Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research
Volume:13 Issue: 3, Summer 2014

According to non-official data, despite official ban, over 50% of the pharmacies in Tehran are illegally managed by non pharmacist investors. It means despite the regulations ban, tendency to Chain pharmacy exist in Iran and some investor has more than 10 pharmacies. It means despite the regulations, tendency to Chain pharmacy exist. Benchmarking in other countries shows some advantages and disadvantages of chain pharmacies which if regulated properly could lead to patient benefits. Chain pharmacy regulations are wide varying all over the world. The organization structure might be based on the horizontal or vertical integration. In vertical integration as the pharmacy integrated with distributor, wholesaler, and factory, repeated mark ups are omitted and the unit costs could be lower. But due to the market dominance caused by this loop, it is not accepted in most of the countries. In horizontal integration chain pharmacy construct by merging some independent pharmacies and could be sole-ownership or shared-ownership. Shared owner CDS is collaboration of some independent pharmacies which managed by directorate board and directing manager. In sole-ownership CDS, board of directors is shareholders who assign a CEO.

This epidemiological review was carried out to display the magnitude and the geographic distribution of scorpion envenomation in Iran with focus on the southwestern region of Iran, particularly. The Iranian recognized scorpions belonging to two families, including Buthidae and Scorpionidae. Buthidae family consists of 14 genuses, 26 species, and 18 sub-species, while Scorpionidae family has three genuses and four species. The lack of basic knowledge, including the geographical distribution, clinical manifestations, and specific treatments related to scorpiofauna justifies such multidisciplinary studies. The venom of two endemic Iranian scorpions, including Hemiscorpius lepturus (H. lepturus) and Odonthubuthus doriae (O.doriae) have considered as an effective source of new neurotoxin peptides for the further development of physio-pharmacological probes and designing the clinical trials. Such epidemiological information may improve the determinants of Iranian scorpion stings in order to plan and implement effective public health intervention.

Conventional treatment for primary dysmenorrhoea has a failure rate of 20% to 25% and may be contraindicated or not tolerated by some women. Herbal medicine may be a suitable alternative. The objective of the manuscript, is determine the efficacy and safety of some Iranian herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhea when compared with placebo, no treatment, and other treatment. For this target electronic searches of the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Dysmenorrhoea Group Register of controlled trials, Scopus, Google Scholar, Medline, Pubmed were performed to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The study abstraction and quality assessment of all studies were undertaken following the detailed descriptions of these categories as described in the JADAD Criteria for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. 25 RCTs involving a total of women were included in the review. The review found promising evidence in the form of RCTs for the use of herbal medicine in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea compared with pharmacological treatment. However, the results were limited by methodological flaws. Further rigorous no penetrating placebo-controlled RCTs are warranted. The review found promising evidence supporting the use of herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhoea; however, results are limited by the poor methodological quality of the included trials.

The objective of this investigation was the development of chitosan/xanthan polyelectrolyte complex based mucoadhesive nasal insert of promethazine hydrochloride a drug used in the treatment of motion sickness. A 32 factorial design was applied for preparing chitosan/xanthan polyelectrolyte complex and to study the effect of independent variables i.e. concentration of xanthan [X1] and concentration of chitosan [X2] on various responses i.e. viscosity of polyelectrolyte complex solution, water uptake of nasal inserts (at pH 2, 5.5, 7.4), bioadhesion potential of nasal inserts and in-vitro drug release at Q6hr through nasal inserts. FTIR and DSC analysis were carried out to confirm complex formation and on loaded and unloaded nasal insert to investigate any drug excipient interaction. The nasal inserts were also characterized by powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and for ex-vivo permeation studies. The results show that higher amount of xanthan in polyelectrolyte complexes with respect to higher amount of chitosan retarded in-vitro drug release. The water uptake behaviour of nasal insert was strongly influenced by pH of the medium and by polycation/polyanion concentration. The investigation verifies the formation of polyelectrolyte complexes formation between chitosan and xanthan at pH values in the vicinity of pKa intervals of the two polymers and confirms their potential for the nasal delivery of promethazine hydrochloride.

This study aimed to determine the aerosolization behavior of a nanodispersion of budesonide, prepared using microfluidic reactors. The size and morphology of budesonide nanoparticles were characterized by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Processing/formulation parameters for formation of the nanoparticles were studied to determine their effects on the particle size. Results showed a narrow distribution for budesonide nanodispersion with spherical and smooth surfaced particles. To investigate the in-vitro aerosolization performance of the nanodispersion, the preparation was compared with a commercially available budesonide microsuspension using the Comité Européen Normalization (CEN) methodology. Aerosolization results showed that the fine particle fraction (FPF) generated from the budesonide nanodispersion was significantly higher than that of the marketed budesonide (ie. mean (SD) 56.88 (3.37)% vs. 38.04 (7.82)%, respectively). Additionally, mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of nano-budesonide dispersion was significantly smaller than the microsuspension (ie. mean (SD) 3.91 (0.49) vs. 6.22 (1.09) µm, respectively), with nebulization time of nano-budesonide dispersion significantly shorter than the marketed budesonide microsuspension (ie. 12.3 (0.37) vs. 14.85 (0.36) min, respectively). The produced nanodispersion was found to be stable over a period of 10 days if stored at 4 °C.

A simple and rapid stability indicating method based on capillary zone electrophoresis has been developed and validated for the analysis of buserelin (BUS). The best separations were achieved by using a bare fused silica capillary (75 m i.d.; 65.5 cm total, 57.0 cm effective length), phosphate buffer (pH = 3.00; 26.4 mM), at 35 °C. The sample was hydrodynamically injected at 50 mbar for 5 seconds; the applied voltage was 30 kV and detection was carried out by UV-absorbance at 200 nm. Method validation resulted in the following figures of merit: the method was linear in the concentration range between 0.781 and 500 g/ml (linear regression coefficient 0.9996), accuracy was between 99.3% and 100.9%, intra assay precision was between 0.3% and 1.0% and intermediate precision was between 1.0% and 2.1%. Evaluation of the specificity of the method showed no interference between excipients or products of force degradation and BUS. Under the selected conditions, separation of BUS and its degradation products was completed in less than 10 min, and BUS could be quantified after different stress conditions without any interference. The results enabled the conclusion that under thermal stress upon exposure to 90 °C BUS is degraded by first order kinetics. It was demonstrated that the method can be applied as a rapid and easy to use method for quantification and stability testing of BUS in biopharmaceutical formulations in quality control laboratories.

Clarithromycin (CLM) is a member of macrolide family with broad spectrum antibiotic activity. It is practically insoluble in water and its poor solubility is pH dependent. In this study, series of nanosuspensions containing CLM and stabilizer such as HPMC, NaCMC, polysorbate 80, poloxamer 188 and polyvinyl alcohol in various ratios were prepared using sonoprecipitation method. Briefly, CLM was dissolved in acid solution and the pH of solution was raised under sonication and the effects of different stabilizers on particle size of nanoparticles were evaluated. Characterization of nanoparticles in terms of size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, differential scanning calorimetery and dissolution studies was performed. Antimicrobial activity of CLM nanosuspension was compared with coarse powder by using an agar well diffusion method. The results showed that HPMC was more efficient in size reduction of particles and presence of HPMC E5 with ratio of 3:5 to CLM in formulation led to develop the stable nanosuspension with particle size of 340 nm. The obtained nanosuspension successfully showed enhanced dissolution rate and antimicrobial activity.

In this study a 3-factor, 3-level Box-Behnken design was used to prepare optimized docetaxel (DTX) loaded pegylated poly lactide-co-glycolide (PEG-PLGA) NPs with polymer concentration (X1), drug concentration (X2) and ratio of the organic to aqueous solvent (X3) as the independent variables and particle size (Y1), poly dispersity index (PDI) (Y2) and drug loading (Y3) as the responses. The cytotoxicity of optimized DTX loaded PEG-PLGA NPs was studied in SKOV3 tumor cell lines by standard MTT assay. The in vivo antitumor efficacy of DTX loaded PLGA-PEG NPs was assessed in tumor bearing female BALB/c mice. The optimum level of Y1, Y2 and Y3 predicted by the model were 188 nm, 0.16 and 9% respectively with perfect agreement with the experimental data. The in vitro release profile of optimum formulation showed a burst release of approximately 20% (w/w) followed by a sustained release profile of the loaded drug over 288 h. The DTX loaded optimized nanoparticles showed a greater cytotoxicity against SKOV3 cancer cells than free DTX. Enhanced tumor-suppression effects were achieved with DTX-loaded PEG-PLGA NPs. These results demonstrated that optimized NPs could be a potentially useful delivery system for DTX as an anticancer agent.

The main objective of this study was to investigate biocompatibility and provide in vivo pharmacological and toxicological evidence for further investigation of the possibility of pH sensitive ion exchange resin microsphere for clinical utilizations. Acute toxicity study and general pharmacological studies were conducted on the pH sensitive ion exchange resin microsphere we prepared. The general pharmacological studies consist of the effects of the pH sensitive ion exchange resin microsphere on the nervous system of mice, the functional coordination of mice, the hypnosis of mice treated with nembutal at subliminal dose, the autonomic activities of tested mice, and the heart rate, blood pressure, ECG and breathing of the anesthetic cats. The LD50 of pH sensitive ion exchange resin microsphere after oral administration was more than 18.84 g•kg-1. Mice were orally administered with 16 mg•kg-1, 32 mg•kg-1 and 64 mg•kg-1 of pH sensitive ion exchange resin microsphere and there was no significant influence on mice nervous system, general behavior, function coordination, hypnotic effect treated with nembutal at subliminal dose and frequency of autonomic activities. Within the 90 min after 5 mg•kg-1, 10 mg•kg-1, 20 mg•kg-1 pH sensitive ion exchange resin microsphere was injected to cat duodenum, the heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and ECG of the cats didn’t make significant changes in each experimental group compared with the control group. The desirable pharmacological and toxicological behaviors of the pH sensitive ion exchange resin microsphere exhibited that it has safe biocompatibility and is possible for clinical use.

Microencapsulation as one of the most modern methods has remarkable effects on probiotic survival. In this study Lactobacillus casei (ATCC 39392) and Bifidobacterium bifidum (ATCC 29521) were encapsulated using calcium alginate-gelatinized starch, chitosan coating and inulin via emulsion technique, and were incubated in simulated gastric juice (along with pepsin, pH=1.5) and simulated intestinal juice (along with pancreatin and bile salts, pH=8) for 2 hours at 37 oC. The morphology and size of microcapsules were measured by scanning electron and optical microscopy. The results indicated that the survival of microencapsulated probiotic increased significantly in simulated gastro-intestinal condition (P<0.05). Chitosan coating played a significant role in the protection of probiotic bacteria in simulated gastro-intestinal condition and the diameter of the microcapsules increased with the addition of chitosan coating. In general, this study indicated that microencapsulation with alginate-gelatinized starch coated with chitosan could successfully and significantly protect probiotic bacteria against adverse condition of simulated human gastro-intestinal condition.

A rapid and sensitive HPLC method has been developed for the quantification of mirtazapine (MRZ), a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic inhibitor antidepressant (NaSSA) and its two major metabolites N-desmethylmirtazapine (NDM) and 8-hydroxymirtazapine (8-OHM) in human plasma. The separation was achieved using Chromolith C18 column and a mobile phase of acetonitrile: phosphate buffer (pH=3, 20:80, v/v) in isocratic mode at a flow rate of 2 ml/min. A fluorescence detector was set at 290 and 350 nm for excitation and emission, respectively. Zolpidem was used as the internal standard. Liquid-liquid extraction was applied for sample clean up. All analytes were eluted in less than 5 minutes with LOQ of 1 ng/ml for MRZ and 2 ng/ml for both NDM and 8-OHM. The developed method was successfully applied to quantify MRZ and its metabolites in plasma of a healthy volunteer.

An environmentally benign RP-HPLC approach for rapid analysis of glibenclamide in pure form, developed nanoemulsion and commercial tablets was developed and validated in present investigation. The green chromatographic identification was performed on Lichrosphere 250 X 4.0 mm RP C8 column having a 5µm packing as a stationary phase using a combination of ethanol: methanol (50:50 % v/v) as a mobile phase, at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min with UV detection at 245 nm. The proposed method was validated for linearity, selectivity, accuracy, precision, robustness, sensitivity and specificity as per international conference on harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The utility of proposed method was verified by assay of glibenclamide in developed nanoemulsion and commercial tablets. The proposed method was found to be satisfactory in terms of selectivity, precision, accuracy, robustness, sensitivity and specificity. The content of glibenclamide in developed nanoemulsion and commercial tablets was found to be 100.50 % and 99.15 % respectively. The proposed method successfully resoled glibenclamide peak in the presence of its all type of degradation products which indicated stability-indicating property of the proposed method. These results indicated that the green chromatographic method could be successfully employed for routine analysis of glibenclamide in pure drug and various commercial formulations.

Pyrimidine nucleosides are constituents of fundamental structure of the cells. There has been considerable attentions in the chemistry of pyrimidine derivatives due to having a wide range of biological activities such as antiviral, anti-malarial agents, cytostatic, antithelemintic, antibacterial, adenosine receptor ligands, anti-cancer agents, compounds targeting delayed-type hypersensivity and anti-convulsant agents. As a part of our research work in the synthesis of pyrimidines containing biological activities, a series of chromenopyrimidine derivatives were synthesized by reaction of an intermediate imine and ammonia derivatives in good to high yields. All synthesized compounds were characterized using IR and NMR (1H and 13C) spectroscopy and elemental analysis data. The antibacterial activity of these compounds was investigated against Staphylococcus aureus (RTCC, 1885), and Escherichia Coli (ATCC, 35922).

New sulfonamide and amide derivatives containing coumarin moieties; oxo-2H-chromen-sulfamoylphenylacetamides and oxo-2H-chromen-arylacetamides were synthesized starting from diverse 2-chloroacetamide derivatives and a wide range of coumarins. The structures of the obtained compounds were elucidated by IR and NMR spectra and also analytical elemental analysis. In the next step, the above mentioned compounds were screened for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.Their antimicrobial activity was assigned using the conventional agar dilution method and the antioxidant activity was assessed using two methods, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Although the compounds showed no remarkable antimicrobial activities, most of them exhibited good antioxidant activities. Compounds 5b showed the most potent DPPH activity, whereas 8c was the most efficient compound in FRAP assay.

Selenium plays an important role in biological system due to its incorporation in glutathione peroxidases and thioredoxin reductase as prosthetic group, the pharmacological studies of synthetic organoseleno-compounds revealed these molecules to be used as antioxidants, enzyme inhibitors, neuroprotectors, antitumor, anti-infectious agents, cytokine inducers and immuno-modulators. The present study was undertaken to elucidate Synthesis and biological effect Di (p-methylbenzoyl) diselenide (DMBDS) in vitro. Di (p-methylbenzoyl) diselenide DMBDS was synthesized and its structure was confirmed by different spectroscopy techniques. In vitro dose response of DMBDS on lipid peroxidation, nitrite content, GPx and arginase activities beside blood coagulation were measured. Acute toxicological effects were assessed by single orally injected Swiss albino mice with different DMBDS concentrations. In vitro results revealed that DMBDS induces oxidative stress, elevation of arginase activity and acts as coagulant.

Retention behavior of molecules mostly depends on their chemical structure. Retention data of biologically active molecules could be an indirect relationship between their structure and biological or pharmacological activity, since the molecular structure affects their behavior in all pharmacokinetic stages. In the present paper, retention parameters (RM0) of biologically active 1,2-O-isopropylidene aldohexose derivatives, obtained by normal-phase thin-layer chromatography (NP TLC), were correlated with selected physicochemical properties relevant to pharmacokinetics, i.e. absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME) properties. Conducted correlation analysis showed high dependence between RM0 and blood brain barrier penetration, skin permeability, enzyme inhibition, bonding affinity to nuclear receptor ligand and G protein-coupled receptors, as well as lipophilicity (expressed as Hansh-Leo’s parameter Clog P). The statistical validity of the established polynomial dependence of the second degree between RM0 and mentioned ADME properties was confirmed by standard statistical measures and leave-one-out cross-validation method. On the basis of in silico calculated ADME properties and retention data, the similarity between studied molecules was examined using principal component analysis (PCA). The obtained results indicate the possibility of predicting ADME properties of studied compounds on the basis of their retention data (RM0). These preliminary results could be treated as guideline for selecting new 1,2-O-isopropylidene aldohexose derivatives as drug candidates.

The ability of hesperidin (HP) to form complexes with five metals; cobalt, nickel, zinc, calcium and magnesium was investigated. The complexation was studied using U.V spectroscopic titration, in methanol as well as aqueous buffer solutions (physiological conditions). Potential complexes were studied by IR and NMR spectroscopy, melting point and their solubility were also evaluated. The interaction of HP and its metal complexes with DNA was investigated by U.V spectroscopy. HP and its potential complexes were also tested for their ability to inhibit alpha amylase and alpha glucosidase enzymes. The results indicated that HP can form 1:1 complexes with cobalt, nickel and zinc in methanolic solution but not in aqueous buffers. Both HP and its metal complexes were found to intercalate DNA, at physiological condition, with preference to GC rich sequences. HP-metal complexes appeared to have higher affinity towards poly A DNA than the free HP. Neither HP nor its complexes exhibited antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Candida albicans. Results showed that HP has little inhibitory action on glucosidase and amylase enzymes with no obvious effect of complexation on the behavior of free HP. In conclusion HP was shown to form 1:complexes with the studied metal in methanol but not in aqueous buffer solutions. In presence of DNA however, complex formation in aqueous solutions seem to be encouraged with differential effect between the complexes and free HP.

New approach of breast cancer therapy is developed toward combination therapy with agent that have a specific molecular target. Our previous study showed that Citrus aurantifolia lime peels ethanolic extract (CPE) increased the sensitivity of MCF-7 cells againts doxorubicin. This study aims to observe the mechanism of combination CPE and doxorubicin in cell cycle modulation and apoptosis on MCF-7 cells. The assays were performed in the study were cell cycle assay, apoptosis induction, and immunocytochemistry of MCF-7 cells.The effect on the modulation of cell cycle and apoptosis were observed by flowcytometry assay in both single dose of CPE and its combination with Doxorubicin. Cell cycle distribution were observed with flowcytometer FACS-Calibur and its data was analyzed by Cell Quest program. Apoptotic induction in MCF-7 cells was examined using acrydine orange-ethidium bromide (AO-EtBr) double staining. Immunocytochemistry assay was done to observe the expression of apoptotic regulation protein p53 and Bcl-2. The result showed that CPE 6 µg/mL induced apoptosis and cell accumulation at G1 phase, while CPE 15 µg/mL induced apoptosis and cell accumulation at G2/M phase. The combination of doxorubicin 200 nM with CPE 6 µg/mL increased apoptosis induction than their single treatment, and cell accumulation at G2/M phase. Evidence of apoptosis and protein expression of p53 and Bcl-2 indicated that both single applications and combinations of CPE and doxorubicin is able to increase apoptotic bodies of MCF-7 cells by increasing the proteins expression. This results suggested that CPE could perform as co-chemotherapeutic agent with doxorubicin on breast cancer cells.

For the first time, a multi-residue methodfor simultaneous determination of 41LC-amenable pesticides in rice, belonging to different chemical classes has been developed in Iran by LC-MS/MS. The pesticides were analyzed simultaneously in a single run using positive electrospray ionization with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) after extraction with slightly modified QuEChERS method. The calibration curves for each analyte were linear in the concentration range 0.02–1.0μg/g with a correlation coefficient range between 0.993 and 0.999. The LOQ and LOD were0.025 μg/g and0.008μg/g respectively, for all 41 pesticides and the mean recoveries obtained for three fortification levels (0.025, 0.08 and 0.250μg/g) were71-119%with satisfactory precision (RSD<20%).The developed method was used to investigate the occurrence of pesticides in 30domestic and 30 imported rice samples collected from Tehran market.Fivecompounds were detected in 11domesticand 9importedpositive samples in concentration range from 0.032μg/g to 0.081μg/g and 0.028μg/g to 0.074μg/g, respectively. With the exception of prohibited pesticides, phosphmidon and TCMTB, three permitted pesticides, cinosulfuron, triadimenol and tricyclazole, found in positive rice samples were below MRLs established by Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI).

Reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress impair β-cell function and reduce insulin secretion. It has been shown that progesterone and cilostazol possess antioxidant properties. The present study was aimed to investigate in vitro pretreatment effect of progesterone and cilostazol on insulin secretion as well as their protective effects against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in pancreatic isolated islets from mouse. Pancreatic islets were isolated from 84 male NMRI mice (25–30g) by collagenase digestion method and pretreated for 48h with cilostazol (10 μM), progesterone (0.5 µM) and glibenclamide (10 μM) in culture medium. Then islets were exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2. 500 μM) for 2h. Next, culture mediums containing glucose concentration of 2.8 mM or 16.7 mM were added to them and incubated in this status for 1h. At the end, the rate of insulin out¬put from islets, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activities in islet tissues were assayed. Exposure of islets to H2O2, resulted in a significant decrease in insulin secretion, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities (P<0.001). Also islets malondialdehyde levels were increased by H2O2, after addition of 2.8mM (P<0.05) and 16.7mM (P<0.001) glucose. 48h pretreatment of islets with cilostazol and progesterone, significantly reverted back this changes (P<0.05). Results of present study showed that cilostazol and progesterone protect mice pancreatic islets against H2O2-induced oxidative stress. At the end, our results suggested that protective effects of progesterone and cilostazol are mediated by augmentation the antioxidant defence system of islets.

Aviecennia marina (Avicenniaceae) is an endemic plant that widely distributed in the Southern parts of Iran. This plant has been used as treatment of rheumatism arthritis among the inhabitants of Southern parts of Iran. The Avicennia marina hydroalcoholic extract was prepared and its protective efficacy was investigated using measurement of ankle diameter, total WBC and RBC count, ESR, and Pro-inflammatory cytokines levels in the complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritic rat. The increment in ESR and total WBC, reduction in RBC count and hemoglobin levels observed in the arthritic animals were also found to be significantly restored in HEA treated rats. A. marina at 400 mg/kg significantly decreases the serum pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as normalizes ankle diameter of CFA rats. A. marina (400 mg/kg) significantly normalizes changes observed in arthritic rats to near normal conditions, indicates that A. marina has promising protective efficacy against arthritic rats.

Cancer is considered as a challenging deathly disease and discovering or synthesis of new cytotoxic agents is a worldwide attempt. In this study, a group of recently synthesized chalcones, with the structure of 1,3-diarylprop-2-en-1-one having differesnt COX-1 and/or COX-2 selectivities, have been examined on human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2), lung carcinoma (A549), and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell line, using Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Briefly, cells were treated with 1-100 µM of each compound for 72, 96 and 168 hours. In each case, a control row was set with the exposure of cells to compounds-free solvents. Median lethal concentration (LC50) values (compared to controls) were calculated using regression fitness analysis on GraphPad Prism® software. Our results show that the subgroup possessing p-azido COX-2 pharmacophore seems to be more cytotoxic, while the cells seem to show more acquired resistance to them and the subgroup possessing a p-MeSO2NH COX-2 pharmacophore is less cytotoxic, while the cells also acquire less resistance to them. In conclusion, considering the diversity in COX-1 or COX-2 inhibition among these compounds in each group, and also revealing no correlation between COX inhibition selectivity and cell death, it seems that selective inhibition of each isoenzyme doesn’t cause substantial effect on toxicity potency. Further studies to determine the main mechanism(s) for these compounds induced cell death are encouraged.

Jasminum amplexicaule Buch.-Ham. (Oleaceae) has been commonly used in the traditional medicine in dysentery, diarrhoea and bellyache in China. In the present work, the methanol extract of Jasminum amplexicaule (JME) was examined for pharmacology on human colonic epithelial cell line T84 by the short-circuit current technique. The results showed that pretreatment of T84 cells with JME produced a concentration-dependent (0-1000 g/ml. EC50 = 0.055 mg/ml) inhibition effect on adrenalin (Adr.)–induced Cl- secretion. The maximal response was observed at 200 g/ml. It has been demonstrated that JME has a direct effect on the enterocyte. Our results also demonstrated that the JME exerted inhibitory effect on gastrointestinal Cl- secretion that effected by acting on basolateral β-adrenoreceptors. These results suggest that the Chinese traditional medicine of JME can be used for the treatment of acute diarrhea and bellyache.

Persian oak (Quercus brantii Lindl., the Fagaceae family) is a medicinal plant which seed flour is used to treat inflammatory and gastric ulcers by the tribes in southwestern Iran. The current study was done to evaluate the effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Q. brantii seed flour for treatment of gastric ulcers induced by ethanol in Wistar rats. The hydro-alcoholic extract of Q. brantii was tested orally at doses of 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg, control group and standard drug (omperazole) on experimentally gastric ulceration. At the 3, 6, 9, and 14th days, ulcer index in mm2 and histopathological findings were evaluated. Results indicated the size of ulcers significantly reduced at 9, and 14 days after of Q. brantii extract treatment. Curative effect in the hydro-alcoholic induced gastric damage was 100% at 1000 mg/kg and omeprazole, 99.8 % at 500 mg/kg, and 95.4% at 250 mg/kg after 14 days. Results of histopathological investigation showed the thickness of ulcerated mucosa was similar to the normal mucosa with 1000 mg/kg of Q. brantii hydro-alcoholic extract after 14 days but in the groups treated by 250, and 500 mg/kg, superficial erosions were visible in the central portion of the healed ulcers. In conclusion, the hydro-alcoholic extract of Q. brantii had active components (tannin = 8.2%) that accelerates ulcer healing and thus supported its traditional use.

The activity of the magnocellular neurons (MCNs) of supraoptic nucleus (SON) is regulated by a variety of excitatory and inhibitory inputs. Opioids are one of the important compounds that affect these inputs at SON synapses. In this study, whole-cell patch clamp recording of SON neurons was used to investigate the effect of acute and repeated morphine administration on spontaneous inhibitory and excitatory post synaptic currents (sIPSCs and sEPSCs) in MCNs. While acute bath application of morphine to brain slice of intact rat produced an increase in sEPSCs frequency and a decrease in sIPSCs frequency, repeated in vivo administration of morphine produced opposite effect. Moreover, repetitive i.c.v. administration of morphine for three consecutive days caused significant increase in urine volume, but had no significant alteration in water consumption compared to control group. The increase in urine volume was consistent with a significant decrease in plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) levels after repetitive i.p. morphine administration. The results suggest that acute administration of morphine stimulates whereas repeated administration of morphine inhibits the MCNs. Morphine-induced MCN inhibition could result in diminished plasma AVP levels and eventually an increase in urine volume of rats.

Although the epileptogenic properties of estrogens have been widely demonstrated in several models and species, the mechanism(s) by which estrogens can acutely change seizure parameters including after discharge and seizure duration remain remains to be determined. In the present study, we examined the role of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate), non-NMDA and estrogenic receptors in estradiol benzoate (EB) effects on kindled seizure parameters. Different groups of fully kindled male rats received either EB (30 μg /kg); EB plus MK801 (2 mg/kg, as NMDA antagonist); DNQX (7.5 mg/kg); tamoxifen (TAM, 0.1 mg/kg, as non-NMDA antagonist) or intra-amygdala injection of anisomycine (30 mmol/ml, a protein synthesis inhibitor). Kindled seizure parameters including after discharge duration (ADD) and stage 5 duration (S5D) were determined at 0.25 and 3 h post sesame oil (EB solvent) or EB treatment. While pretreatment with either MK801 or DNQXcould block the ADD prolongation induced by EB at 0.25 h, they had no effect on S5D prolongation at 3 h. Moreover, application of anisomycine or TAM had no effect on estradiol induced ADD and S5D prolongation. These results indicate that both NMDA and non-NMD A receptors could be involved in EB induced ADD prolongation. The observed short term non-estrogenic receptor or protein synthesis dependent effects of EB may provide a non-genomic mechanism for the stimulatory effects of the steroid on seizure activity.

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a major health-care problem worldwide. WHO recommends DID (daily defined dose/ 100 Inhabitant /day) as a standard tool for measurement of antibiotic consumption. Since there was not any information regarding the antibiotics usage pattern in the north of Iran, the aim of this study was determine this in our centre. This cross-sectional study was performed in Bouali Sina hospital. Using the health information system (HIS) database, records of patients hospitalized during 22 Sep 2010 – 21 Sep 2011. Data of different wards including Neonatal, NICU, PICU, Pediatrics and Pediatric surgery were separately extracted and analyzed. Drug consumption data were expressed as DID. SPSS 16 software was used for statistical analysis. Independent samples t-test was used to compare the quantitative variables. A total of 4619 in-patients records during 1 year of study including 2494 patients in fall and winter and 2125 patients in spring and summer were evaluated. The most hospitalized patients were in Pediatric ward (43.9 %). The highest DID value were obtained for ceftriaxone (21.7), ampicillin (6.05) and vancomycin (4.7), while the lowest value was for gentamicin (0.01). In both cold and warm seasons, Ceftriaxone was the most frequent prescribed antibiotic. The rate of antibiotics consumption especially Ceftriaxone in our setting was significantly higher than the other centers. Strategies for more justified administration of antibiotics especially broad –spectrum ones are necessary.

Diabetes is a common metabolic disease in the world that has many adverse effects. Olibanum gum resin (from trees of the genus Boswellia) has traditionally been used in the treatment of various diseases such as diabetes. The aim of this study was the comparison of Olibanum gum resin effect with placebo on the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Inclusion criteria was diabetic patients with fasting blood sugar (FBS) =140-200 mg/dL. This study has been designed as double-blined clinical trial on 71 patients with type 2 diabetes and the patients randomly were divided to interventional and placebo groups. The patients on standard anti-diabetic therapy (metformin) treated with Olibanum gum resin (400 mg caps) and placebo tow times per day for 12 weeks, respectively. At the end of 12 weeks the FBS, HbA1c, Insulin, total Cholesterol (Chol), LDL, Triglyceride (TG), HDL and other parameters were measured. The Olibanum gum resin lowered the FBS, HbA1c, Insulin, Chol, LDL and TG levels significantly (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.003, p 0.05) compared with the placebo at the endpoint. Moreover, this plant showed anti-oxidant effect and also no adverse effects were reported. The results suggest that Olibanum gum resin could be used as a safe anti-oxidant, anti-hyperglycemic and anti-hyperlipidemic agent for type 2 diabetic patients.

Considering that vaginal delivery is a painful process, the present study investigated the effects of Citrus aurantium on the severity of first-stage labor pain in primiparous women. This study was a randomized clinical trial conducted with 126 eligible primiparous patients. The pain severity of patients was measured at the time of enrolling in the study. In the intervention group, (aromatherapy) gauze squares were soaked in 4 ml of Citrus aurantium distillate, and in the control group, gauze squares were soaked in 4 ml of normal saline; each gauze square was attached to the respective patients’ collar. The intervention was repeated every 30 min. Pain severity was measured after the intervention at 3–4, 5–7, and 8–10 cm cervix dilatations. The two groups were standardized with regard to age, profession, education, desire to conceive, and number and severity of uterine contractions. The Bishop’s score was also calculated. Before intervention, pain severity was the same for both groups, but following intervention, pain severity reduced in the intervention group at 3–4 centimeter (P < 0.05), 7–5 centimeter (P < 0.05), and 8–10 centimeter (P < 0.05) dilatations compared with that in the control group. The findings of the study revealed that aromatherapy using Citrus aurantium distillate alleviates labor pain. This method is recommended because of its ease of use and low cost and because it is a non-aggressive method to reduce labor pain.

Dietary flavonoids show beneficial effects in the prevention of chronic diseases. However, flavonoid bioavailability is poor, probably due to their interaction with serum albumins. In the current work, the binding interactions of eight related flavonoids, sharing a similar core structure, with bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. The binding affinities of the flavonoids with BSA were in the order hesperetin (KA=5.59 × 105) > quercetin (4.94 × 105) > naringenin (3.04 × 105) > isoquercitrin (4.66 × 104) > icariin (3.60 × 104) > rutin (1.65 × 104) > hesperidin (2.50 × 103) > naringin (8.70 × 102). The associations of specific structural components of the flavonoids with their binding properties to BSA were also explored and hydrophobicity, functional group substituents, steric hindrance effects and the spatial arrangements of substituents seem to be the key factors for the affinities of flavonoids towards BSA. The results from the current work contribute to a better understanding of the transport of flavonoids in plasma and helping predict their physiological functions based on their intrinsic structures.

Kermanshah is a city in west of Iran with a specific customs and cultures between the Kermanshah is a city in west of Iran with a specific customs and cultures between the people who are living here. According to historical documents these cultures are very ancient and belong to more than one thousand years. The climate condition in this place forces people to find the solution of their problems using the plants and natural facilities. Therefore traditional healers were so active in Kermanshah. From 8000 of plant species in Iran more than 1200 species has grown in Kermanshah. The ancient customs, cultures, traditional medicine and formulations generally used by rural populations was transfer from ancient to modern people. Documentation of these traditional methods was studied in this research in order to compare and certified the traditional medicine with modern methods and find new dosage forms of drug with botanical source. It was established that about 50 plant species and 8 types of diseases were distinguished and cured by these people. It is also concluding that utilization of these plants approximately the same as application of plants in recent publications.

Long exposure of UV radiation increases risk of skin diseases such as cancer and photoallergic reactions. UV-B (280-320 nm) radiation is mainly responsible for inducing skin problems. Skin protection is a suitable method in the fight against ultraviolet radiation induced damage. Various synthetic agents have been used as photo protective but because of their potential toxicity in humans, they have limited use. Natural substances have been recently considered as potential sunscreen resources because of their absorption in the UV region and their antioxidant activity. In the present study, the UV protective effects of 20 extracts from four common medicinal plants were evaluated. Their phenol and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities were determined and correlation between SPF and these contents were evaluated. SPFs were between 0.102 and 24.470. The highest value was reached with ultrasonic extract of Crataegus pentagyna (SPF = 24.47) followed by methanolic extract of Feijoa sellowiana (SPF = 1.30). Good correlation was found between SPF and phenolic contents (Correlation Coefficient = 0.55 and p = 0.01) but no correlations were found between SPF and flavonoid contents or antioxidant activity. These extracts can be used alone or as additives in other sun screen formulations to enhance their SPF.

Achillea tenuifolia Lam (Asteraceae) afforded a methanolic extract from which after fractionation in solvents with different polarities two known flavones 3’, 5- dihydroxy- 4’, 6, 7- trimethoxy flavone (eupatorine, compound 3), 5- hydroxy- 3’, 4’, 6, 7- tetramethoxyflavone (compound 4), besides stearic acid (compound 1), lupeol (compound 2), daucosterol (β- sitosterol 3-O- β- D- glucopyranoside, compound 5), 2, 4- dihydroxy methyl benzoate (compound 6) were isolated for the first time. The structure of isolated compounds was elucidated by means of different spectroscopic methods such as UV, IR, Mass and 1H- NMR (1D and 2D) and 13C-NMR. For further confirming of structures of isolated compounds, comparison of the spectral data of them with those reported in the litratures have been done.

Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) has long been widely used for human consumption and medicinal purposes in China. It has been reported to possess several vital biological activities. However, the systematic study on the chemical constituents absorbed into plasma and their metabolites is still insufficient. A high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector-electrospray ionization ion-mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-ESI-MSn) method was established to analyze the ethanol extract in Ziziphus jujuba Mill and the constituents absorbed into rat serum. In the present study, a dose of 10 ml/kg of ethanol extract of jujube, which is equivalent to 12.5g crude dried herb/kg, was orally administrated to rats. The main components were analyzed in the ethanol extract of Ziziphus jujuba Mill and the parent constituents and metabolites were studied in rat plasma samples after oral administration of the ethanol extract of jujube. D101 macroporous polystyrene resin was a good pretreatment method to obtain better separation and impurity removal effect. Twenty-two compounds were identified in the ethanol extract of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. Four parent compounds and four metabolites were detected in rat serum. Among them, seventeen compounds were reported for the first time.

Paederus dermatitis is an irritant contact dermatitis due to accidental contact by a beetle belonging to the genus paederus. In this study, clinical efficacies of S. ebulus fruit extract solution in patients affected by paederus dermatitis were evaluated. A randomized double-blind, prospective, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed in 62 patients with clinical symptoms and sings of dermatitis due to paederus beetles. The patients received either a topical solution of palemolin (a 5% S. ebulus fruit extract in ethanol 70%) or ethanol 70% topical solution thrice a day. Topical hydrocortisone ointment was prescribed for all patients. Palemolin was statistically more effective in controlling of burning, pain, inflammation, drying the wound, infections and acceleration of healing than control group (p≤ 0.05). Specially in controlling of inflammation, palemolin had more significant efficacy (p < 0.001) than control group. About 63.6% of patients in palemolin group cured during first 24 hr (versus 27.4% in control groups). The problems related to lesions in 93.9% of patients were eliminated completely during 48 hours after the beginning of the treatment by palemolin (versus 65.4% in control groups). Topical 5% solution of S. ebulus fruit extract is an effective pharmaceutical preparation in treatment of paederus dermatitis.

Methanol 70% extract of Bauhinia racemosa aerial parts was tested for antimicrobial activity against different bacterial and fungal strains and for antioxidant activity and also total content of polyphenols with phytochemical analysis of the extract was determined. The results have showed that the extract has a significant antimicrobial activity, it inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis and also it was highly active against Candida albicans suggesting that it can be used in the treatment of fungal infections. The extract has a good antioxidant activity, it has shown high values of the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content while it has shown a lower value of oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Phytochemical analysis has shown that it has interesting phytochemical bioconstituents, include flavonoids, tannins and others, and the deep phytochemical study results in the isolation of methyl gallate, gallic, kaempferol, quercetin, querection–3–O–α–rhamnoside, kaempferol–3–O–β–glucoside, myricetin–3–O–β–glucoside, querection–3–O–rutinoside (Rutin). All compounds were identified by different spectroscopic analyses (UV, 1H–NMR, 13C–NMR) and Mass Spectrometry (MS).

Aqueous (hydrophilic) and chloroform (Lipophilic) extracts of nine medicinal plants currently used in traditional medicine, in Egypt, to treat some gastrointestinal tract (GIT) disorders were tested for their gastro-protective effect against the incidence of peptic ulcer. Indomethacin-induced ulcer in a rat model was used for this testing. Mentha microphylla, Brassica oleracea Capitata (Cabbage), B. oleracea Botrytis (cauliflower) aqueous fraction, Lagenarea sicerarea polysaccharide fraction, Oreganum marjoranum, Matricaria recutita, Solanum nigrum hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions, in addition to the chloroform fraction of Lagenarea sicerarea and Cicorium intybus afforded high protection against the incidence of gastric ulcer (~ 95%). O. syriacum hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions and gum arabic afforded moderate prophylactic effect. L. sicerarea, C. intybus hydrophilic fractions and M. microphylla lipophilic fraction were inactive. Herbs represent excellent resources for cost-effective and readily available gastro-protective remedies without side effects.

Pharmacists and pharmaceutical services are among the most important resources and programs in providing health for a society. Pharmacists as the key players in presenting health services, greatly impact on the health of a society and if they suffer low job satisfaction, their dissatisfaction may relatively threaten health in a society. This study was conducted to determine Iranian pharmacists’ job satisfaction and additionally, some causes of dissatisfaction among pharmacists have been diagnosed. A job satisfaction questionnaire was developed and reliability tests were done by some experts in field of pharmacy practice. A sample of 700 pharmacists was selected among ten leading provinces of the country and questionnaires were distributed at the continuing pharmacy education conferences. Three essential factors named “Endogenous Satisfaction”, “Exogenous Satisfaction” and “Current Sense of Being Pharmacists” were considered as the main job satisfaction factors. Generally low scores of exogenous and endogenous job satisfaction were concluded among pharmacists while most of them were highly satisfied with being pharmacist. Male pharmacists were more satisfied than their female colleagues and a positive relationship between age and work experience with exogenous job satisfaction was found. Low levels of job satisfaction which were found among Iranian pharmacists could be considered as a deficiency of health system in Iran. Fortunately, inherent interest in the pharmacy profession found among Iranian pharmacists is an optimistic point at which policy-makers could develop their modifying policies. Health policy-makers must endeavor to take other steps to issue solutions for this current problem.

The biological activity and composition of the essential oil of Sclerorhachis leptoclada Rech. an endemic species from northeast of Iran was studied. The essential oil was isolated from the aerial flowering parts of the plant and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Fifty-four compounds accounting for 95.9% of the total oil were characterized. The main constituents were (E)-nerolidol (14.5%), terpinen-4-ol (13.3%), camphor (6.1%), 1,8-cineole (4.8%) and p-cymene (4.5%). The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of S. leptoclada was tested against eight microbial strains and a fungi. The results of the bioassays showed that the Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis, were the most sensitive to the oil than others with the MIC value of 1.8 mg/mL. The tested fungi, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was highly inhibited by the oil of S. leptoclada with MIC value of 10 mg/mL. In the case of cytotoxicity, IC50 values estimated to be 312, 1250, 625 and 1250 μg oil/ml respectively, for the Vero, SW480, MCF7, and JET 3 cancer cell lines.

Increasing accessibility and affordability of healthcare services has been considered as an important policy objective since the beginning of 1980s in Iran. However, current 60- 70% health care out-of-pocket payments create a barrier to an equal access to quality health services, especially in terms of new medicines which affects equity issues and "health" in Iran. Currently, health insurance organizations, which are considered the main budget holders or purchasers of medicine and healthcare services, do not consider comprehensive economic evaluations (cost-effectiveness plus budget impact analyses) for their reimbursement decisions. The present study was conducted to introduce a standard Budget Impact Analysis (BIA) model for the first time in Iran. The main purpose was to provide healthcare budget decision makers with a practical tool for improving resource allocation as well as accelerating and facilitating the process of pharmaceutical reimbursement decision making to address the problem of considerable out-of-pocket payments in Iran.International standard guidelines and empirical studies on BIAs conducted over the last decade were reviewed to provide a comprehensive standard model for conducting a satisfying BIA. Furthermore, practical additional examples and recommendations were included in the model to make it as much implementable in developing countries as possible. The final model consisted of general and detailed recommendations which were extracted mainly from ISPOR standard guideline (as a backbone) and other reputable guidelines (e.g. Canadian and Polish guidelines) for BIAs.