Recipient of K.K. Acharjee Award, Recipient of Jewel of India Award, Recipient of Rashtriya Vidya Saraswati Puraskar, Recipient of Rashtriya Vidya Jyoti Award and Gold Medal, Recipient of Life Time Achievement Gold Medal Award, Recipient of Eminent Educationist Award, Recipient of International Gold Star Award, Recipient of Vidya Ratan Award, Recipient of Gyan Jyoti Gold Medal Award, Recipient of Bharat Excellence Award & Gold Medal, Recipient of India Inspiration Award & Gold Medal, Recipient of Seva Chakra Puraskar, Recipient of American Order of Merit, Recipient of Golden Educationist of India Award, Recipient of NEHS Global Award of Excellence and Gold Medal of Excellence, Recipient of NEHS Jewel of India Award and NEHS Gold Medal of Excellence, Recipient of Academician of the Year Award.

Keywords : Dhrubo Jyoti Sen

Author : Dhrubo Jyoti Sen

Title : Protective power of colloid is inversely proportional to the gold number

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1025-1030

The current study compared the physicochemical properties of 7 Acetaminophen (AAP) formulations from Thailand (3 formulations), the Philippines (3 formulations), and Japan (1 formulation). This study assessed the appearance of formulations from Thailand (T-A, -B, and -C), the Philippines (P-A, -B, and -C), and Japan (J). This study was subjected to a hardness test, uniformity of weight test, content uniformity test, and dissolution test in accordance with the Japanese Pharmacopoeia. Results of the hardness test indicated that all of the formulations had a hardness of 70 N or greater. All formulations showed within 97–02% by uniformity of weight test. Comparison of dissolution profiles indicated that the P-B formulation had dissolution of about 77% at 15 min, and this level of elution was lower than that from other formulations (p<0.05). Unlike the P-B formulation, the other 6 formulations had around 85% or more elution of AAP in 15 min. The physical and chemical properties of the T-A, -B and -C formulations that are used in the Thailand, the P-A and -C formulations that are used in the Philippines, and the J formulation that is used in Japan complied with the Japanese Pharmacopoeia. Thus, these formulations are assumed to be equivalent.

Keywords : acetaminophen, equivalent, Thailand, Philippines, dissolution profiles

Author : Yutaka Inoue, Kengo Suzuki, Takashi Ikeda, Yuina Tsunoda, Takahiro Onoda, Mitsuki Sugawara, Yukie Tsuchiya, Mizuki Tsuri, Toshinari Ezawa, Ikuo Kanamoto

Title : Comparative evaluation of the physicochemical properties of acetaminophen formulations

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1031-1038

The pharmaceutical education has been changed by incorporating of new teaching methods. In this sense, assessment of students' perceptions about these teaching methods is essential for achieving the goal of providing students with the competences to pharmacy practice. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate pharmacy students’ perceptions of a pharmaceutical care course implementing learner-centered teaching. A pharmaceutical care course, using active learning methods, was introduced at the Federal University of Sergipe. Feedback concerning the students’ experiences with the newly developed course and information about their preferences regarding the learner-centered approach were collected. The resulting data were analyzed using a quali-quantitative approach. In their evaluations of the course, most of the students (94.6%) indicated that they thought the lessons of the pharmaceutical care course had relevance for their professional/personal development. Furthermore, they indicated that the use of techniques such as role-play had helped to motivate their learning. The vast majority of the students reacted positively to the innovative course. They perceived the use of learner-centered methods as providing an appropriate environment for allowing students to demonstrate their pharmaceutical care competencies. The students’ responses also pointed to potential ways to improve the curriculum of the course.

Keywords : Active Learning, Competences, Pharmacy Students, Pharmaceutical Care, Student Perceptions

Author : Alessandra Rezende Mesquita; Werlissandra Moreira de Souza; Carla Francisca dos Santos Cruz; Wellington Barros da Silva; Ângelo Roberto Antoniolli; Divaldo Pereira de Lyra Júnior

Title : Student perceptions regarding a learner-centered pharmaceutical care course

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1039-1049

The study’s objective was to assess Community Pharmacists’ perceived barriers and disadvantages in providing health promotion services in Jos, Nigeria. The study was conducted among consenting Community Pharmacists in Jos Metropolis with the aid of a pretested structured questionnaire. It was a descriptive cross sectional survey of 70 Community Pharmacists out of 78 registered as at the time of sampling. Data was collated and analysed using the Epi-InfoTMVersion 7.1.4 and SPSS Version 16. Descriptive statistics of the participants was done using Means, and Percentages. Chi-square test of goodness of fit was used to determine if there was a specific pattern in the observed responses of the study participants and if this differed significantly from the expected responses of a standardized population. Logistic regression test was used to determine whether baseline characteristics of study participants had any predictive value on participants’ perceptions of disadvantages and barriers. The mean age of the participants was 39 years and most of the study group was within the age group of 31-40 years. The following were the barriers identified in this study: not enough time, lack of standard practice guidelines, ownership of premises by non-pharmacists, insufficient management support, poor perception of their roles by the community and low profitability. Disadvantages according to this study are: need for continuous training of Community Pharmacists in health promotion services and need to hire more staff. The findings of this study identified a number of organizational barriers and disadvantages that may limit the involvement of the Community Pharmacists in health promotion services. This suggests that in the development of future Public Health programs in Nigeria, efforts must be made to overcome these barriers and disadvantages by employing adequate policies and tools in order to optimize the Community Pharmacists’ contributions towards improving public health indices.

Keywords : Community Pharmacists, Health Promotion Services, Barriers to Health Promotion Services, Disadvantages of Health Promotion Services, Pharmacy Profession

Author : Adeniyi Michael Adebayo, Nasir Naima, Yakubu Kenneth, David Shalkur and Sariem Comfort

Title : Assessment of community pharmacists’ perceived barriers and disadvantages in providing health promotion services in Jos, Nigeria

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1050-1058

A pharmacist must take reasonable steps to ensure that the dispensing of a medicine in accordance with a prescription or order is consistent with the safety of the patients in that prescription or order. This study aimed to characterize and evaluate the dispensing practices by pharmacists and pharmacy assistants in a sample of pharmacies in three teaching hospitals in Sudan. The study was conducted in 9 pharmacies in the participating hospitals; Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Omdurman Teaching Hospital, and Bahri Teaching Hospital. Checklist for evaluating the dispensing personnel was made within the framework of the standard indicators of the International Pharmaceutical Federation and the pharmacy board of Australia. Out of the nine observed pharmacies, only three have their pharmacy practice assessed by hospital pharmacy committees. Also, only four pharmacies (44.4%) maintaining their job description, while one pharmacy has no job description at all. The overall observed good dispensing practice at the participating hospital pharmacies is low. There is a need to train pharmacists to offer more appropriate dispensing to patients and have better-dispensing practice skills.

Keywords : Dispensing, Pharmacy, Sudan, Teaching Hospital, Pharmaceutical Care

Author : Gamal Osman Elhassan, Idris Mohamed Idris Fadul, Abu Bakr AbdAlrouf, Khalid Omer AlfarouK, Adil H. H.Bashir, JiyauddinKhan, Md Jamir Anwar and Mai Abd Allah Humedia

Title : Assessment of dispensing practice in Khartoum state teaching hospitals

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1059-1064

HIV/AIDS pandemic has been a health challenge worldwide. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been used to reduce viral load to an undetectable level. The study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of antiretroviral combinations used in a HIV treatment center, Jos, Nigeria. A retrospective cohort study of 321 adult HIV patients’ folders was carried out from January 2010 to December 2010. A stratified data extraction form was used to extract relevant information from the patient’s folders. Data analysis was done using SPSS software version 16, Chicago Illinois. The mean household size was 6.06, the number of HIV infected individuals per household was 1.41 and 0.94 persons per households had died of HIV/AIDS. There was a significant increase (P < 0.05; P < 0.01) in the CD4 cell counts of the groups in combinations A (Truvada+ Nevirapine), B (Truvada + Efavirenz), E (Truvada+ Aluvia) and J (Lamivudine + Starvudine + Nevirapine) regimens. There was a significant increase (P < 0.05; P < 0.01) in the body weights of all the combinations except H (Combivir + Aluvia), I (Combivir + Nevirapine) and L (Lamivudine + Starvudine + Effavirenz). Drug combinations A (Truvada+ Nevirapine), B (Truvada + Efavirenz), E (Truvada+ Aluvia) and J (Lamivudine + Starvudine + Nevirapine) demonstrated an appreciable therapeutic success.

Keywords : Antiretroviral, Adherence, Opportunistic Infection, HIV/AIDS, HAART

Author : Simeon Omale, Steven S. Gyang, Asa Auta, Comfort N. Sariem, Samuel B. Banwat and Michael A. Adeniyi

Title : Assessment of the therapeutic success of antiretroviral combinations used in a HIV treatment center, Jos, Nigeria

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1065-1071

Different partitionates of methanol extract of Cocos nucifera Linn. were subjected to screening for cytotoxic, thrombolytic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Cytotoxicity was determined using brine shrimp nauplii in which vincristine sulfate was used as positive control and gave LC50 of 0.45±0.08 g/ml. Among the partitionates, carbon tetrachloride soluble fraction demonstrated the highest cytotoxic activity (LC50 value of 0.82±0.19 g/ml). While assaying for thrombolytic activity, the petroleum ether soluble fraction demonstrated highest thrombolytic activity (37.44±0.33%) compared to the standard streptokinase (66.76±0.03%). In total phenolic content assay, the highest amount of phenolic compounds was found in the crude methanol extract (113.94±2.01 mg of GAE/g of sample). In antioxidant assay, crude methanol extract (IC50 value of 4.39±0.69 μg/ml) showed maximum free radical scavenging activity whereas reference standards tert-butyl-1-hydroxytoluene and ascorbic acid gave IC50 values of 27.50±0.95 μg/ml and 5.80±1.03 μg/ml, respectively. In antimicrobial screening, the crude methanol extract and its carbon tetrachloride and chloroform soluble fractions exhibited mild zone of inhibition against the test organisms.

Keywords : Cocos nucifera Linn., cytotoxic, vincristine sulfate, thrombolytic, streptokinase, antioxidant, ascorbic acid, antimicrobial

Author : Iftekhar Ahmed, Abdullah Al Faysal, Md. Yeunus Mian, S. M. Ashikur Rahman, Muhammed Mahfuzur Rahman, Md. Al-Aslam Kanon

Title : Cytotoxic, thrombolytic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Cocos nucifera linn. endocarp extracts

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1072-1075

Zinnia pauciflora is a member of family Asteraceae, which contains some bioactive compounds such as flavonoids particularly, flavones and flavonols. Isolation and identification of some flavonoids from herb and yellow flowers as well as effect of the herb crude extract and yellow flowers were studied on liver and kidney functions as well as blood glucose also antimicrobial effect. The main compound in extract of the yellow head flowers is apigenin7-(4-acety)-xyloside, while the main compound, kaempferol-7-glucorhamnoside, was isolated from the extract of the aerial parts (leaves and stems). As for biological studies, the most effective extract against all microorganisms (gram positive and gram negative bacteria, yeast and fungi) was ethyl acetate fraction. On male albino rats, the crude extract of flavonoids from yellow flowers decreased serum creatinine, blood glucose, also ALT, AST and ALP remained in optimum level at all tested doses (0.7g, 1.4g and 2.8g/ Kg body weight/ day/2 weeks).

Keywords : Zinnia pauciflora, flavonoids, Liver function, blood glucose

Author : Hemaia M. Motawe, Hend E. Wahba, Abeer Y. Ibrahim

Title : Biological Studies of Flavonoids from Flowers and Herb of Zinnia Pauciflora Plant L.

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1076-1082

This research studied antimicrobial activity of aerial parts of Elatostema parasiticum (Blume) Blume ex. H. Schroet. The extract and fractions of Elatostema parasiticum were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Microsporum gypseum by using micro broth dilution and bioautography. The extract, n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions of Elatostema parasiticum have antimicrobial activities.

Keywords : Elatostema parasiticum, antimicrobial, bioautography, extract, fraction

Author : R. Mariani, E. Y. Sukandar, A. G. Suganda

Title : Antimicrobial activity of Elatostesma parasiticum

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1083-1086

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a member of neurotrophin family playing important role in growth, development and survival of neurons. This protein is synthesized and released by target tissues and it protects the neurons innervating that tissue from undergoing programmed cell death (apoptosis). NGF exerts its biological action by acting on specific receptor tropomyosin kinase receptor A (TrkA) activating the cytosolic/endosomal pathways which include Ras-mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) -Akt, and Phospholipase C (PLC) –γ. NGF interaction with p75 pan-neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) plays an important role in apoptosis. The function of NGF in neuronal survival and death makes it a potential target in nervous system disorders. NGF is found to play a major role in diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyloid lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis and peripheral neuropathies and can have major role in other diseases too. NGF modulator studies are still going on and some drugs are in clinical trials which may produce beneficial outcomes. The current review focuses on the various aspects of NGF as therapeutic tool.

Keywords : Nerve growth Factor, TrkA, p75NTR, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyloid lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathies.

Author : Priyanka A. Wadke, Swati R. Dhande and Vilasrao J. Kadam

Title : Nerve growth factor as potential target in central nervous system disorders: A review

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1087-1094

The present work involves the development and validation of RP-HPLC method and –UV Visible Spectroscopic method for the estimation of Diclofenac Sodium and Benzocaine in gel dosage form. A specific, precise and selective RP-HPLC method has been developed and validated using Zodiac C18 (150mm x 4.6mm i.d., 5μm). 0.1 % Glacial acetic acid in water: Acetonitrile (35:65) was selected as mobile phase, Flow rate 1.0 ml/min and detector wavelength was 243 nm. The retention time of Diclofenac Sodium and Benzocaine were observed at 6.58 min and 3.68 min respectively. The linearity range was found to be 0.6-4.2 μg/ml and 4-28 μg/ml for Diclofenac Sodium and Benzocaine respectively. The mean recovery was found to be 100.78% and 99.98% for Diclofenac Sodium and Benzocaine respectively. The developed methods were economic, precise and specific. The developed Ratio derivative spectroscopic method using pH 6.8 Phosphate buffer as solvent. Benzocaine and Diclofenac Sodium has absorbance at 321.5 nm and 233.5nm respectively The linearity was obtained in concentration range 0.6-3.0 μg/ml and 4-20 μg/ml for Diclofenac Sodium and Benzocaine respectively for all UV-Visible method. The mean recovery was 101.25% and 100.52% was obtained for Diclofenac Sodium and Benzocaine respectively.

Keywords : Diclofenac Sodium, Benzocaine, RP-HPLC, Ratio Derivative Spectroscopic methods, Validation, LOD and LOQ

Author : Mayur Hirpara, Parag Patel, Nikita Patel, Gaurav Kulkarni, Bhavankumar P. Patel

Title : Development and validation of analytical method for simultaneous estimation of diclofenac sodium and benzocaine in gel dosage form

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1095-1103

Euphorbia hirta belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae is well known for its medicinal properties and widely used worldwide. Euphorbia hirta leaves was investigated for its Ash value, extractive value, total moisture content and fluorescence analysis. Further, the present study aimed to identify the various phytochemical constituents present in the three different extracts by using standard methods of phytochemical screening. Powdered plant material contained 8.90% Ash value, 7.0% w/w water soluble extract, 14.85% w/w ethanol soluble extract, 9.71% w/w methanol soluble extract, 9.84% w/w moisture content and fluorescence to some treatments. The chemical constituents of the ethanolic and methanolic leaf extracts of the plant were relatively similar in the presence of proteins, fats and oils, gums and mucilages as primary metabolites and alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannin, phenol, steroid, glycoside, saponin, coumarin as secondary plant metabolites. Amino acids, carbohydrates and anthraquinones did not detected. In contrast, aqueous extract appeared to posses the constituents such as carbohydrates, proteins, amino acid, tannin, phenol, steroid, saponin and anthraquinone with a negative result to alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, glycosides, fat and oils, coumarin, gums and mucilages. In conclusion, the reported results support the leaf extracts of Euphorbia hirta to exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities and promisingly used as traditional medicine.

Keywords : Euphorbia hirta, physio-chemical analysis, phytochemical screening, aqueous extract, maceration, ethanol extract, methanol extract

Author : Asha S, Thirunavukkarasu P, Mohamad Sadiq A

Title : Phytochemical screening of Euphorbia hirta linn leaf extracts

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1104-1112

A stability indicating RP-HPLC method was developed and validated for Etizolam and Propranolol Hydrochloride in pharmaceutical dosage form. The chromatographic separation was carried out by using PURITUS C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with gradient mobile phase Ammoni¬¬um phosphate buffer pH 3 and Acetonitrile by PDA detector. Drug and degradant were monitored at 245nm, the flow rate was 1 ml/min, injection volume was 20 μl and temperature of column was 25 °C. Retention time of Propranolol Hydrochloride and Etizolam was about 7.4 min and 14.4 min respectively. Stability indicating method was performed by using 1N HCl, 1N NaOH, 3 % H2O2. Thermal degradation was performed at 100 °C for 7 days. The photolytic degradation was performed for 7 days. The developed method was validated as per ICH guideline using various validation parameters. Linearity was observed in concentration range 5 to 15 μg/ml of Etizolam and 200 to 600 μg/ml of Propranolol Hydrochloride with correlation coefficient of 0.9995 and 0.9983 respectively. All the parameters were within specifications. So, the developed method was found to be stability indicating, specific, linear, accurate, precise and robust.

Keywords : Etizolam, Propranolol Hydrochloride, RP-HPLC and Forced degradation

Author : Payal Kate, Parag Patel, Nikita Patel, Gaurav Kulkarni, Bhawan kumar Patel

Title : Stability indicating RP-HPLC method development and validation of Etizolam and Propranolol hydrochloride in pharmaceutical dosage form

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1113-1124

Verapamil HCl is calcium channel blocker used for the treatment of hypertension, irregular heartbeat, angina, and to control the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. As Verapamil HCl is bitter in taste, taste masking is required for preparing oral disintegrating tablet. To mask the taste we used resin Indion 234. Oral disintegrating Tablets were made using various superdisintegrants (crosspovidone, SSG, Kyron T 314) at 3 different concentration with three different ratio (Drug: Indion 234) 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 of drug and resin equivalent to 40mg form a Drug Resin complex (DRC). Crosspovidone shows the best disintegration time and it is further used for the formulation of the tablets. All the formulations were evaluated for parameters such as hardness, friability, disintegration time, in vitro drug release. An effective formulation F8 having hardness 4.1 kg/cm2 , disintegration time of 21sec. and in vitro drug release of 98.87% after 20min. The bitterness scale 0.6 confirmed by study on human volunteers. The taste masking of the drug confirmed by FTIR, DSC study and the in vitro release of the DRC

Keywords : Oral Disintegrating Tablet, Superdisintegrants, Indion 234, Drug Resin complex

Author : Hardik Makwana, Parag Patel, Prashant Patel, Bhawankumar P. Patel

Title : Formulation, optmization and evaluation of taste masked oral disintegrating tablet of verapamil HCL

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1125-1133

In this study striped eel cat fish were screened especially for their bioactivity, and the tests showed reproducible activity in the assay. Different parts like skin and spine of striped eel cat fishes were extracted with five different solvents. The crude extracts were tested against seven bacterial and five fungal pathogens. Maximum antibacterial inhibition zone was exhibited from n-butanol crude extract of Skin against Klebsiella pneumoniae 22 mm. In antifungal assay the chloroform extracts of skin showed the best activity against Aspergillus fumigatus of 16mm. This research is a baseline study for the development of the novel antimicrobial drug from fish.

Keywords : Antibacterial, antifungal, pathogens

Author : Shani T. John, Velmurugan S, Senthil nagaraj D, Aslin Lisa

Title : Antimicrobial activity of striped eel cat fish Plotosus lineatus against human pathogens

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1134-1137

Fruits are rich in fiber, vitamin-C, sugar and water. Fruits are also low in calories therefore, play an important role as weight loss diet and makes man healthy. The wild fruits constitute essential micronutrients, taste and medicinal value. These fruits also serve as staple food in the time of food deficiency. Poor people of the rural areas are also dependent on wild edible fruits as an income source for their livelihood. Therefore, emphasize should be given to explore the wild edible fruits and their popularization and conservation for human welfare. The present study deals with the exploration, documentation and identification of wild edible fruits consumed by people of Upper Assam, North-East India. This paper includes a total of 54 wild edible fruits belonging to 26 families with their local names in Assamese, scientific name, family, time of availability, taste and their uses.

Keywords : Wild edible fruits, Upper Assam, NE India, Medicinal value

Author : Moitreyee Saikia

Title : Wild edible fruits consumed by people of Upper Assam, NE India

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1138-1144

The investigation was carried out to determine the phytocompounds of ethanol extract of Nothapodytes nimmoniana stem. GC-MS analysis of ethanol extract was performed using a Perkin-Elmer GC clarus 500 system and Gas Chromatograph interfaced to a Mass Spectometer (GC-MS) equipped with a Elite-1,fused silica capillary column(30mm×0.25mm 10×1µMdf, composed of 100% Di methyl poly siloxene). Interpretation on mass spectrum of GC-MS was conducted using the database of National Institute standard and Technology (NIST). Fourteen compounds were identified. The prevailing compounds were Acetic acid, 3-hydroxy-6-isopropenyl- 4, 8a-dimethyl-1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8a- octahydronaphthalen-2-yl ester (30.79%), á-D-Glucopyranose, 4-O-á-D-galactopyranosyl- (23.96%), 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, diisooctyl ester (9.99%), Dodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxy- (5.93%), Urs-12-en-24-oic acid, 3-oxo-, methyl ester, (+)- (5.64%), Isopropyl Palmitate (4.84%), n-Hexadecanoic acid (4.26%), 9, 12, 15-Octadecatrienoic acid, (Z,Z,Z)- (3.28%), Tetradecanoic acid (3.29%) and E-2-Tetradecen-1-ol (1.59%).

Keywords : Nothapodytes nimmoniana, n-Hexadecanoic acid, Phytol, Vitamin E.

Author : Shanmugavel Kavitha, Maria Louis Packia Lincy, Soosaimicheal Mary Jelastin Kala, Veerabahu Ramasamy Mohan and Arumugam Maruthupandian

Title : GC-MS analysis of ethanol extract of stem of Nothapodytes nimmoniana (Graham) Mabb

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1145-1150

The study sought to assess hypertension related practices and to determine the level of compliance to antihypertensive therapy among hypertensive patients attending tertiary healthcare facilities in Jos, Nigeria. The study was conducted among consenting patients in Plateau State Specialist Hospital and Bingham University Teaching Hospital, both in Jos with the aid of a pretested structured questionnaire. It was a descriptive cross sectional survey of 275 hypertensive patients and systematic random sampling method was adopted. Data was analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) V. 20.0 to compute simple percentage, mean and standard deviation related to study objectives. Chi-square test was employed to investigate relationships among variables. The study had 50% with high hypertension-related practice levels with gender, religion, marital status, education level, and occupation showing probabilities of 0.622, 0.583, 0.900, 0.288, and 0.923 respectively. Patient compliance to antihypertensive therapy had a significantly high percentage (82%; P=0.0005). However, only 7.30% owned a personal blood pressure measuring machine. Hypertensive patients in the tertiary healthcare facilities in Jos demonstrated high level of knowledge of lifestyle practices and compliance to antihypertensive therapy. There is therefore need to maintain the health education and promotion practices of these hospitals to further improve the practice and compliance to antihypertensive therapy in patients through proper education by healthcare professionals.

Keywords : Hypertension, Hypertension Related Practice, Compliance to Anti-Hypertensive Therapy, Hypertensive Patients

Author : Adeniyi Michael Adebayo, Okunlola Charity Rotkangmwa and David Shalkur

Title : Hypertension related practices and compliance to anti-hypertensive therapy among hypertensive patients in tertiary health care facilities in Jos, North-Central Nigeria

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1151-1158

The leaves of Butea monosperma (Lamk) Taub (Fabaceae) have been traditionally used as tonic. Ethanolic extract of Butea monosperma contains flavonoids, glucosides, butin, butrin, isobutrin, palastrin. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the immunomodulatory activity of Butea monosperma leaves. Ethanolic extract of Butea monosperma leaves was administered at dose of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg to healthy mice. The immunomodulatory activity was carried out by testing non-specific immune responses using carbon clearance test (CCT), Neutrophil adhesion test (NAT) and cecal ligation and Puncture induced abdominal sepsis models. Butea monosperma ethanolic extract (BMEE) caused increase in the Phagocytic index in Carbon clearance test as well as increased neutrophil index in NAT. Increased percentage survival of animals was observed in Cecal ligation and Puncture induced abdominal sepsis model. The results of the present study indicate that the BMEE stimulates the immune system non-specifically.

Keywords : Butea monosperma, phagocytic index, neutrophil adhesion, sepsis

Author : Vaze Varsha V, Arora Minaxi, Sreelesh Brinda, Dhingra Gitika, Gadge Madhusudan

Title : Evaluation of Butea monosperma as an immunomodulatory agent

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1159-1162

Lycopene, a potent antioxidant provides protection against free radicals and has been used in the treatment of cancer, coronary heart disease and hypercholestrimia. Losarton has been used for the treatment of essential hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy and various cardiovascular disorders. The present study was designed to evaluate the cardioprotective effect of combination of Losartan with Lycopene in isoproterenol induced cardiomyopathy in rats. Myocardial infarction was induced by isoproterenol (ISO, 85 mg/kg, sc) twice at an interval of 24 hrs in Wistar rats. ISO produced significant alteration in the hemodynamic parameters (Blood pressure and heart rate), creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, TBARS, GSH, SOD and catalase. Oral treatment with losartan (10 mg/kg) and lycopene (4 mg/kg) for 21 days in ISO treated rats attenuated above mentioned parameters. The treatment with combination of losartan and lycopene reduced the cardiotoxicity induced by ISO which was confirmed by reduction in hemodynamic parameters, TBARS, LDH, CK and increase in GSH, SOD and Catalase enzymes. The effect could be due to the myocardial membrane protection provided by antioxidant and free radical scavenging property. Thus, combination therapy with losartan and lycopene provides new intervention in the treatment of cardiomyopathy.

Keywords : Cardiomyopathy, Lycopene, Losartan, Lactate dehydrogenase

Author : Vinay Kumar, Sanjeev Chauhan, Roma Ghai, Lokesh Kumar Shukla, Shikha Mishra

Title : Combination therapy of losarton and lycopene in isoproterenol-induced cardiomyopathy in Wistar rats

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1163-1168

The Western Ghats of India are known to be a major biological hotspot that supports the plant diversity and endemism. The Euphorbia fusiformis representative species of Euphorbiaceae is famous for its use as medicinal herbs. The tuber and latex is used in various ayurvedic medicines. Taxonomic identification of tubers and powders is becoming a great challenge as per classical plant taxonomy. The present study deals with generation of rbcl gene sequences from Euphorbia fusiformis and its phylogenetic relationship with other species of the genus Euphorbia.

Keywords : DNA sequencing, Medicinal herb, rbcl gene, Western Ghats.

Author : Sanjay Jagtap and Rajendra Satpute

Title : Use of rbcl gene sequence of plastid region as a tool in taxonomic authentication and phylogeny of Medicinal Plants

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1169-1172

Honey is known as natural sweetener since ancient time with medicinal value .In Indian system of Medicine, honey’s well described propertie is Yogavahi (synergism/potentiating).We clinically evaluated the potentiating effect of honey with mandur bhasma on 30 patients both male and female upon oral delivery of medicine with honey. We observed better improvement in level of Hemoglobin /Serum Iron / TIBC in the patients given mandur bhasma with honey, in comparison to the mandur bhasma alone. Recovery of symptoms such as loss of appetite, lethargy and pallor have been noted in entire anemic patients attended in both groups i.e. honey+ mandur bhasma and mandur bhasma alone. However, significant increase in the Hb has been observed in 21.86% honey+ mandur bhasma in comparison to mandur bhasma alone which is only 9.77%, showing potentiating effects of honey.

Keywords : Anemia, Mandur Bhasm , Honey, Yogavahi.

Author : Prashant Gupta, Brij mohan Singh, Trapti Agrawal, Arvind kumar

Title : Clinical Evaluation of potentiating effect of Honey with Mandur Bhasma (Herbo-mineral preparation) in anemic children

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1173-1179

The beneficial medicinal effects of the plants materials typically result from the combination of secondary products present in the plant. Plants produce secondary metabolites as defenses against animals, parasites, bacteria and viruses and so rely on these chemical and other deterrents for their survival. These secondary metabolites constitute the medicinal value of a drug plant, which produces a definite physiological action on human body. Tagetes erecta is a annual growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) by 0.4 m (1ft 4in) at a medium rate. It is in flower in July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.The whole herb is anthelmintic, aromatic, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, sedative and stomachic. It is used internally in the treatment of indigestion, colic, severe constipation, coughs and dysentery. Externally, it is used to treat sores, ulcers, eczema. Sore eyes and rheumatism. The leaves are harvested as required for immediate use during the growing season, whilst the flowering plant can be dried and stored for later use. A paste of the leaves is applied externally to treat boils, carbuncles and earaches. The flowers are carminitive, diuretic and vermifuge. A decoction is used to treat colds, and mumps. It is applied externally to trea skin diseases, conjunctivitis and sore eyes. The root is laxative.

Keywords : Tagetes erecta Linn. , Hepatotoxicity, Hepatoprotective, Carbon tetrachloride

Author : Gauri Karwani and Siddhraj S. Sisodia

Title : Tagetes erecta plant: Review with significant pharmacological activities

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1180-1183

determination of salicylic acid in bulk drugs and in pharmaceutical dosage form. The developed method is stability indicating which separates the drugs from its degradation products and is also applicable for related substances determination of salicylic acid in bulk drugs. The chromatographic method separation was achieved on a Kromasil 60-5CN (250 X 4.6 ) mm, 5 µ column and the mobile phase containing the mixture of mobile phase-A is the mixture of 1.0 mL of trifluoro acetic acid in 1000 mL purified water and mobile phase-B is acetonitrile ( 70 : 30, v/v ). The detection was carried out at wave length 230 nm and column oven temperature at 30°C. Forced degradation studies were performed for Salicylic acid using acid (0.1 N HCl), base ( 0.1 N NaOH), Oxidation (2% H2O2 ) and thermal (80 oC) degradation. The degradation was observed for Salicylic acid in Acidic, Basic and Oxidative degraded products were well resolved from main peak. The developed method was validated with respective linearity, accuracy, precision, robustness, and forced degradation studies prove stability indicating power of the method .

Keywords : Salicylic acid, Forced degradation, RP- HPLC, Stability indicating, Validation

Author : Sanjay A. Patil, Bhikan J. Khairnar, Dhananjay V. Mane, Bhata R. Chaudhari

Title : A validated stability-indicating HPLC related substances method for salicylic acid in bulk drug and dosage form

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1184-1190

Many plants have been claimed to possess liver protecting activity. But, due to scarcity of potent modern medicine to treat severe liver diseases, many folk remedies of plant origin have been scientifically evaluated for their potential hepatoprotective activity in experimental animal models. In the present study, hepatoprotective activity of Tagetes erecta linn. was investigated in CCl4 intoxicated Albino Wistar rats and the results were compared with, Silymarin. Subcutaneous injection of CCl4, produced a marked elevation in the level of biochemical markers. Oral administration of Tagetes erecta linn at dose 200 mg/kg, 400mg/kg and 600mg/kg in CCl4 intoxicated rats showed marked decrease in the level of biochemical markers and results were at par with the effect shown by Silymarin. The results of histopathological analysis were in compliance with the findings of blood biochemical parameter analysis. This study confirms that Tagetes erecta linn. hydroalcoholic extract has phytocomponents with hepatoprotective potential.

Keywords : Tagetes erecta Linn. , Hepatotoxicity, Hepatoprotective, Carbon tetrachloride

Author : Gauri Karwani and Siddhraj S. Sisodia

Title : Hepatoprotective activity of Tagetes erecta Linn. in carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Volume/Issue : 2015;3(6)

Page No : 1191-1197