Cymbopogon citratus, Stapf (Lemon grass) is a widely used herb in tropical countries, especially in Southeast Asia. The essential oil of the plant is used in aromatherapy. The compounds identified in Cymbopogon citratus are mainly terpenes, alcohols, ketones, aldehyde and esters. Some of the reported phytoconstituents are essential oils that contain Citral a, Citral b, Nerol Geraniol, Citronellal, Terpinolene, Geranyl acetate, Myrecene and Terpinol Methylheptenone. The plant also contains reported phytoconstituents such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds, which consist of luteolin, isoorientin 2'-O-rhamnoside, quercetin, kaempferol and apiginin. Studies indicate that Cymbopogon citratus possesses various pharmacological activities such as anti-amoebic, antibacterial, antidiarrheal, antifilarial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. Various other effects like antimalarial, antimutagenicity, antimycobacterial, antioxidants, hypoglycemic and neurobehaviorial have also been studied. These results are very encouraging and indicate that this herb should be studied more extensively to confirm these results and reveal other potential therapeutic effects.

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Irbesartan (IRB) is an angiotensin II receptor blocker antihypertensive agent. The aim of the present investigation was to develop a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) to enhance the oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble IRB. The solubility of IRB in various oils was determined to identify the oil phase of SNEDDS. Various surfactants and co-surfactants were screened for their ability to emulsify the selected oil. Pseudoternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify the efficient self-emulsifying region. The optimized SNEDDS formulation contained IRB (75 mg), Cremophor^® EL (43.33%), Carbitol^® (21.67%) and Capryol^® 90 (32%). SNEDDS was further evaluated for its percentage transmittance, emulsification time, drug content, phase separation, dilution, droplet size and zeta potential. The optimized formulation of IRB-loaded SNEDDS exhibited complete in vitro drug release in 15 min as compared with the plain drug, which had a limited dissolution rate. It was also compared with the pure drug solution by oral administration in male Wister rats. The in vivo study exhibited a 7.5-fold increase in the oral bioavailability of IRB from SNEDDS compared with the pure drug solution. These results suggest the potential use of SNEDDS to improve dissolution and oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble IRB.

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Cassia fistula Linn. which belongs to family Leguminosae is a medium-sized tree and its different parts are used in ayurvedic medicine as well as home remedies for common ailments. Sequential extraction was carried out using solvents viz. petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol, methanol and water from leaf of the plant were investigated for preliminary phytochemical and antibacterial property. Results of the study showed that all the extracts had good inhibitory activity against Gram-positive test organism. Although all five extracts showed promising antibacterial activity against test bacterial species, yet maximum activity was observed in ethanol extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration ranged in between 94 to 1 500 μg/ml. Evaluation of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, glycosides, protein and amino acids, saponins, and triterpenoids revealed the presence of most of constituents in polar extracts (ethanol, methanol, and aqueous) compared with nonpolar extracts (petroleum ether and chloroform). Furthermore, the ethanol extract was subjected to TLC bioautography and time-kill study against Staphylococcus epidermidis. All the findings exhibit that the leaf extracts have broad-spectrum activity and suggest its possible use in treatment of infectious diseases.

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In ethno medicinal practices, the traditional healers use the genus Curcuma for the treatment of various ailments but Curcuma caesia Roxb. is a very less known and almost untouched drug. The present work attempts to establish the necessary pharmocognostic standards for evaluating the plant material of C. caesia Roxb. Various parameters, such as morphology, microscopy, physicochemical constants, and phytochemical profiles of the entire parts of the plant were studied and the salient diagnostic features are documented. Major chemical constituents, extractive values, physicochemical constants, and other features are also been recorded.

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A new oil-in-water microemulsion-based (ME) gel containing 1% itraconazole (ITZ) was developed for topical delivery. The solubility of ITZ in oils and surfactants was evaluated to identify potential excipients. The microemulsion existence ranges were defined through the construction of the pseudoternary phase diagrams. The optimized microemulsion was characterized for its morphology and particle size distribution. The optimized microemulsion was incorporated into polymeric gels of Lutrol F127, Xanthan gum, and Carbopol 934 for convenient application and evaluated for pH, drug content, viscosity, and spreadability. In vitro drug permeation of ME gels was determined across excised rat skins. Furthermore, in vitro antimycotic inhibitory activity of the gels was conducted using agar-cup method and Candida albicans as a test organism. The droplet size of the optimized microemulsion was found to be <100 nm. The optimized Lutrol F 127 ME gel showed pH in the range of 5.68΁0.02 and spreadability of 5.75΁1.396 gcm/s. The viscosity of ME gel was found to be 1805.535΁542.4 mPa s. The permeation rate (flux) of ITZ from prepared ME gel was found to be 4.234 ΅g/cm/h. The release profile exhibited diffusion controlled mechanism of drug release from ME ITZ gel. The developed ME gels were nonirritant and there was no erythema or edema. The antifungal activity of ITZ showed the widest zone of inhibition with Lutrol F127 ME gel. These results indicate that the studied ME gel may be a promising vehicle for topical delivery of ITZ.

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In Ayurveda, various herbal preparations are clinically used to prevent or cure infectious diseases. Herbal preparations such as Triphala churna, Hareetaki churna, Dashmula churna, Manjistadi churna, Sukhsarak churna, Ajmodadi churna, Shivkshar pachan churna, Mahasudarshan churna, Swadist Virechan churna and Pipramool churna were investigated by preparing their organic solvent extract for antibacterial potential against enteric bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhimurium and Proteus vulgaris, respectively. In the present study, Triphala churna, Hareetaki churna, Dashmula churna were potent antibacterial agents against S. epidermidis, P. vulgaris, S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and S. typhi. The study supports the use of these herbal preparations not only as dietary supplements but also as agents to prevent or control enteric bacterial infections.

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Various studies have been done to identify antioxidants from plant sources and efforts have been taken to incorporate it in conventional therapy. In our present study, petroleum ether, ethanolic, and aqueous extracts of Rubus ellipticus fruits have been evaluated for in vitro antioxidant activity using DPPH radical scavenging and reducing power assay. BHA was used as a standard antioxidant for DPPH radical scavenging activity. The reducing power assay of extracts was carried out with ascorbic acid as a standard reducing agent. All the analysis was made with the use of UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The results of the both assay showed that all the extracts of R. ellipticus fruits possess significant free radical scavenging and reducing power properties at concentration-dependent manner. Hence, it can be concluded that the R. ellipticus fruits could be pharmaceutically exploited for antioxidant properties.

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The present study involves preparation and evaluation of floating microballoons with metformin as model drug for prolongation of gastric residence time. The microballoons were prepared by the solvent evaporation method using polymers hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose and ethyl cellulose. The shape and surface morphology of prepared microballoons were characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. In vitro drug release studies were performed and drug release kinetics was evaluated using the linear regression method. Effects of stirring rate during preparation, polymer concentration, solvent composition and dissolution medium on the size of microballoons, and drug release were also observed. The prepared microballoons exhibited prolonged drug release (8 hours) and remained buoyant for >10 hours. The mean particle size increased and the drug release rate decreased at higher polymer concentration. No significant effect of the stirring rate during preparation on drug release was observed. In vitro studies demonstrated diffusion-controlled drug release from the microballoons.

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The antidiarrheal activity of the methanolic extract of the leaves of Capparis zeylanica (Capparidaceae) was investigated by castor oil-induced diarrhea and small intestine transit method on mice. Like loperamide (3 mg/kg body weight), C. zeylanica methanolic extract (100,150,200 mg/kg body weight) produced a significant decrease in the severity of diarrhea. The percentage protection in extract-treated animals showing diarrhea was compared with castor oil-treated and loperamide-treated animals. The activity was found to be dose-dependant. Its effect when evaluated on intestinal transit produced a decrease in intestinal transit (75.97%).The results revealed that the methanolic extract significantly reduced diarrhea in mice with reduction in weight of stools.

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The present investigation highlights the novel trans-buccoadhesive films of Famotidine, an H2 receptor antagonist used as an anti-ulcerative agent. The buccal films were fabricated by solvent casting technique with different polymer combinations of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, carbopol-934P and polyvinyl pyrrolidone. Drug-polymer interaction studies by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy show that there is no significant interaction between drug and polymers. The fabricated films were evaluated for their physicochemical characters like weight, thickness, surface pH, percentage moisture absorption, percentage moisture loss, swelling percentage, folding endurance, water vapor transmission and drug content. Stability study of buccal films was performed in natural human saliva. Ex vivo permeation studies were conducted using fresh sheep buccal mucosa and buccoadhesive strength was calculated by modified balance method and showed sufficient strength in all the formulations. Good correlation was observed between the in vitro drug release and in vivo drug release, with a correlation coefficient of 0.995. Drug diffusion from buccal films showed apparently zero order kinetics and release mechanism was diffusion controlled after considerable swelling.

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A number of 3-benzyl-2-phenyl-4(5H)-(substituted phenylhydrazino)-1, 3-oxazolidines 6a-f derivatives were synthesized and their antihyperglycemic activity was evaluated by streptozotocin (STZ) and sucrose-loaded model. Many of oxazolidine derivatives as well as their corresponding substituted phenylhydrazine showed significant reduction in blood glucose level in STZ and sucrose-loaded rat models.

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