A Contemporary Exploration of Traditional Indian Snake Envenomation Therapies.

Snakebite being a quick progressing serious situation needs immediate and aggressive therapy. Snake venom antiserum is the only approved and effective treatment available, but for selected snake species only. The requirement of trained staff for administration and serum reactions make the therapy complicated.

Curriculum for pharmacology in pharmacy institutions in India: opportunities and challenges.

The curriculum of pharmacy institutions in India is regulated by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) at degree and diploma levels. However, it has been over two decades that the syllabi have been revised by these regulatory agencies. Considering the dynamic character of pharmacology, it is essential to prepare a syllabus that caters to the contemporary needs of the academic institutions and pharmaceutical industry, the community.

Physicochemical investigations and stability studies of amorphous gliclazide.

Gliclazide (GLI), a poorly water-soluble antidiabetic, was transformed into a glassy state by melt quench technique in order to improve its physicochemical properties. Chemical stability of GLI during formation of glass was assessed by monitoring thin-layer chromatography, and an existence of amorphous form was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffractometry. The glass transition occurred at 67.

Evaluation of antidiarrheal and in vitro antiprotozoal activities of extracts of leaves of Alocasia indica.

Context: Alocasia indica Schott (Araceae) is used in several regions of India, especially in rural communities, by traditional medicine practitioners to treat diarrhea. However, no scientific data are available to justify the traditional potentials of the plant species in gastrointestinal disorders.

Objective: To evaluate the antidiarrheal and in vitro antiprotozoal activities of extracts of leaves of Alocasia indica using various pharmacological models.

Formulation and in vitro evaluation of rifampicin loaded porous microspheres.

Rifampicin (RIF) is a major component in fixed dose combination therapy for the treatment of tuberculosis. RIF has low solubility and high permeability with high dose and hence it is classified as class II drug in Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS). RIF has poor and variable bioavailability because of its poor solubility, acid decomposition and, drug and food interaction.

Hepatoprotective activity of hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Alocasia indica (Linn.).

Oral administration of hydroalcoholic extract of A. indica (250 and 500 mg/kg) effectively inhibited CCl4 and paracetamol induced changes in the serum marker enzymes, cholesterol, serum protein and albumin in a dose-dependent manner as compared to the normal and the standard drug silymarin-treated groups. Hepatic steatosis, fatty infiltration, hydropic degeneration and necrosis observed in CCl4 and paracetamol-treated groups were completely absent in histology of the liver sections of the animals treated with the extracts.

Tailored release drug delivery system for rifampicin and isoniazid for enhanced bioavailability of rifampicin.

The front line antitubercular drugs rifampicin (RMP) and isoniazid (INH), when co-administered, face the problem of reduced bioavailability of RMP. Stabilization of RMP in the presence of INH under acidic environment may improve the bioavailability of RMP. In vitro degradation studies showed around 15-25% degradation of RMP under the aforesaid conditions if the ratio of RMP: INH is above 1:0.

Effect of erythromycin and rifampicin on monoethylglycinexylidide test.

Background: The dynamic liver function test based on the hepatic conversion of lidocaine to monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) provides a direct measure of the actual functional state of the liver. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 has been proposed as the main CYP isoform responsible for MEGX formation. The concomitant use of either CYP3A4 inducer rifampicin or CYP3A4 inhibitor erythromycin may influence the results of MEGX test.

Monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) as a liver function test in cirrhosis.

Aims: To compare the performance of monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) test and conventional liver function tests (LFT) in differentiating between healthy volunteers and patients with different severity of liver cirrhosis, as judged using Child-Pugh (CP) classification.

Methods: One hundred and four patients with cirrhosis (CP class A, 47; B, 32; C, 25) and 25 healthy volunteers were studied between January 2005 to June 2006. In these subjects, conventional LFT were done, and serum specimens collected 15, 30 and 60 minutes after lidocaine injection were analyzed for MEGX.

Prognostic value of the monoethylglycinexylidide test in alcoholic cirrhosis.

Background: The existing conventional liver function tests (LFTs) are indirect, inferior and have limited prognostic value. Therefore, the monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) test, which provides a direct measure of the actual functional state of the liver, is proposed as a real-time liver function test. The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic value of the MEGX test in cirrhosis by comparing it with Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP), the Mayo end stage liver disease (MELD) and discriminant function (DF) scores.