Pharmacy

Objective : To assess intern pharmacists’ perceived preparedness for practice, document the extent of their involvement.  in selected pharmacy related activities during the internship period, as well as determine their future career path. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among intern pharmacists using an eight item questionnaire. Simple descriptive statistics were used to calculate frequency counts and percentages with regard to respondent demographics and Likert scale responses. Results: Eighty-five percent of the 20 respondents perceived that they are prepared to perform dispensing and retail, and patient care activities with only half of them in multidisciplinary team care but not pharmaceutical business management (13, 65%). Close to two-thirds of respondents were often involved in patient care (13, 65%). Only six (30%) were often part of a multidisciplinary health care team. Nearly all (18, 90%) want to work in an environment with more patient cont...

Natural products have played an important role throughout the world in treating and preventing human diseases. Natural product medicines have come from various source materials including terrestrial plants, terrestrial microorganisms, marine organisms, and terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates and its importance in modern medicine. The value of natural products in this regard can be accessed from: (i) the rate of introduction of new chemical entities of wide structural diversity, including serving as templates for semi synthetic and total synthetic modification, (ii) the number of diseases treated or prevented by these substances, and (iii) their frequency of use in the treatment of disease. On this basis drug like chitrak, kalijiri, Shilagit, Shankhpuspi, Palash, Kantakari are reviewed

Bacterial endotoxin is the lipopolysaccharide component of the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria, together with other cellular material that combines to form an endotoxin complex. Endotoxin is pyrogenic and it presents a risk to patients who are administered intravenous and intramuscular preparations.1Thus bacterial endotoxins pose a risk to many pharmaceutical processes and, where not controlled, to the finished products. There are different methods for endotoxin removal. These include depyrogenation,2 such as dry-heat processes applied to glassware, and rinsing,3 as might be applied to closures. These areas receive reasonable coverage within the pharmaceutical sector. Areas that are actively discussed within biotechnology fields but which receive less attention in the wider pharmaceutical context are steps to remove endotoxin bound to protein. This article considers some of the biotechnological applications for endotoxin removal.

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.

"""Excipients are the integral part of pharmaceutical products development to achieve desired product profile(stability and efcacy). This review deals with understanding of the physicochemical properties of excipients used
in parenteral formulation development for solution, suspension and lyophilized drug products. However, in spite of proper excipients selection, judicious use during formulation manufacturing process based on their critical properties is also important to avoid negative effects such as loss of drug solubility, activity and stability. This paper deals with proper selection of excipients in lyophilized drug products which gives high critical temperature, good bulking properties avoiding melt back and collapse with improved dried product appearance. We have also emphasized on appropriate selection of excipients for solution, suspension injectable dosage forms and linking their physiochemical properties with optimum manufacturing method with suitable case studies. This review will highlight various excipient related issues optimizing product performance with documented references and practical approaches based on scientific justification. The reader will gain better understanding of excipients complexity during stability studies and resolving problems with practical approach."

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.

Cleanroom contamination can arise from a number of sources. Most contamination within the pharmaceutical facility can be traced to humans working in cleanrooms. The paper discusses staff gowning and personnel behavior in pharmaceutical cleanrooms, and how cleanroom risk can be minimized. The human skin ecosystem is discussed. The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) from the US NIH characterized microorganisms found in association with both healthy and diseased humans. Information from this project has great impact on cleanroom activities including gowning practices. Topics associated with cleanroom garments are discussed including fabric types,

Compressed gas sampling for microorganisms is an important part of contamination control assessment.  This paper addresses topics related to microbial assessment of compressed gases.  These include gas purity including moisture considerations, sterile filtration, compressed gas standards, microbial contamination, microbial survival, sampling and testing requirements, instrumentation, and various sampling considerations including growth medium choice and frequency, and reporting requirements.

Within microbiology, a shift is taking place from simple laboratory studies toward greater use of risk assessment and management]. Sometimes these approaches form part of a drug company’s total quality system; sometimes they exist as stand-alone techniques. The most important guidelines for pharmaceutical microbiology are described in ICH Q9, including the tools of FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis); FTA (Fault Tree Analysis); and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points). The two most commonly used within microbiology are HACCP (which originated in the food industry) and FMEA (developed for engineering). This article explores these two approaches, first with a description of HACCP, followed by a description and case study of FMEA in sterility testing.

Effective, ecologically safe methods for cleaning rabbits from the scabies Psoroptes cuniculi and Notoedres cuniculi in industrial farms and farms have been developed. It was found that after complete treatment with 4% and 8% solutions of the preparation Vita-Start, all the experimental animals, regardless of their degree of damage, recovered completely. An increase in the concentration of up to 4% and 8% in this preparation increased the lethal effect of the action on the tick of Notoedres cuniculi up to 100%. When treating animals with a slight degree of notoedrosis with a solution of Neo (5: 5) 4% and 8%, extensive efficacy was 7.5% and 52%, with an average degree of 5% and 47.6%.

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.

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.

Background: Dmpa Is Hormonal Contraception Has High Effectiveness In Controlling Birth. Dpma Utilization For Long Term Period May Cause Many Side Effects, One Of Them Is Mood Disorder Of Depression. Progestin Used Periodically Or For Long Term Period May Disrupt Formation Process Of Vitamin B6 In The Body. Vitamin B6 Is Essential Vitamin In The Brain Due To It Is Necessary To Convert Tryptophan To Be Serotonin And If It Is Used In The Long Term Period, Then Progestin May Decrease Serotonin Level Which Lead To Depression. Objective: Assess The Relationship Between Vitamin B6 Level With Depression To The Hormonal Contraception Acceptors Of Depo Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (Dmpa) For 2 Years.

The present study was designed to evaluate the preventive and curative cardioprotective potential of native and gemmotherapeutically treated on the basis of biochemical, histopathological and antioxidant parameters in the salbutamol (albuterol) induced myocardial necrosis in rabbits. Gemmotherapy is a newly emerging way of treatment and no work so far has been done on evaluation of curative cardioprotective potential of Withania somnifera. Rabbits were divided into eight main groups: Normal, Ischemia, WS Gemmo-baseline, WS Native-baseline, WS Gemmo-preventive, WS Native-preventive, WS Gemmo-curative and WS Native-curative groups. Gemmo and native-baseline groups were treated with gemmo and native W. somnifera (50 mg/kg) for 20 days. Native and Gemmo-preventive groups were pre-treated with native and gemmotherapeutically treated W. somnifera at a dose 50 mg/kg for 3 weeks. On 20 th and 21 st day animals of all groups except normal and baseline groups were given Salbutamol (50mg/ kg), orally at an interval of 24 h. The Native-curative and Gemmo-curative groups were then treated with native and gemmotherapeutically treated W. somnifera at a dose 50 mg/ kg for 5 days, subsequent to the treatment with Salbutamol. Rabbits were subsequently sacrificed for gross pathological studies and hearts were removed for antioxidant assay. Administeration of Salbutamol significantly increased (p<0.05) the serum level of CK-MB, LDH, SGOT and SGPT in ischemia group as compared to Normal. However, pre-and post-treatment with Native and Gemmo extracts of W. somnifera significantly restored and reduced (p<0.05) the elevated serum levels of these cardiac markers. Also Native and Gemmo extracts of W. somnifera significantly increased (p<0.05) antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. No significant change was observed in the activity of cardiac enzymes in baseline groups. Protective actions of W. somnifera on heart have also been confirmed by gross pathology.

Diclofenac is one of the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of pain, rheumatism and other inflammatory conditions. The drug has analgesic, anti-pyritic and anti-inflammatory effects. Rapid and sensitive-reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used to analyze the amount of Diclofenac in the samples. The calibration curve was linear with correlation coefficient (r 2) of 0.9999 at concentration range of 10 to 80 µg/ml and coefficient of variance (CV %) of less than 5%. Percentage content of Diclofenac from the different pharmaceutical preparations was within 97.5 to 115.5%, but 42.86% failed with over range, while 57.14% passed the British Pharmacopoeia (BP) specification range of 95 to 105.0% of the prescribed content. The drug release profiles were evaluated in vitro using a dissolution test apparatus. The USP paddle method was used to perform the dissolution profiles of Diclofenac Sodium. From the result, there is still need for the policy markers in the country to checkmate the imports of different brands of pharmaceutical products into the Nigerian market, since almost 50% of the drug analyzed is above the stated amount claimed by the manufacturers.

In the current investigation, the selected phytocompounds of Cocculus hirsutus were screened for potent tau aggregation inhibitors for Alzheimer’s disease through in silico molecular docking. Approximately 19 phytocompounds from Cocculus hirsutus were selected and assessed for their drug likeness based on rule-of-five using Swiss ADME. The phytocompounds that passed rule-of-five were subjected to in silico analysis through molecular docking on Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) and Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3B) using Molegro Virtual Docker v6.0. Molecular docking studies. The molecular interaction on CDK5 and GSK3B enzymes indicate their role in the tau protein aggregation inhibitory activity of the phytocompounds. In silico analysis showed that hirsutine and cohirsinine bind effectively at the active site of target proteins with a MolDock score of -115.08 and -107.29 respectively. The MolDock scores, ReRank scores and interaction poses of the phytocompounds were compared with the known inhibitors of CDK5 and GSK3B enzymes. The present research created a new perspective in understanding hirsutine and cohirsinine phytocompounds as effective inhibitors of tau aggregation and further research in vitro and in vivo may confirm their therapeutic potential in Alzheimer’s.