Amit Saxena

Transdermal delivery holds a promising carrier in the transport of drugs to get direct access across the skin deep into the systemic circulation. It has attracted many researchers due to various biomedical advantages. The barrier nature of stratum corneum poses a threat to the drug delivery. Recently, the use of microneedles in increasing skin permeability has been proposed and shown to dramatically increase transdermal delivery, especially for macromolecules. In the microelectronics industry, microneedles have been fabricated with a range of sizes, shapes and materials. Most drug delivery studies have emphasized solid microneedles, which have been shown to increase skin permeability to a broad range of molecules and nanoparticles in vitro Microneedles can be used to enhance transdermal drug delivery. In this review different types of microneedles are described and their methods of fabrication highlighted. There are also hydrogel-forming microneedles. These are innovative microneedles which do not contain drugs but imbibe interstitial fluid to form continuous conduits between dermal microcirculation and an attached patch-type reservoir. Several microneedles approved by regulatory authorities for clinical use are also examined. It also focuses on the delivery of various therapeutic agents effectively different carriers emphasizing mainly on the potential role of microneedles as transdermal system.

The methanolic extract of Alstonia scholaris (L) R.Br. stem bark was screened for hepatoprotective activity against Swiss albino rats with liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride. The results of hepatoprotective activity revealed that the methanolic extract of Alstonia scholaris significantly decreased the biochemical parameters (SGOT, SGPT, ALP, TP and TB). Silymarin (25 mg/kg), a known hepatoprotective drug, was used for comparison. The extract did not show any mortality up to a dose of 2000 mg/kg body weight. The findings indicated that the methanolic stem bark extract of Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. (200 mg/kg) was effective in bringing the functional improvement of hepatocytes. The hepatoprotective activity was also supported by histopathological studies of liver tissues. Key words:  Alstonia scholaris, extract, hepatoprotective, carbon tetrachloride.

Delonix regia, a well known plant with high medicinal value, reported to have a number of biological activities including antioxidant, and presence of flavonoids in its chemical constituents. Antioxidant property and flavonoids have been associated with wound healing actions of plants. The present study was done to investigate the wound healing properties of Delonix regia in experimental animal models. The ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Delonix regia flowers were prepared to study the effect on wound healing in albino rats using incision and excision wound models. Healing was assessed by the rate of wound contraction, period of epithelialisation, tensile strength (skin breaking strength) and estimation the hydroxyproline content. The extracts significantly promoted the healing process, as evident by an increase in wound breaking strength, percentage of wound contraction, increased hydroxyproline content and decreased epithelialisation period, suggesting the possible utilization of this plant to enhance wound healing. Key words: Delonix regia, flowers, extract, wound.