Evidences for salbutamol metabolism by respiratory and liver cell lines

Effects of endogenous and exogenous reductants in lung fluid on the bioaccessible metal concentration and oxidative potential of ultrafine particles

Health risk posed by ultrafine particles (UFPs) is potentially increased by reducing substances present in lung fluid, although knowledge of the underlying mechanisms is insufficient. Here, UFPs mainly consisting of metals and quinones were prepared. The reducing substances examined included lung endogenous and exogenous reductants. UFPs were extracted in simulated lung fluid containing reductants. Extracts were used to analyze metrics relevant to health effects, including the bioaccessible metal concentration (Me_BA) and oxidative potential (OP^DTT). The Me_BA of Mn (974.5-9896.9 μg L^-1) was higher than those of Cu (155.0-599.6 μg L^-1) and Fe (79.9-500.9 μg L^-1). Correspondingly, UFPs containing Mn had higher OP^DTT (2.07-12.0 pmol min^-1 μg^-1) than those containing Cu (2.03-7.11 pmol min^-1 μg^-1) and Fe (1.63-5.34 pmol min^-1 μg^-1). Endogenous and exogenous reductants can increase Me_BA and OP^DTT, and the increments were generally higher for composite than pure UFPs. Positive correlations between OP^DTT and Me_BA of UFPs in the presence of most reductants emphasized the importance of the bioaccessible metal fraction in UFPs for inducing oxidative stress by reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating reactions between quinones, metals, and lung reductants. Present findings provide novel insight into the toxicity and health risks of UFPs.

Formulation, Optimization and In Vitro Evaluation of Fast Disintegrating Tablets of Salbutamol Sulphate using a Combination of Superdisintegrant and Subliming Agent

AIM

The present research work was aimed to formulate fast disintegrating tablets (FDTs) of salbutamol sulphate (SBS) using a combination of superdisintegrant and subliming agent, optimize the formulation and evaluate the in vitro performance of the developed FDTs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A formulation of SBS FDT was developed using a combination of superdisintegrant - crospovidone and subliming agent - ammonium bicarbonate (AB) in which formulation variables, namely levels of crospovidone and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC):Mannitol (MNTL) ratio were evaluated for their effects on the response variables - disintegration time, hardness, friability and wetting time of the resulting FDTs. By employing a central composite design (CCD) methodology, the FDTs were optimized to achieve optimum levels of the formulation factors.

RESULTS

The desired optimum condition was obtained at 7.82% crospovidone and 70% of 1.56:1 MCC: MNTL ratio while maintaining AB at 5% level for aesthetic reasons. Under the optimized conditions, the disintegration time, hardness, friability and wetting time were 14.57±0.53 sec, 7.17±0.82 kg/cm2, 0.311% and 13.14±0.69 sec, respectively. The experimentally observed responses were found to be in close agreement with the predicted values for the optimized formulation. Moreover, the validity of the obtained optimal point was confirmed by the low magnitude of percent prediction error (<5%).

CONCLUSION

FDTs of SBS were successfully formulated and optimized using CCD employing a combination of superdisintegrant and subliming agents.

In vitro methods for predicting the bioconcentration of xenobiotics in aquatic organisms

The accumulation of anthropogenic chemical substances in aquatic organisms is an immensely important issue from the point of view of environmental protection. In the context of the increasing number and variety of compounds that may potentially enter the environment, there is a need for efficient and reliable solutions to assess the risks. However, the classic approach of testing with fish or other animals is not sufficient. Due to very high costs, significant time and labour intensity, as well as ethical concerns, in vivo methods need to be replaced by new laboratory-based tools. So far, many models have been developed to estimate the bioconcentration potential of chemicals. However, most of them are not sufficiently reliable and their predictions are based on limited input data, often obtained with doubtful quality. The octanol-water partition coefficient is still often used as the main laboratory tool for estimating bioconcentration. However, according to current knowledge, this method can lead to very unreliable results, both for neutral species and, above all, for ionic compounds. It is therefore essential to start using new, more advanced and credible solutions on a large scale. Over the last years, many in vitro methods have been newly developed or improved, allowing for a much more adequate estimation of the bioconcentration potential. Therefore, the aim of this work was to review the most recent laboratory methods for assessing the bioconcentration potential and to evaluate their applicability in further research.

Management of COPD exacerbations: pharmacotherapeutics of medications

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is widely established as a health challenge, with predictions that it will be the third leading cause of global mortality and reduced health status within the next 10 years. Exacerbations of COPD are now the second largest cause of emergency hospitalisation in the UK. The respiratory clinical nurse specialist has an active role in the acute management of COPD exacerbations in the hospital setting, and it is essential that prescribing decisions are made based on the best available evidence. This article critically evaluates the pharmacotherapeutics and evidence base for the use of two medications, salbutamol and amoxicillin, in treating unstable COPD, and discusses implications for clinical practice.

An Efficient, Lung-Targeted, Drug-Delivery System To Treat Asthma Via Microparticles

BACKGROUND

Chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease are the leading causes of death in developing countries. Public health plays an important role in preventing such diseases to improve individuals' quality of life. Conventional dosage schemes used in public health to cure various diseases generally lead to undesirable side effects and renders the overall treatment ineffective. For example, a required concentration of drug cannot reach the lungs using conventional methods to cure asthma. Microspheres have emerged as a confirmed drug-delivery system to cure asthma.

METHOD

In this paper, a salbutamol-loaded poly lactic acid-co-glycolic acid-polyethylene glycol (PLGA-PEG) microsphere (SPP)-based formulation was prepared using a Buchi B-90 nanospray drier. Face-centered central composite design (CCD) was applied to optimize the spray-drying process.

RESULTS

The drug content and product yield were found to be 72%±0.8% and 86%±0.4%, respectively; drug release (91.1%) peaked for up to 12 hrs in vitro. Microspheres obtained from the spray dryer were found to be shriveled. The experiments were carried out and verified using various groups of rabbits. In our study, the particle size (8.24 µm) was observed to be an essential parameter for drug delivery. The in vivo results indicated that the targeting efficacy and drug concentration in the lung was higher with the salbutamol-loaded PLGA-PEG SPP formulation (1,410.1±10.11 µg/g, 15 mins), as compared to the conventional formulation (92±0.56 µg/g, 10 min). The final product was stable under 5°C±2°C, 25°C±2°C, and 40°C±2°C/75%±5% relative humidity. In addition, these co-polymers have a good safety profile, as determined by testing on human alveolar basal epithelium A549 cell lines.

CONCLUSION

Our results prove that microspheres are an alternative drug-delivery system for lung-targeted asthma treatments used in public health.

In Vivo Effects of Salbutamol Residues on Blood Lipid, Lung Structure, Gene Expression, and Gut Microorganism Composition

Salbutamol (SAL), one of the prohibited veterinary drugs, has been proven to be harmful to animals, but very few studies reported the underlying mechanism of actions and the effects after SAL intake. In this study, Ba-Ma minipigs were used as the animal model to demonstrate the impacts of SAL residues on blood lipid and the lung bronchial structures and the regulation of gene expression and gut microorganism population. The results showed that (1) SAL decreased the indexes of serum lipid and organ, (2) SAL widely retained in various tissues and organs, (3) the lung bronchial expanded under the influence of SAL, (4) the gene expression of growth-related ghrelin has increased, and (5) the residues of SAL affected the composition of gut microorganism population, which could be associated with the mechanism of action of SAL on pig. The findings suggest that SAL could be harmful to minipigs by altering the blood lipid, bronchial morphology, gastric mucosal gene expression, and the gut microorganism population.

Effect of (R)-salbutamol on the switch of phenotype and metabolic pattern in LPS-induced macrophage cells

Evidence demonstrates that M1 macrophage polarization promotes inflammatory disease. Here, we discovered that (R)‐salbutamol, a β₂ receptor agonist, inhibits and reprograms the cellular metabolism of RAW264.7 macrophages. (R)‐salbutamol significantly inhibited LPS‐induced M1 macrophage polarization and downregulated expressions of typical M1 macrophage cytokines, including monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 (MCP‐1), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNF‐α). Also, (R)‐salbutamol significantly decreased the production of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), while increasing the reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio. In contrast, (S)‐salbutamol increased the production of NO and ROS. Bioenergetic profiles showed that (R)‐salbutamol significantly reduced aerobic glycolysis and enhanced mitochondrial respiration. Untargeted metabolomics analysis demonstrated that (R)‐salbutamol modulated metabolic pathways, of which three metabolic pathways, namely, (a) phenylalanine metabolism, (b) the pentose phosphate pathway and (c) glycerophospholipid metabolism were the most noticeably impacted pathways. The effects of (R)‐salbutamol on M1 polarization were inhibited by a specific β₂ receptor antagonist, ICI‐118551. These findings demonstrated that (R)‐salbutamol inhibits the M1 phenotype by downregulating aerobic glycolysis and glycerophospholipid metabolism, which may propose (R)‐salbutamol as the major pharmacologically active component of racemic salbutamol for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and highlight the medicinal value of (R)‐salbutamol.