Optimization of combinational intranasal drug delivery system for the management of migraine by using statistical design

Migraine is a chronic disorder characterized by significant headache and various associated symptoms which worsen with exertion. Zolmitriptan approved for use in the acute treatment of migraine and related vascular headaches but are limited by high pain recurrence due to rapid drug elimination. Combinationalformulationof triptans and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug may provide a quicker and longer duration of relief from the subsequent pain during the attack. In this study, we formulate a Zolmitriptan (ZT) & ketorolac tromethamine (KT) loaded thermo reversible in-situ mucoadhesive intranasal gel (TMISG) formulation which gels at the nasal mucosal temperature and contains a bioadhesive polymer (Xyloglucan) that lengthens the residence time will enhance the bioavailability of the combinational drugs. This study uses Box-Behnken design for the first time to develop, optimize the TMISG and assess factors affecting the critical quality attributes. Histopathological study of the nasal mucosa suggested that the formulation was safe for nasal administration. The statistical difference in absolute bioavailability between oral and intranasal route suggested that intranasal route had almost 21% increases in bioavailability for ZT and for KT there was 16% increase over oral formulations. Optimized formulation would help mitigate migraine associated symptoms much better over the currently available formulations.

Application of RP-HPLC method in dissolution testing and statistical evaluation by NASSAM for simultaneous estimation of tertiary combined dosages forms

A dissolution method with robust high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis for immediate release tablet formulation was developed and validated to meet the requirement as per International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) and United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) guidelines. The method involved the use of Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse XDB C₁₈ column, and temperature was maintained at 30 °C. After optimization, the mobile phase was selected as phosphate buffer (KH₂PO₄, 30 mM) : ACN (60:40, v/v) with pH 3.0, and retention time R_t was found as 3.24, 4.16, and 2.55 min for paracetamol (PCM), chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) and phenylephrine hydrochloride (PH) respectively at 265 nm and at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The relative standard deviation (%RSD) for 6 replicate measurements was found to be less than 2%. Furthermore net analyte signal standard addition method (NASSAM) with spectrophotometer was performed for standard and liquid oral suspension. On the basis of selectivity, sensitivity and accuracy analysis, it was confirmed that this novel method could be useful for simultaneous estimation of the given drug combinations. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied for evaluating the statistical difference between the assay results obtained via both NASSAM and RP–HPLC methods and ultimately no significant difference was found between both the methods. All the methods and results were acceptable and confirmed that the method was suitable for intended use.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Chalcones having Heterosubstituent(s)

Chalcones and their synthetic analogues appear to have the same binding site of tubuline as phenstatin, combretastatin steganacin and podophylotoxin and are therefore capable to inhibit cancer cell proliferation. The phenyl rings with appropriate substitutions maintain a fixed distance between two centers of aryl rings. The two aromatic rings in these molecules are arranged like the two wings of a butterfly having certain dihedral angle between them, therefore a “butterfly model” is proposed an important structural feature responsible for their antitubulin activity. In this sequence a series of chalcones were synthesized and evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic activity against a panel of human cancer cell lines. In addition the synthetics reduced MIC of ciprofloxacin upto four fold this indicates their bioavailability enhancing potential.

Antioxidant activity of the aqueous extracts of spicy food additives--evaluation and comparison with ascorbic acid in in-vitro systems

The antioxidant activity of the aqueous extracts of five umbelliferous fruits--caraway (Carum carvi), coriander (Coriandrum sativum), cumin (Cuminum cyminum), dill (Anethum graveolens) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)--were investigated in comparison with the known antioxidant ascorbic acid in in vitro studies. The amount of aqueous extract of these five umbelliferous fruits and ascorbic acid needed for 50% scavenging of superoxide radicals was found to be 105 microg (caraway), 370 microg (coriander), 220 microg (cumin), 190 microg (dill), 205 microg (fennel) and 260 microg (ascorbic acid). The amount needed for 50% inhibition of lipid peroxide was 2100 microg (caraway), 4500 microg (coriander), 4300 microg (cumin), 3100 microg (dill), 4600 microg (fennel) and 5000 microg (ascorbic acid). The quantity needed for 50% inhibition of hydroxyl radicals was 1150 microg (caraway), 1250 microg (coriander), 470 microg (cumin), 575 microg (dill), 700 microg (fennel) and 4500 microg (ascorbic acid). The daily use of the above fruits in various forms is very common in India and the present study revealed strong antioxidant activity of their extracts that was superior to known antioxidant ascorbic acid and indicate their intake may be beneficial as food additives.