Karnataka

The purpose of this research was to develop mouth dissolve tablets ofdomperidone andpantoprazole, were prepared by direct compression technique. Pantoprazole inhabits gastric acid formation and thereby it is very efficient for the treatment of gastric and duodenum ulcers. Domperidone, an antiemetic drug, has been used as an add-on treatment in adults and children. The tablets were prepared using microcrystalline cellulose as diluent and  aspartames as sweetening agent along with three different levels of disintegrant. The superdisintegrant used in this study were CCS and SSG. The tablets were evaluated for weight variation, hardness, friability, wetting time, water absorption ratio, disintegration time (DT) and dissolution study. formulation prepared with 30% of CCS showed Disintegration time of 20seconds in vitro. Also the hardness, friability, dissolution rate of prepared tablets (batch F6) were found to be acceptable according to standard limits.

In past there have been many medicinal plants, which have been used in traditional medicines for their antidiabetic properties without any scientific support and pharmacological evidence. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antihyperglycemic activity of the crude extracts of leaves of Holarrhena antidysenterica. The pet ether, chloroform and ethanolic extracts have been subjected to estimate the anti-hyperglycemic activity in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Blood glucose levels were measured using the commercially available glucometer. Glibenclamide was used as a reference drug at a dose of 0.6 mg/kg. The antioxidant activity of the test samples was studied in the liver tissue of diabetic rats by measuring catalase and lipid peroxidation levels. The results showed that ethanolic extract possessed a significant antihyperglycaemic and antioxidant activity equipotent with the reference drug (glibenclamide), when evaluated in diabetic rats.

Satavar is an important drug which has been used in Unani and Ayurveda systems of medicine since long as an effective aphrodisiac and galactogogue drug. It is widely distributed throughout tropical and sub-tropical parts of India up to an altitude of 1500 m. It is also known as the queen of herbs. It is cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant. Chemically it is comprised of saponins, alkaloids, steroids, carbohydrates, mucilage and essential nutrients like mineral and vitamins by virtue of which it possesses therapeutic actions such as aphrodisiac, galactogogue, immunomodulator, demulcent and anti-inflammatory etc. Modern scientific researches have also proved its novel therapeutic activities like antioxidant, antibacterial, hypoglycemic, antidepressant etc. In this article an attempt has been made to summarize the immense classical Unani literature and modern researches on Satavar. Key words: Satavar, Asparagus racemosus, galactogogue, Unani, Ayurveda

Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of stems of Cinnamomum zeylanicum belonging to the family Lauraceae. It is extensively used as spice since centuries worldwide. Apart from this it has been widely used for different medicinal purposes in Unani as well as Ayurveda system of medicine. Its trees are widely distributed throughout Sri Lanka, south-western India and Burma. It has been used in traditional systems of medicine for the treatment of various diseases like epilepsy, hemiplegia, chronic bronchitis, asthma, jaundice, skin and gastrointestinal disorders etc. The qualitative phytochemical analysis of the plant extracts shows the presence of essential oils, tannins and mucilage. Recent pharmacological and clinical studies revealed its antibacterial, antifungal, antitumour, immunomodulatory, wound healing and anti-inflammatory activities. This review is an effort to summarize the detailed prospects of ancient literature on C. zeylanicum along with modern researches.

Conventionally, drugs are released in an instant or absolute manner. Nevertheless, in current days, Pulsatile Drug Release Systems (PDRS) are gaining upward attention. Pulsatile delivery is defined as the rapid and transient release of certain amounts of drug molecules within a short time period immediately after a predetermined off-release period, i.e., lag time. PDRS can be classified in single and multiple pulse systems. This system provides spatial and temporal delivery of the drug. These systems are designed according to the circadian rhythm or biological clock of the body. These deliver the drug at the right time and at the right place and in the right amount thus increasing patient compliance. Pulsatile systems are beneficial for drugs where night time dosing is required, such as anti-asthmatic and anti-arrhythmic drugs where the disease severity is time dependent. This concept has several advantages, notably maximum therapeutic benefit, minimum harm, improved patient convenience and compliance. Pharmacists must realize the need to develop and dispense such medications having potential therapeutic benefit. The current article focuses on the diseases requiring PDDS, methodologies involved for the existing systems, and PDDS product currently available in the market.

A recent advance in Novel Drug Delivery System (NDDS) aims to enhance safety and efficacy of drug molecule by formulating a convenient dosage form for administration and to achieve better patient compliance. Mouth dissolving tablets or fast dissolving tablets have received ever-increasing demand during the last decade, and the field have been rapidly growing in  the pharmaceutical industry and gaining popularity due to ease of administration  and better patient compliance to all age groups. MDDDS have the unique property of dissolving and/or rapidly disintegrating and releasing the drug as soon as they come in contact with saliva, thus obviating the requirement of water during administration. This review focusses on various formulations and also technologies developed to achieve fast dissolution/dispersion of tablets in the oral cavity. The target population for these new fast dissolving/ disintegrating dosage forms have generally been pediatric, geriatric, and bedridden or developmentally disabled patients. Patients with persistent nausea, who are in traveling, or who have little or no access to water are also good candidates for MDDTs.

Asteracantha longifolia (L.) Nees. belonging to the family Acanthaceae is known as Talmakhana in Unani and Kokilasha in Ayurveda system of medicine. It is found in India, Srilanka, Burma and Nepal. The plant contains alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, essential oil and phytosterols. It has been using in traditional systems of medicine since centuries for the treatment of diseases like low libido, premature ejaculation, ascites, jaundice and diseases of urogenital tract etc. Many pharmacological studies have been conducted on Asteracantha longifolia which proved its aphrodisiac, hepatoprotective, antioxidant and analgesic activities etc. In this review, an attempt has been made to present its phytochemical, pharmacological and other important aspects. Key words: Asteracantha longifolia, Talmakhana, aphrodisiac, Ayurveda, Unani.  

Several pharmacological activities like antitubercular, analgesic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antiasthmatic, antioxidant and antibacterial activities have been attributed to pyrazoles. The above observations prompted us to synthesize some novel pyrazole derivatives as possible antimicrobial agents. A series of novel 1,3,5-trisubstituted pyrazole derivatives (P1-P15) have been synthesized by the reaction of substituted chalcones (C1-C15) with succinichydrazide. The starting material, chalcones were prepared by claisen Schmidt condensation of acetophenone with aldehydes in the presence of sodium hydroxide in ethanol. Succinichydrazide was synthesized by condensing succinic acid with hydrazine hydrate. The cycloaddition of chalcones with succinichydrazide gives 1,3,5-trisubstituted pyrazole derivatives. The structures of synthesized derivatives were confirmed by IR, 1HNMR and Mass spectrum. The synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activity. The antibacterial activity data of the synthesized derivatives revealed that the compound P4, P13 and P7, P14 were effective against gram positive and gram negative organisms respectively. The antifungal activity data revealed that the compound P7 and P8 showed good activity against tested fungi.

Granisetron hydrochloride is a novel serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonist used as an antiemetic to treat nausea and vomiting following chemotherapy. It is well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, but its oral bioavailability is low (60%) due to extensive first-pass metabolism which makes it an ideal candidate for rapid release drug delivery system. Hence, an attempt was made to prepare and evaluate fast dissolving oral films containing Granisetron hydrochloride as a model drug by solvent casting method using natural and synthetic polymers. Various formulations were developed with varying concentration of polymers like, CMC, HPMC and Pullulan. Citric acid was used as a disintegrating agent and Propylene glycol as a plasticizer. The prepared oral films were evaluated for their physicochemical and mechanical parameters such as Physical appearance, surface texture, Weight uniformity, surface pH, ,thickness uniformity, percentage moisture absorption, loss on drying, disintegration time, drug content uniformity, folding endurance, tensile strength, percentage elongation, in-vitro drug release, and stability studies. In-vitro release rate of Granisetron hydrochloride was studied in phosphate buffer pH 6.8. F7, F10 showed maximum release rate about 93.95% and 95.29% in 180 seconds respectively, whereas F3 showed 60.98%. The mechanism of drug release of fast dissolving oral film was found to be to be non-fickian diffusion following first order kinetics. The selected fast dissolving oral films were found to be superior to marketed conventional tablet. Short term stability studies of selected films indicated that there is no significant change with respect to physical appearance, disintegration time, drug content and in-vitro drug release.

The advent of highly active antiretroviral (ARV) agents has led to striking reduction in plasma viral load, opportunistic infection and mortality from AIDS. Unfortunately most of these drugs have poor physiochemical, metabolism or transport properties that result in poor or variable absorption and side effects, which are often related to the accumulation of the drug at inappropriate sites. Various classes of antiretroviral agents are available, though monotherapy in HIV positive individuals can develop resistance more quickly as compared to combinational therapy or fixed dose combination or highly active antiretroviral therapy. The currently available ARV drugs mostly oral formulations, which are associated with several disadvantages and inconveniences to the HIV patients. The delivery of drugs via oral route suffers from significant first-pass effect, variation of absorption and degradation in the gastrointestinal, erratic bioavailability, limited duration of drug action, metabolism/elimination and transport barriers reducing the effect of anti-HIV drugs reaching the target site. Also half-life of several ARV drugs is short, which requires frequent administration of doses leads to poor patient compliance. Therefore, the usage of novel drug delivery systems is a logical approach to circumvent these problems and effectively treat the HIV infection. Various novel drug delivery techniques were tried or on trial for ARV drugs. Among the recent approaches of novel drug delivery system for anti-HIV drugs, controlled/sustained and targeted/intracellular drug delivery are the important ones. In this review the need for novel drug delivery, advantages, and recent development in drug delivery system of antiretroviral drugs were discussed, which may useful for further research in future.