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Topic Review
Black Cumin and Kidney Injury
The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing worldwide, and a close association between acute kidney injury (AKI) and CKD has recently been identified. Black cumin (Nigella sativa) has been shown to be effective in treating various kidney diseases. Accumulating evidence shows that black cumin and its vital compound, thymoquinone (TQ), can protect against kidney injury caused by various xenobiotics, namely chemotherapeutic agents, heavy metals, pesticides, and other environmental chemicals. Black cumin can also protect the kidneys from ischemic shock. The mechanisms underlying the kidney protective potential of black cumin and TQ include antioxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, and antifibrosis which are manifested in their regulatory role in the antioxidant defense system, NF-κB signaling, caspase pathways, and TGF-β signaling. 
  • 17.3K
  • 01 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Physico-Chemical Properties of Sodium Alginate
The macromolecules of natural origin have attracted the attention of many researchers as essential to protect the structures of unstable drug substances. After analyzing the studies carried out by various authors, researchers found that these molecules are used for both investigational and therapeutic purposes. This requires the design of certain drug delivery formulations knowing the nature of the macromolecule, its target organ, the required dose and the route of delivery. Therefore, researchers consider it important to use sodium alginate to optimize the delivery of drug substances for maximum therapeutic performance in the body after administration.
  • 10.6K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Mechanisms of anticoagulant drugs
Anticoagulant drugs have been used to prevent and treat thrombosis. However, they are associated with risk of hemorrhage. Therefore, prior to their clinical use, it is important to assess the risk of bleeding and thrombosis. In case of older anticoagulant drugs like heparin and warfarin, dose adjustment is required owing to narrow therapeutic ranges. The established monitoring methods for heparin and warfarin are activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)/anti-Xa assay and prothrombin time – international normalized ratio (PT-INR), respectively. Since 2008, new generation anticoagulant drugs, called direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), have been widely prescribed to prevent and treat several thromboembolic diseases. Although the use of DOACs without routine monitoring and frequent dose adjustment has been shown to be safe and effective, there may be clinical circumstances in specific patients when measurement of the anticoagulant effects of DOACs is required. Recently, anticoagulation therapy has received attention when treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
  • 9.3K
  • 23 Feb 2023
Topic Review
COVID-19
Researchers present an overview of the current state of knowledge on the SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to an overview of the epidemiological, clinical, and radiological features of SARS-CoV-2, researchers also summarize possible therapeutic options currently under investigation and the future outlook for the disease. Whereas the trials on SARS-CoV-2 genome-based specific vaccines and therapeutic antibodies are currently being tested, this solution is more long-term, as they require thorough testing of their safety. On the other hand, the repurposing of the existing therapeutic agents previously designed for other virus infections and pathologies happens to be the only practical approach as a rapid response measure to the emergent pandemic. The current pandemic emergency will be a trigger for more systematic drug repurposing design approaches based on big data analysis. Further on, regression analytical review is presented on the virological and evolutionary history of SARS-CoV viruses, indicating to the autoimmune pathogen.
  • 7.8K
  • 14 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Essential Oil Prevents COVID-19
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV‑2), also known as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), is a pandemic disease that has been declared as modern history’s gravest health emergency worldwide. Until now, no precise treatment modality has been developed. The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, a host cell receptor, has been found to play a crucial role in virus cell entry; therefore, ACE2 blockers can be a potential target for anti-viral intervention. In this study, we evaluated the ACE2 inhibitory effects of 10 essential oils. Among them, geranium and lemon oils displayed significant ACE2 inhibitory effects in epithelial cells. In addition, immunoblotting and qPCR analysis also confirmed that geranium and lemon oils possess potent ACE2 inhibitory effects. Furthermore, the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis displayed 22 compounds in geranium oil and 9 compounds in lemon oil. Citronellol, geraniol, and neryl acetate were the major compounds of geranium oil and limonene that represented major compound of lemon oil. Next, we found that treatment with citronellol and limonene significantly downregulated ACE2 expression in epithelial cells. The results suggest that geranium and lemon essential oils and their derivative compounds are valuable natural anti-viral agents that may contribute to the prevention of the invasion of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 into the human body.
  • 7.5K
  • 13 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Snake Dry Bites
Snake ‘dry bites’ are characterized by the absence of venom being injected into the victim during a snakebite incident. The dry bite mechanism and diagnosis are quite complex, and the lack of envenoming symptoms in these cases may be misinterpreted as a miraculous treatment or as proof that the bite from the perpetrating snake species is rather harmless.
  • 6.3K
  • 01 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Transfersomes
Transfersomes are elastic in nature, which can deform and squeeze themselves as an intact vesicle through narrow pores that are significantly smaller than its size. Encapsulating the drugs in transfersomes are one of the potential approaches to overcome the barrier function of the skin’s outermost layer. They have a bilayered structure that facilitates the encapsulation of lipophilic and hydrophilic, as well as amphiphilic, drug with higher permeation efficiencies compared to conventional liposomes.
  • 5.9K
  • 23 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Spray Congealing Technology
Spray congealing is an emerging technology for the production of solid dispersion to enhance the bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs by using low-melting hydrophilic excipients. Since the '90s, spray congealing technology has been used to obtain microparticles (MPs) for controlled release, taste masking and stability enhancement of APIs. The main advantages are the absence of solvents and the possibility to obtain free-flowing MPs by a relatively inexpensive, simple and one step process. This entry focused on the application of spary congealing as an amerging technology for the production of solid dispersions to enhance the bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs by using low-melting hydrophilic excipients.
  • 5.8K
  • 14 Dec 2021
Topic Review
DNA Excision Repairs and Implication
The physiological impact of the aberrant oxidation products on genomic DNA were demonstrated by embryonic lethality or the cancer susceptibility and/or neurological symptoms of  animal impaired in the base excision repair (BER); the major pathway to maintain genomic integrity against non-bulky DNA oxidation. However, growing evidence suggests that other DNA repair pathways or factors that are not primarily associated with the classical BER pathway are also actively involved in the mitigation of oxidative assaults on the genomic DNA, according to the corresponding types of DNA oxidation. Among others, factors dedicated to lesion recognition in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway have been shown to play eminent roles in the process of lesion recognition and stimulation of the enzyme activity of some sets of BER factors. Besides, substantial bulky DNA oxidation can be preferentially removed by a canonical NER mechanism; therefore, loss of function in the NER pathway shares common features arising from BER defects, including cancer predisposition and neurological disorders, although NER defects generally are nonlethal.
  • 5.3K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Pomegranate in the Treatment of Respiratory Diseases
The pomegranate fruit is made of white to deep purple seeds that are enclosed in a white, spongy, astringent membrane, also known as pericarp, covered by a thick red skin and a crown-shaped calyx. It contains a variety of beneficial ingredients, including flavonoids, ellagitannin, punicalagin, ellagic acid, vitamins, and minerals. Pomegranates possess numerous health benefits, and their use in disease treatment has been widely recognized since antiquity.
  • 5.2K
  • 06 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Cataracts
A cataract is an ophthalmic disorder characterized by the opacification of the lens and occurs commonly in older people. Age-related cataract is a significant cause of blindness affecting the quality of life worldwide. An imbalance between oxidative stress and antioxidant potential of ocular tissue is considered responsible for structural modifications of crystallins, the protein constituents of the lens, which eventually leads to cataracts. Lutein and zeaxanthin are two major carotenoids which are concentrated in the human lens. Many preclinical and clinical studies provide compelling evidence for a protective role of dietary carotenoids in age-related cataracts.
  • 4.8K
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Toxic Ingredients in Skin Lightening Cosmetics
Skin lightening is defined as "the practice of using chemicals or any other product with depigmenting potential in an attempt to lighten skin tone or improve the complexion; these goals are achieved by decreasing the concentration of melanin to achieve a reduction in the physiological pigmentation of the skin". Products used to achieve this purpose are known as depigmenting, skin-lightening, skin-bleaching, skin-brightening or skin-evening agents. Skin-whitening products containing highly toxic active ingredients (in particular mercury derivatives, hydroquinone and corticosteroids) are easily found on the market; the use of these depigmenting agents can be followed by a variety of adverse effects, with very serious and sometimes fatal complications, and is currently an emerging health concern in many countries. 
  • 4.8K
  • 26 May 2022
Topic Review
Propranolol in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Propranolol, a non-cardioselective β1,2 blocker, is most commonly recognised for its application in the therapy of various cardiovascular conditions, such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, and tachyarrhythmias. However, due to its ability to cross the blood–brain barrier and affinity towards multiple macromolecules, not only adrenoreceptors, it has also found application in other fields. For example, it is one of the very few medications successfully applied in the treatment of stage fright. 
  • 4.8K
  • 07 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Factors Affecting Hair Health
Hair health is associated with personal distress and psychological well-being. Even though hair loss (alopecia) does not affect humans’ biological health, it affects an individual’s social well-being. So, treatment for hair problems and improving hair health are obligatory. 
  • 4.3K
  • 07 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Sesquiterpene Lactones
Sesquiterpene lactones, a vast group of terpenoids isolated from Asteraceae family species, exhibit a wide variety of biological activities and several of them are already available on the medicines market, such as artemisinin. Here are presented and discussed the most recent and impactful results in vivo, preclinical and clinical studies, involving a selection of ten sesquiterpene lactones (alantolactone, arglabin, costunolide, cynaropicrin, helenalin, inuviscolide, lactucin, parthenolide, thapsigargin and tomentosin) and some of their derivatives.
  • 4.1K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Polymers for Pharmaceutical Coating
Coating the solid dosage form, such as tablets, is considered common, but it is a critical process that provides different characteristics to tablets. It increases the value of solid dosage form, administered orally, and thus meets diverse clinical requirements. As tablet coating is a process driven by technology, it relies on advancements in coating techniques, equipment used for the coating process, evaluation of coated tablets, and coated material used. Although different techniques were employed for coating purposes, which may be based on the use of solvents or solvent-free, each of the methods used has its advantages and disadvantages, and the techniques need continued modification too. During the process of film coating, several inter-and intra-batch uniformity of coated material on the tablets is considered a critical point that ensures the worth of the final product, particularly for those drugs that contain an active medicament in the coating layer. Meanwhile, computational modeling and experimental evaluation were actively used to predict the impact of the operational parameters on the final product quality and optimize the variables in tablet coating. The efforts produced by computational modeling or experimental evaluation not only save cost in optimizing the coating process but also saves time.
  • 4.0K
  • 13 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Salvia divinorum
Salvia divinorum Epling and Játiva is a psychoactive Mexican mint used for centuries by Mazatec Indian shamans or curanderos of north-eastern Oaxaca, Mexico, for divinatory and religious purposes and physical healing.
  • 3.7K
  • 18 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Natural Phenols
Phenols are widespread in nature, being the major components of several plants and essential oils. Natural phenols’ anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, pharmacological and nutritional properties are, nowadays, well established. Hence, given their peculiar biological role, numerous studies are currently ongoing to overcome their limitations, as well as to enhance their activity.
  • 3.7K
  • 29 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Chromatographic Techniques in Pharmaceutical Analysis
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is an incredibly universal tool, especially when combined with different detectors, such as UV-Visible spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), and fluorescence detection for numerous active ingredients in different pharmaceutical formulations without interferences from other excipients. TLC, in combination with densitometry, is a very efficient tool for the determination of biologically active substances present in pharmaceutical preparations. In addition, TLC coupled to densitometry and mass spectrometry could be suitable for preliminary screening and determination of the biological activity (e.g., antioxidant properties, thin layer chromatography (TLC) by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method) of plant materials. Gas chromatography, coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS, GC-MS/MS), is of particular importance in the testing of any volatile substances, such as essential oils. LC, coupled to NMR and MS, is the best solution for identifying and studying the structure of unknown components from plant extracts, as well as degradation products (DPs). Thanks to size-exclusion chromatography, coupled to multi-angle light scattering, the quality control of biological pharmaceuticals is possible.
  • 3.6K
  • 26 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Production of Chitosan Nanoparticles
Chitosan Nanoparticles are made from chitosan or its derivatives. The N-deacetylated derivative of chitin is an appealing biopolymer for producing nanoparticles because chitosan has a unique polymeric cationic nature, non-toxicity, high biocompatibility, mucoadhesive properties, absorption-enhancing qualities, and biodegradability.
  • 3.4K
  • 08 Oct 2022
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