Journal Of Pharmaceutical and Health
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Spring 2012

A quantitative TaqMn Real-Time PCR assay was developed and its diagnostic value on human serum and livestock samples were evaluated. Brucella species could be distributed through communities as a biological agent. Rapid detection of biological threat agents is critical for timely therapeutic administration. Quantitative real-time PCR pro vides a rapid, sensitive and specific tool for molecular identification of this agent. We evaluated a new real-time PCR set by numerous human and livestock samples. For primers and probe designation BCSP31 of B. melitensis 16 M was used. Different sero-positive human samples and tissue samples livestock with suspected brucellosis were then assayed after primary adaptation of Q-PCR in the laboratory. The detection limit of the assay was 10 fg (equivalent to 2 genome). Totally 50 samples (25 sero-positive, 25 sero-negative) of patients and 75 samples from slaughtered livestock (due to brucellosis) were collected and assayed by Q-PCR, along with control samples. Brucella genome were detected by this real-time set from nearly 42% (5 out of 12) of negative samples by conventional PCR. This system also detected brucella contamination in 46 out of 75 animal samples.

Impaired glucose tolerance has several adverse effects on growing fetus. In this study we evaluated the effect of ex cessive weight gain during pregnancy on the risk of glucose intolerance in pregnant women. A case-control study was conducted through which the glucose tolerance status after 100 gram oral glucose intake was compared between 60 pregnant women with maximum 10 weeks of gestation and excessive weight gain between gestational age 10 and 28 weeks and 60 pregnant women with excessive weight gain. Impaired glucose tolerance was defined as one high level in glucose tolerance test after 100 g oral glucose intake, and two high levels were considered gestational diabetes. In women their weight gain ratio exceeded unity, the chance of glucose intolerance was four times higher than that in the women with normal weight gain (%13 versus %3.3, P-value = 0.05). It can therefore be concluded that excessive weight gain during pregnancy elevates the risk of glucose intolerance in pregnant women.

Despite the critical role of erythropoietin (EPO) as therapeutic agent in treatment of anemia, its consumption is limit ed due to several disadvantages including the product short half-life, immunogenicity and susceptibility to proteolytic degradation. To overcome these drawbacks efficient methods such as site-specific PEGylation have been developed among witch N-terminal PEGylation has found more interest due to its capability to preserve the protein native structure. In this study a site-specific PEGylation of rHuEPO is conducted and the biological activity and the stability of the modified protein are evaluated. rHuEPO was N-Terminally PEGylated with PEG-propionaldehyde through Schiff base reaction in acidic pH conditions. The product was then purified to yield in mono N-terminally PEGylated EPO. The resultant PEG-EPO and unmodified EPO was then compared to evaluate the consequence of the pegylation process. The results showed that despite the lower activity of PEG-EPO relative to the unmodified EPO, the earlier gained improved stability as a consequence of site-specific PEGylation. This observation provides further indication for the usefulness of PEGylation approach to enhance characteristics of erythropitein.

Epilepsy is the oldest nervous system disorder known to mankind and one of the most common diseases in human population. Despite extensive studies, multiple aspects of the disease and the nature of the disorder are still unclear. Currently 30-40% of the epileptic patients show resistance to all of the conventional therapeutic agents. In Iranian traditional medicine, various types of plants have been used to treat this disorder, one of them being Foeniculum vul gare (FV). This study aimed at evaluating the effects of FV extract and essential oil on seizures induced by Maximal ElectroShock (MES) and Pentylentetrazol (PTZ) in male mice. The first method involved inducing seizures in male mice using Pentylentrazol (1 mg/kg), administered intraperitionally (i.p.), and the second method involved inducing seizures by Electroshock (60 mA, 60 Hz, 0.10 sec.). Then, the seizures were tried to be stopped or brought under control using FV extract and essential oil. Our results indicated that although the fatal doses of PTZ leads to 100% fatality rate in the animals, the essential oil protects the mice against tonic convulsion induced by MES (TD50=0.3 ml/kg), and PTZ (LD50=0.28 ml/kg). At anti-seizure doses, the FV essential oil causes sedation and impairment of motor functions. Also the result of the study shows that the oil has greater anti-seizure effect compared to the extract.

The effects of chronic AlCl3 exposure on spatial memory in rats remain controversial. Since some toxic metals such as aluminum when entered the body, can contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer, in this study the time course effect of the systematically administered AlCl3 on the spatial memory retention in the Morris Water Maze was investigated. Rats were treated with AlCl3 (1 gr/lit) for two, four and eight week periods. Rats in all groups were trained for four days, each day included one block, and each block contained four trials. Test trials were conducted 48 hours after the completion of AlCl3 treatment. The results of our study show that AlCl3 increased the escape latency and the trav eled distance by the AlCl3 treated rats in comparison to the controls, but no significant difference in the swimming speed between the two groups was observed. This findings suggests that AlCl3 has caused significant spatial memory retention impairment in the groups that received it for a period of eight weeks. Also the levels of plasma thiol groups and plasma antioxidant capacity showed a significant decrease in rats given AlCl3 for four and eight weeks in com parison with the control group. Our results also show that neurotoxicity which is caused by aluminum is associated with oxidative stress. Oxidative damage leads to formation of amyloid plaques in the nerve cells which in turn leads to decrease in the learning capability of the lab animals. Therefore, the results of our study provide a recommenda tion to people chronically exposed to Al, to consume fresh vegetables and fruits and/or take safe doses of antioxidant supplements to strengthen their defense mechanism against the antioxidants.

Expression of recombinant proteins and drugs in Pichia pastoris has been in development since the late 1980s and the number of recombinant proteins produced in P. pastoris has increased significantly in the past several years. Unlike bacteria, this strain is capable of producing complex proteins with post translational modifications such as correct folding, glycosylation, proteolytic maturation. Most importantly the strain can secrete proteins to very high levels under the control of an efficient and highly regulated promoter of the alcohol oxidase gene, AOX1. In the present study by inserting the recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) gene downstream of the highly inducible AOX1 promoter and the pre-pro α-factor signal sequence, we were able to efficiently produce rHuEpo protein. Subse quently, we evaluated the role of the pH of P. pastoris growth medium and different types of buffers effects used in the expression-specific medium during the process of rHuEpo expression to optimize the production of rHuEpo. Our result indicated that the concentration of rHuEPO produced in the medium containing MES buffer (pH 6.0, 100 mM) is significantly higher than that in other pH/buffering conditions (P-value < 0.05). MES buffer with pH of 6.0 and 100 mM final concentration in the expression-specific medium regulated the pH/buffering conditions throughout the expression time with the significant increase in the concentration of expressed rHuEpo in comparison to the standard buffering protocol suggested by Invitrogen.

A simple, fast, efficient and environmentally friendly method for synthesis of benzimidazole and its 2-alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl substituted derivatives was developed using zeolite HY. Two component cyclolcondensation of 1,2-phen ylenediamine (o-phenylenediamine) and commercially available carboxylic acids catalyzed by zeolite HY without any solvent, under microwave irradiation led to formation of 1H-benzimidazole and 2-substituted derivatives in high yields and purity. The similar reaction was not applicable to the preparation of benzimidazole and its 2-alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl substituted derivatives. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by 1H-NMR, IR, Mass and CHNS analysis.

Anethum graveolens L. (dill) is used widely in Asian food and folk medicine but its safety profile for further clinical studies has remained unclear. After administration of total hydroalcoholic extract to mice in acute, subacute and subchronic treatment periods, toxic responses were recoreded by clinical, biochemical, hematological and pathological examinations. Doses up to 2000 mg/kg in acute study did not cause any mortality and doses up to 1000 mg/kg didn’t cause any toxic effect in subacute study. Following to daily administration of doses of 1000 mg/kg/day as Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) and doses of 50 (1/20 MTD), 500 (1/2MTD) and 1000 mg/kg (MTD) in 45 days regimen, signif cant falls in white cell counts was reported after 3 weeks (P-value < 0.05) in high (P-value = 0.042) and intermediate dose (P-value = 0.018) groups of male animals. Dill extract caused significant reduction of FBS in high dose female animal group (P-value = 0.021). Portal mononuclear lymphoid and PMN leucocytes infiltration in three adjacent foci were seen in intermediate and high dose groups of both sexes which was clearly a dose dependent effect. Doses less than 50 mg/kg could be consi ered as safe dose in both genders of mice with the good potential for further antihypoglycemic or antihyperlipidemic clinical studies.