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Montelukast Ameliorates Scopolamine-induced Alzheimer's Disease: Role on Cholinergic Neurotransmission, Antioxidant Defence System, Neuroinflammation and Expression of BDNF.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an overwhelming neurodegenerative disease with progressive loss of memory. AD is characterized by the deposition of the senile plaques mainly composed of β-amyloid (Aβ) fragment, BDNF decline, Cholinergic system overactivity and neuroinflammation. Montelukast (MTK), a leukotriene receptor antagonist, showed astounding neuroprotective effects in a variety of neurodegenerative disorders. This study aims to investigate the ameliorative effects of Montelukast in the scopolamineinduced Alzheimer's disease (AD) model in rats and evaluate its activity against neuroinflammation. Thirty rats were split into five groups: Control group (1 mL/kg normal saline, i.p.), Montelukast perse (10 mg/kg, i.p.), Disease group treated with Scopolamine (3 mg/kg, i.p.), Donepezil group (3 mg/kg, i.p.), Montelukast treatment group (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and behavioural and biochemical tests were carried out to assess the neuro protective effect. Scopolamine treatment led to a significant reduction in learning and memory and an elevation in cholinesterase levels when compared with the control group (p < 0.01). Additionally, elevated oxidative stress and Amyloid-β levels were associated with enhanced neuroinflammation (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the decline in neurotrophic factor BDNF is also observed when compared with the normal control group (p < 0.01). Montelukast pre-treatment significantly attenuated learning and memory impairment and cholinesterase levels. Besides, Montelukast and standard drug donepezil administration significantly suppressed the oxidative stress markers (p < 0.01), Amyloid-β levels, neuroinflammatory mediators (p < 0.05) and caused a significant increase in BDNF levels (p < 0.05). Montelukast bestowed ameliorative effects in scopolamine-induced AD animal models as per the previous studies via attenuation of memory impairment, cholinesterase neurotransmission, oxidative stress, Amyloid-β levels, neuroinflammatory mediators and enhanced BDNF levels.

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Andrographis paniculata and Andrographolide - A Snapshot on Recent Advances in Nano Drug Delivery Systems against Cancer.

Cancer is one of the deadliest illnesses of the 21st century. Chemotherapy and radiation therapies both have considerable side effects. Antitumor antibiotics are one of them. Coughs, common colds, fevers, laryngitis, and infectious disorders have all been treated with Andrographis paniculata for centuries. Extracts of Andrographis effectively treat various ailments, as well as cancer. The most active molecule in Andrographis paniculata is andrographolide a, diterpene, and lactone. Andrographis paniculata and its derivatives have long been used to treat various ailments. Anti-inflammatory and cancerfighting characteristics have been observed in Andrographolide. Andrographolide, a diterpene lactone separated from Andrographis paniculata, has also been shown to have important criticalessential biological protective properties. It has also been suggested that it could be used to treat major human diseases like-rheumatoid like rheumatoid, colitis, and Parkinsons disease. This summary aims to highlight Andrographolide as a promising cancer treatment option. Several databases were searched for andrographolides cytotoxic/anti-cancer effects in pre-clinical and clinical research to serve this purpose. Several studies have shown that Andrographolide is helpful in cancer medication, as detailed in this review.

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Nanostructured Lipid Carriers Mediated Drug Delivery to Posterior Segment of Eye and their In-vivo Successes.

The disease of the posterior segment of the eye is a major concern worldwide, and it affects more than 300 million people and leads to serious visual deterioration. The current treatment available is invasive and leads to serious eye complications. These shortcomings and patient discomfort lead to poor patient compliance. In the last decade, Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) have established a remarkable milestone in the delivery of drug substances to the posterior segment of the eye. Additionally, NLC can reduce the clearance due to adhesive properties which are imparted due to nano-metric size. This attribute might reduce the adverse effects associated with intravitreal therapy and thus enhance therapeutic efficacy, eventually raising patient adherence to therapy. The current review provides an inclusive account of NLC as a carrier to target diseases of the posterior segment of the eye. The review focuses on the various barrier encountered in the delivery of drugs to the posterior segment of the eye and the detail about the physicochemical property of drug substances that are considered to be suitable candidates for encapsulation to lipid carriers. Therefore, a plethora of literature has been included in this review. The review is an attempt to describe methods adopted for assessing the in-vivo behavior that strengthens the potential of NLC to treat the disease of the posterior segment of the eye. These NLC-based systems have proven to be a promising alternative in place of invasive intravitreal injections with improved patient compliance.

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Standardization of Herbal Medicines and the Guidelines for the Standardization

Abstract: The use of medicinal plants for their therapeutic benefits is immemorial, leading to their global acceptability. The pharmaceutical market is significantly influenced by medicinal plants and herbal preparations as a source for pharmaceutical manufacturing procedures. Over the past few decades, the mass production of herbal preparations at an industrial scale as well as the adulteration of raw material and final products have raised serious concerns over its safety, purity, and efficacy. Standardization of medicinal plants and their preparations as per the current WHO guidelines is of prime importance to overcome quality issues. The guidelines aim at the identification of potentially hazardous contaminants and assessing the quality of the herbal material by various qualitative and quantitative means. Various methodologies, techniques, and procedures are prescribed in the guidelines for maintaining the overall quality of the finished herbal product. However, due to a lack of research data and technical constraints many of the accepted limits in the guidelines are a reference and extrapolation of research done in food science. Standardization is a crucial part of the quality assurance program so as to set proper norms for the manufacture of quality products thus contributing to the benefit of mankind. The current review aims at highlighting various standardization parameters and guidelines for the same.

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Levosimendan ameliorates the scopolamine induced cognitive impairment via modulating pCREB/BDNF expression, cholinergic neurotransmission and neuroinflammation

Abstract Levosimendan, an inotropic drug that potentiates ATP-dependent K+ channel and sensitise troponin-C for calcium. It has positive effects in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease and mild septic encephalopathy. However, its effect on Alzheimer's disease remains unclear. Hence, in this study, we have investigated the effect of levosimendan against scopolamine induced cognitive impairment in rats via behavioural tests (Y maze, water maze and novel object recognition test), cholinesterase enzymes, oxidative stress markers, amyloid-β plaques, inflammatory mediators, and neurotrophic factors analysis. In this study, rats were divided into five groups. The first and second groups were given with vehicle or levosimendan (100 µg/kg/day i.p.) throughout the study. The remaining groups were pre-treated with vehicle/Donepezil (3mg/kg/day i.p.)/Levosimendan (100 µg/kg/day i.p.) respectively. From day – 8 these groups were given with their respective drugs and Scopolamine (3 mg/kg., i.p.) with 1 hour time interval. Behavioral analysis was carried out to assess the learning and memory functions of rats after 30 min of scopolamine administration from day 8 to day 17. Levosimendan treated group significantly improves in number of spontaneous alterations and recognition ability in Y-maze and NOR test respectively. In addition, levosimendan inhibited scopolamine induced pathological changes such as increased levels of cholinesterase enzymes, Aβ accumulation, neuro inflammation and reduced levels of BDNF. In summary, these findings indicate that pre-treatment with levosimendan mitigates the scopolamine induced behavioural and biochemical changes.

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A Review on recent approaches for the use of different Analytical Techniques to Analyze some Calcium Channel Blockers and their Combinations with other Antihypertensive Drugs

Background:: Diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure all considerably raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. When all three of these characteristics occur at once, a metabolic problem is postulated. A combination of antihypertensive, hypolipidemic, and anti-diabetic medications is frequently utilised to treat cardiovascular diseases. While statins (fluvastatin, simvastatin, etc.) are used to lower cholesterol levels, calcium channel blockers (e.g. amlodipine, efonidipine, and azelnidipine, etc.) are used to target the smooth muscles of the heart. Diuretics (e.g. chlortalidone, hydrochlorothiazide, etc.) and angiotensin II receptor antagonist (blockers) are also used to manage high blood pressure. Objective:: The study aimed to review liquid chromatography and related high-performance (HPLC) techniques that have been developed and used for evaluating the above drugs, together with an overview of the research work published in various scientific and drugs-linked journals. Results:: A basic critical investigation of the detailed published information has been completed and the current status of HPLC and related techniques as a percent measure of calcium channel blockers has been examined. Conclusion:: This survey has explored several matrices, including pharmacological products and organic samples, as well as methods for examining direct calcium blockers in them. It also discusses the current state of calcium channel blocker stability investigations. Additionally, it offers scientific approaches for the concurrent estimate of angiotensin II receptor antagonism, diuretics, statins, and beta-blockers with calcium channel blockers.

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Influence of seasonal variation on steroidal content and in vivo post-coital antifertility activity of bark extracts of Caesalpinia pulcherrima Linn

BackgroundPrevious research has shown that seasonal variations in phytoconstituent levels eventually lead to alterations in the biological activities of the plant materials. The research assessed the effects of seasonal changes on β-sitosterol levels and the anti-fertility properties of two solvated bark extracts (ethanol and water) from Caesalpinia pulcherrima (CP) Linn. in female rats. Materials and methodsSoxhlet and hot reflux extraction with ethanol and water solvents were used to separate the active components from the barks. The phytochemical screening, characterization, and in-vivo antifertility activity in female rats were carried out to determine the presence of bioactive components. Two dosages of the extracts (200 and 400 mg/kg) were chosen based on the results of an acute toxicity investigation. Uterine tissue histopathology was performed to analyze the effects of various treatments. The data was statistically examined and p value less than 0.05 was considered to reflect the significance. ResultsThe extracts were characterized for the presence of beta-sitosterol using FT-IR, H1-NMR, and HR-Mass. The animals were able to withstand a dose of up to 2000 mg/kg without exhibiting any toxicological signs or symptoms. Based on in vivo investigations, an ethanolic extract of the bark showed 88.93 % and 77.21 % anti-implantation action at 200 and 400 mg/kg, while an aqueous extract showed 78.31 and 70.52 % activity at the same doses. When compared to the control, the anti-implantation and estrogenic actions of both extracts were shown to be statistically significant (p<0.001). The abortifacient effect in the rainy season ethanolic extract was linear and dose-dependent, as compared to the control (p<0.001). ConclusionThe findings of this study suggest that the presence of the phytosterol beta Sitosterol in Caesalpinia pulcherrima (CP) Linn. is responsible for its post-coital antifertility effect. It appears that the amount of beta-sitosterol in the plant, which may have an antifertility effect, is greatly affected by seasonal change.

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