Publications by authors named "Zubair Hafeez"

Curcumin, resveratrol, and thymoquinone are the potential natural bio-actives reported with good anti-psoriatic activity. However, poor aqueous solubility and limited skin permeation of these natural bio-actives hinder their effective delivery and potential therapeutic outcome. In this regard, current research work focuses on the design and optimization of nanoemulsion (NE) gel formulation for the concurrent delivery of these three drugs.

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In recent years, multi-targeted chemotherapeutic combinations have received considerable attention in solid tumor chemotherapy. Here, we optimized low-molecular-weight chitosan (CS)-grafted lipid nanocapsules (LNCs, referred to as CLNCs) for the co-delivery of docetaxel (DTX) and thymoquinone (THQ) to treat drug-resistant breast cancer. We first screened size reduction techniques (homogenization vs ultrasonication), and then the 3-Box-Behnken design was employed to determine optimal conditions of the final LNCs with the desired quality attributes.

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Microtubule affinity regulating kinase 4 (MARK4) is a potential drug target for neuronal disorders and several types of cancers. Filtration of naturally occurring compound libraries using high-throughput screening and enzyme assay suggest α-mangostin is a potential inhibitor of MARK4. Structure-based docking and 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation revealed that the binding of α-mangostin stabilizes the MARK4 structure.

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Callistemon lanceolatus (Myrtaceae) has been utilized in folk medicine and its pharmacological properties are widely studied. Phytochemicals are effectively recognized as bases of pharmacologically potent drugs for the development of anticancer therapeutics. The free radical scavenging potential of numerous extracts of C.

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Ormeloxifene is a clinically approved selective estrogen receptor modulator, which has also shown excellent anticancer activity, thus it can be an ideal repurposing pharmacophore. Herein, we report therapeutic effects of ormeloxifene on prostate cancer and elucidate a novel molecular mechanism of its anticancer activity. Ormeloxifene treatment inhibited epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process as evident by repression of N-cadherin, Slug, Snail, vimentin, MMPs (MMP2 and MMP3), β-catenin/TCF-4 transcriptional activity, and induced the expression of pGSK3β.

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The effect of an aqueous extract of Origanum vulgare (OV) leaves extract on CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity was investigated in normal and hepatotoxic rats. To evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of OV, rats were divided into six groups: control group, O. vulgare group, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4; 2 ml/kg body weight) group, and three treatment groups that received CCl4 and OV at doses of 50, 100, 150 mg/kg body weight orally for 15 days.

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