Synthetic Protocols, Structural Activity Relationship, and Biological Activity of Piperazine and its Derivatives

The versatile basic structure of piperazine allows for the development and production of newer bioactive molecules that can be used to treat a wide range of diseases. Piperazine derivatives are unique and can easily be modified for the desired pharmacological activity. The two opposing nitrogen atoms in a six-membered piperazine ring offer a large polar surface area, relative structural rigidity, and more acceptors and donors of hydrogen bonds. These properties frequently result in greater water solubility, oral bioavailability, and ADME characteristics, as well as improved target affinity and specificity. Various synthetic protocols have been reported for piperazine and its derivatives. In this review, we focused on recently published synthetic protocols for the synthesis of the piperazine and its derivatives. The structure-activity relationship concerning different biological activities of various piperazine-containing drugs was also highlighted to provide a good understanding to researchers for future research on piperazines.

The bioengineered and multifunctional nanoparticles in pancreatic cancer therapy: Bioresponisive nanostructures, phototherapy and targeted drug delivery

The multidisciplinary approaches in treatment of cancer appear to be essential in term of bringing benefits of several disciplines and their coordination in tumor elimination. Because of the biological and malignant features of cancer cells, they have ability of developing resistance to conventional therapies such as chemo- and radio-therapy. Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a malignant disease of gastrointestinal tract in which chemotherapy and radiotherapy are main tools in its treatment, and recently, nanocarriers have been emerged as promising structures in its therapy. The bioresponsive nanocarriers are able to respond to pH and redox, among others, in targeted delivery of cargo for specific treatment of PC. The loading drugs on the nanoparticles that can be synthetic or natural compounds, can help in more reduction in progression of PC through enhancing their intracellular accumulation in cancer cells. The encapsulation of genes in the nanoparticles can protect against degradation and promotes intracellular accumulation in tumor suppression. A new kind of therapy for cancer is phototherapy in which nanoparticles can stimulate both photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy through hyperthermia and ROS overgeneration to trigger cell death in PC. Therefore, synergistic therapy of phototherapy with chemotherapy is performed in accelerating tumor suppression. One of the important functions of nanotechnology is selective targeting of PC cells in reducing side effects on normal cells. The nanostructures are capable of being surface functionalized with aptamers, proteins and antibodies to specifically target PC cells in suppressing their progression. Therefore, a specific therapy for PC is provided and future implications for diagnosis of PC is suggested.

Exosomal non-coding RNAs' role in immune regulation and potential therapeutic applications

Exosomes are now significant players in both healthy and unhealthy cell-to-cell communication. Exosomes can mediate immune activation or immunosuppression, which can influence the growth of tumors. Exosomes affect the immune responses to malignancies in various ways by interacting with tumor cells and the environment around them. Exosomes made by immune cells can control the growth, metastasis, and even chemosensitivity of tumor cells. In contrast, exosomes produced by cancer cells can encourage immune responses that support the tumor. Exosomes carry circular RNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and microRNAs (miRNAs), all involved in cell-to-cell communication. In this review, we focus on the most recent findings concerning the role of exosomal miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs in immune modulation and the potential therapeutic implications of these discoveries.

Phytochemical and in-vitro Biological Investigation of Indian Traditional Medicinal Plants for their Cytotoxicity and Hepatoprotective Potential

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to select 16 medicinal plants based on their folklore remedy for treating various diseases like inflammation, cancer, etc., and scientifically validate their potency.

METHODS

Five among them, namely Centella asiatica (CA), Myristica fragrans (MF), Trichosanthes palmata (TP), Woodfordia fruticosa (WF), and Curculigo orchioides (CO), were scientifically confirmed through the extraction and in-vitro cytotoxic and hepatoprotective evaluation. Based on the cytotoxic and hepatoprotective results, the various fractions of CO were chosen for an in-depth phytochemical study to isolate and characterize active compounds by GC-MS.

RESULTS

The results showed promising cytotoxic activity (i.e., IC₅₀=<100 μg/ml) against HeLa cell lines and significant hepatoprotective activity in a dose-dependent manner on CCl₄ intoxicated isolated hepatocyte cells.

CONCLUSION

The present study confirmed the scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of selected medicinal plants in HeLa and hepatocyte cells. Furthermore, a detailed study on their mechanism of action and clinical application is suggested.

Assessment of Adverse Drug Reactions Based on Spontaneous Signals at Secondary Care Public Hospital

Adverse drug reactions are considered to be among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Approximately 5-25% of hospital admissions are due to adverse drug reactions and 6-15% of hospitalized patients experience serious adverse drug reactions, causing significant prolongation of hospital stay. Thus this study was aimed at determining adverse drug reactions by conducting spontaneous reporting in secondary care Govt. District Head Quarters Hospital at Ooty. A prospective Spontaneous Adverse Drug Reaction reporting study was conducted over a period of 12 months from July 2012 to June 2013. The assessment, categorization, causality, severity and preventability were assessed using standard criteria. A total of 47 suspected adverse drug reactions were reported during the study period. Over all incidences was 1.29% among the study population. Antibiotics (31.91%) were the class of drug most commonly involved, while ciprofloxacin (14.89%) was the most frequently reported. Type H (Hypersensitivity) reactions (51.06%) accounted for majority of the reports and a greater share of the adverse drug reactions are probable (89.36%) based on causality assessment. Mild reactions accounted 82.97% based on modified Hartwig and Siegel severity scale. In 76.59% of the reports, the reaction was considered to be preventable based on Schumock and Thornton preventability scale. The implementation of monitoring based on spontaneous reporting will be useful for the detection and evaluation is associated with increase in morbidity and duration of hospitalization. This study also has established the vital role of clinical pharmacist in the adverse drug reaction monitoring program.

Synthesis of some novel chalcones, flavanones and flavones and evaluation of their anti-inflammatory activity

A novel series of synthetic 2'-hydroxychalcones (1a-h), 2'-methoxychalcones (2a-l), flavanones (3a-k) and flavones (4a-f) have been synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced rat paw oedema model. Compounds 1a, 1e-g, 2e-g, 3j, and 4f showed potent anti-inflammatory activity comparable to the reference drug indomethacin with insignificant ulceration. Compound 1f showed mild inhibition against the enzymatic activity of ovine COX-1 and COX-2 (in-vitro). Compound 1f also exhibited inhibitory activity in LPS induced TNF-α production.