinary herbal: the work is staged first as a discussion between a master and a student walking around a garden, inspecting the plants in their separate beds, and then as an awkward performance by the same master before Apollo and a critical audience, seated in a theatre at the garden’s centre. Beyond its didactic and performative aspects, the entire work is framed as a prayer to God’s generative capacity and the rational order of nature. The search for that order is virtuous: as Henry himself says, ‘Happy is he who can know the causes of things, especially whatever will be the cause of health.’ This critical edition is based on the five extant manuscripts and includes a complete English translation on facing pages and a commentary on every poem. An extensive introduction traces the history and relation of the manuscripts, examines Henry’s poetic skill and use of sources, and establishes the place of the Anglicanus ortus in a pivotal era in the history of medicine and natural philosophy.

Ethnographic documentation tells us that very often
hunters poison their weapons with toxic substances.The
ease with which poisons can be obtained from plants
and animals, and the benefits arising from their application
on throwing weapons (a safe distance from the
hunter’s prey, killing large size prey relatively quickly)
suggests that this practice could be widespread among
prehistoric hunters.In particular, the poisonous substances
can incapacitate the animal, irrespective of whether
the weapon causing a mortal wound: this is crucial for
the recovery of meat and furs in good conditions.
In this paper we present the development of a method
for the detection of toxic substances on European Upper
Paleolithic stone and bone points. This research is part
of a wider project on the analysis of residues on the prehistoric
projectile points in collaboration with the Dept.
of Chemical and Forensic Sciences of the Northumbria
University, Newcastle.
The investigation makes use of mass spectrometric analysis
to establish the presence/absence of potentially toxic
substances even after thousands of years.
The plants of the Ranunculaceae family, particularly
monkshood, as well as other common toxic plants such
as hemlock or andstrychnos toxiferia (curare) are those
on which we have more historical information and form
the basis of this work. Using a completely non-invasive method, samples were
taken from the ethnographic materials preserved in the
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of Cambridge
(UK), and samplings are scheduled at the Pitt
Rivers Museum of Oxford (UK) and Museo Etnografico
Pigorini of Roma (Italy).
The method preview the research of the toxic molecules
starting from the present plants and working backwards
through the study of the historical and ethnographic
weapons.

Laboratory Information System (LIS) streamlines workflow in the laboratory and eliminates time-consuming paperwork. The business today is getting increasingly pressured to be more productive and efficient with less traditional resources. If we look at a typical production process, for instance, the level of automation and optimization that has permeated into the production floor is quite astounding. Many industries have had a tremendous impact in bringing to the market the automation and optimization solutions to streamline -the production floor. The other ends of the spectrum are the back-office transaction oriented processes like Inventory Management, Materials Management, Financials and so on, Therefore a lab’s ability to process data quickly and its ability to disseminate that information efficiently throughout the plant is vital for the success of the production process. Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) can help in managing the information flow within the lab and can be the modus operandi of connecting the lab with the rest of the organization. For instance, imagine all the information that is generated in a lab.

• This book provides fundamental knowledge of practical aspects of the experimental pharmacology right from laboratory animal handling and tissue mounting to practical implications of various important complex experimental procedures.

• This book covers experiments from New PCI Syllabus for B. Pharmacy (education regulation 2014) in addition to that the important techniques and procedures used in experimental pharmacology.

• This book is prepared using simple language and tried to explain the experiment with a model data of observation, calculation, graph and result for better clarity to carry out the experiments in animals or understand the experimental pharmacological techniques by observing the simulated experiments.

• The experimental methodology and experimental data explained in this book are designed on the basis of robust scientific materials and personal experience in hands-on experiments under the guidance of eminent personalities.

• This book will be helpful for graduates and postgraduates related to pharmacology, trainees, research workers during their day-to-day activities. Several simple and newer experimental models have been incorporated which may help the students to engage in drug discovery activities in the future. Besides this, several important points have been discussed e.g. ethics of animal experimentation, care, and handling of experimental animals, preparation of solutions, tissue mounting for in vitro studies, etc.

Mutations in the cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 gene cause a clinical variant of Rett syndrome (CDKL5-RTT). A role for the acute-phase response (APR) is emerging in typical RTT caused by methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 gene mutations (MECP2-RTT). No information is, to date, available on the inflammatory protein response in CDKL5-RTT. We evaluated, for the first time, the APR protein response in CDKL5-RTT. Protein patterns in albumin- and IgG-depleted plasma proteome from CDKL5-RTT patients were evaluated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis/mass spectrometry. The resulting data were related to circulating cytokines and compared to healthy controls or MECP2-RTT patients. The effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) were evaluated. CDKL5-RTT mutations resulted in a subclinical attenuated inflammation, specifically characterized by an overexpression of the complement component C3 and CD5 antigen-like, both strictly related to the inflammatory response. Cytokine dysregu...

Many healthy subjects and patients are taking natural bioactive products for the prevention and treatment of multiple conditions, including gastrointestinal disorders. Based on current evidence, the scientific validity of the use of many of these commercial compounds by the ...

Tick and tick borne diseases are one of the biggest public health and veterinary problems in the world. Control of ticks using chemical acaricides have developed resistance to wide range of acaricides and also producing environmental pollution. Nowadays more emphasis is given on use of environment free biocontrol agents such as ethno veterinary herbal medicines. Use of Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco) was a traditional control remedy for control of ectoparasites in India. In vitro acaricidal efficacy of crude aqueous leaf extract of Nicotiana tabacum on immature and adult stages of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus was carried out at concentrations of 15, 30, 45 and 60% with 12 hour time interval. The extract was found to have a significant effect on the mortality of nymphal and adult stages of ticks. The 100% mortality of Nymphal and adult stages of ticks was observed at 36 hours post treatment with 60% concentration. 100% mortality of all the Nymphal and adult stages of ticks was observed with the concentration 15, 30, 45 and 60% at 48 hours post treatment. The mortality rates increased with the extract concentrations. It is concluded that Nicotiana tabacum is effective biocontrol agent for control of ticks.

The present work is in the technical field of plant extraction. More particularly, the work relates to the extraction of medicinal plants using liquid nitrogen in a closed environment. The principal objective of this work is to provide a new method of plant extraction using liquid nitrogen which is simple, safe and less time consuming as compared to the existing open method of plant extraction using liquid nitrogen. The plant used for the study was Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers. The new method includes the steps of size reduction of the plant material, taking the plant material and solvent in culture tubes, closing the tubes properly and dipping these tubes into liquid nitrogen at below-196 °C, melting the frozen material inside the tubes and collecting the liquid extract. The new method of plant extraction avoids exposing liquid nitrogen in open environment and thus avoids the drawbacks of the available methods of plant extraction using liquid nitrogen in open environment.

Prostate cancer characteristically induces osteoblastic bone metastasis, for which no therapies are available. A dual kinase inhibitor of c-Met and VEGFR-2 (cabozantinib) was shown to reduce prostate cancer growth in bone, with evidence for suppressing osteoblastic activity. However, c-Met and VEGFR2 signaling in osteoblasts in the context of bone metastasis remain unclear. Here we show using cultured osteoblasts that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and VEGF-A increased receptor activator of NFkB ligand (RANKL) and M-CSF, two essential factors for osteoclastogenesis. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) also increased RANKL and M-CSF via c-Met transactivation. The conditioned media from IGF1-, HGF-, or VEGFA-treated osteoblasts promoted osteoclastogenesis that was reversed by inhibiting c-Met and/or VEGFR2 in osteoblasts. In vivo experiments used cabozantinib-resistant prostate cancer cells (PC-3 and C4-2B) to test the effects of c-Met/VEGFR2 inhibition specifically in osteoblasts. Cabozantinib (60 mg/kg, 3 weeks) suppressed tumor growth in bone and reduced expression of RANKL and M-CSF and subsequent tumor-induced osteolysis. Collectively, inhibition of c-Met and VEGFR2 in osteoblasts reduced RANKL and M-CSF expression, and associated with reduction of tumor-induced osteolysis, suggesting that c-Met and VEGFR2 are promising therapeutic targets in bone metastasis.

Objective: To determine the precipitating factors of hepaticencephalopathy (HE) in patients with liver cirrhosis Background and Objectives: Hepatic encephalopathy is an extra hepatic complication of impairedliver function and is manifested as neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms associated with acute or chronic liver disease in the absence of other neurological disorders. This study aims to ascertain the spectrum of precipitating factors of hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis of liver.