فهرست مطالب hassan farsam

Infectious diseases are still one of the main causes of death according to the World Health Organization (WHO) reports. Plants due to their biochemical metabolites have been considered as one of the important sources for investigation in this field. Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological researches are considered effective in developing new anti-infectives. Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) has been used as an anti-infective agent by ancient Iranian medical sages.
The aim of this study was to isolate bioactive agents of sumac epicarp with probable antibacterial activity.
Grounded epicarp of sumac fruit was fractionated with different solvents. The fractions were dried and subjected to antibacterial investigation. Ethyl acetate fraction showed the strongest antibacterial activity. This fraction was further investigated through TLC-bioautography which led to the isolation of two crystallized compounds. The structure of these compounds (1 and 2) was identified using spectroscopic techniques. Isolated compounds were tested for antimicrobial activities.
Compound 1 which was named 1,2-dioxo-6-hydroxycyclohexadiene-4-carboxilic acid was isolated from R. coriaria L. for the first time. It showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] = 0.02%). Compound 2 which was identified as gallic acid showed weak antibacterial effects on both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (MIC > 0.1%).
This is the first report about the chemical structures of antibacterial constituents of R. coriaria L. Previous studies have shown anti-methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) activity of sumac total extract. Compound 1 as the most effective anti-S. aureus component of sumac extract would be responsible for this activity and could be the subject matter for future investigations.

The information about herbs’ medicinal properties is ample in traditional manuscripts, some of which are of value even in modern medicine. However, it is not usually easy to put it into practice. Identifying traditional herbs and determining their scientific names are very challenging, calling for many ethnopharmacological studies. One significant herb in traditional medicine is stoechas. Its medical properties are found in traditional manuscripts, but the true origin of the herb is not yet known. This study followed the origin of stoechas through history, from ancient Rome to the conquered lands of Islam in Spain, from North Africa to India, to find its trace in various civilizations, including their traditional medicines. The results showed that the stoechas mentioned in Dioscorides and Pliny’s books was referred to as Lavandula stoechas. This herb was prescribed in Persia for centuries as an imported drug, and the Arabicized/Persianized name, osṭoḵūdūs, was used for it. Several herbs have been used as stoechas due to a variety of reasons: mistranslation, miscategorization, and substitution/adulteration; the herbs were Woodfordia fruticosa (India, 11th cent.), Rosmarinus officialis (North Africa, 13th cent. Northern Iran, 17th cent.). Around 100 years ago, L. stoechas was substituted by L. dentata and around 50 years ago, it was substituted by Nepeta menthoides in herbal markets of Iran. All of these herbs were sold as stoechas because of its similar medicinal effects as well as its similar appearance. Some information about its effects is documented in various manuscripts; yet few proper studies have conducted to test them.

Previous studies have indicated that there may be a relationship between the salivary fluoride concentrations and dental caries while the emphasis was on dental caries in permanent teeth. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental caries and its predictors in 3-6 year-old children in Tehran, Iran. The other objective of this investigation was to clarify a relationship between salivary fluoride levels of the studied children and their socioeconomic situations. The study population consisted of 205 children aged 3-6 years living in Tehran. Each child was examined for dental caries (Decayed Missing Filled Teeth (DMFT)) and unstimulated whole mixed saliva was collected 2 hours post-prandial. All of the saliva samples were analyzed for fluoride concentration using an ion-specific electrode. The children were then grouped according to their DMFT, salivary fluoride levels (ppm) and socioeconomic factors (parent’s education and occupation) that resulted in a statistically significant relationship. The children with (DMFT < 1) were shown to have a significantly higher salivary fluoride level (p < 0.001) than prone children caries (DMFT > 1). The obtained results indicated that the caries prevalence among 3-6 year-old children in Tehran – the capital of the Islamic republic of Iran – is as low compared with those, living in developed countries.

Pharmacy is an ethical profession. The aim of this study was to investigate the history of pharmacy ethics in Iran. In the ancient Persia, medical and pharmaceutical ethics were related to religious rules, and everybody had to respect it. The ethical rules were similar to some current pharmacy ethics. During Islamic era, the pharmacy ethics were edited according to the Islamic rules. After introduction of European pharmacy into Iran, the pharmacy ethics did not change and was regarded as before. By presentation of bioethics and medical ethics in recent years, new activities are carried out for better manipulation of their rules in health professions including pharmacy.

A simple and sensitive extractive spectrophotometric method is described for determination of tropicamide. The method is based on the reaction of tropicamide and bromocresol green. The ion-paired colored complex was extracted with chloroform at pH 3. The extracted complex showed maximum absorbance at 423 nm. The complex was stable up to 2 days and obeyed Beer's law over the concentration ranges of 1.32-100.81 μg/ml. No significant interference was observed from the excipients, coloring and flavoring agents commonly used in the tropicamide pharmaceutical preparations. The proposed method was applied successfully for determination of tropicamide in commercial eye drop dosage forms.

Abstract: This study was designed to find possible relationship between QTc prolongation and erythrocyte or plasma lithium concentrations. Fifty-six patients with bipolar disorder entered this case- control study. Subjects were between 17 to 63 years of age and were receiving lithium alone, or lithium plus haloperidol or lithium plus thioridazine. The exclusion criteria were past history of cardiovascular, hepatic, renal or metabolic disorders or using other medications known to cause rhythm disturbances. The case group included males with QTc 450ms and females with QTc470ms while the control group included males and females with QTc<450 and QTc< 470ms, respectively. Serum sodium and potassium levels, erythrocyte and plasma lithium concentrations as well as lithium ratio were determined for all subjects and compared between the case and control groups by independent sample t-test. The mean of these levels were not different between the case and control groups. Additionally, no correlations were found between QTc and erythrocyte or plasma lithium concentration, lithium ratio, serum sodium or potassium levels. Analyzing the data for patients treated with lithium alone showed no significant correlations between QTc prolongation and erythrocyte or plasma lithium concentration, lithium ratio or serum potassium level. However, a significant correlation was found between serum sodium concentration and QTc prolongation. It should be noted that QTc prolongation occurred six times more in patients who were taking thioridazine and lithium concomitantly. This study noted no influence of sex or co-administration of haloperidol with lithium on QTc prolongation. It is concluded that plasma or erythrocyte lithium levels may not be able to predict QTc prolongation and its consequences.

Mefloquine (MFQ), as a racemic mixture is used for the prophylaxis and treatment of malaria. Stereoselective pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic differences have been observed for MFQ. In the present study, the human blood was spiked with racemic MFQ. The concentration of MFQ enantiomers in various blood fractions including packed erythrocyte layer, platelet rich plasma and platelet poor plasma was determined. The results showed that the ratio of (+)-MFQ was about 1.5 time higher than (-)-MFQ in packed erythrocyte layer. Results obtained from the separated erythrocytes spiked with racemic MFQ showed no significant difference between the enantiomer concentrations. It can be concluded that the stereoselective accumulation of MFQ enantiomers in erythrocytes might be in relation to protein binding or the presence of other blood cells.

Mefloquine, as a racemic mixture, is used for the treatment and prophylaxis of malaria. Stereoselective pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic differences has been observed for mefloquine. In this study a modified stereoselective HPLC method is presented for determination of mefloquine (MFQ) enantiomers in whole blood. The assay involved liquid-liquid extraction of MFQ from biological fluids with methyl tert-butyl ether in the presence of sodium hydroxide and derivatization of the residue by ()-1-(9-fluorenyl) ethyl chloroformate (FLEC) as chiral derivatizing reagent. Separation of the resulting diastereomers was performed on a Novapack C18 reversed-phase cartridge column using acetonitrile, water, glacial acetic acid (730:270:0.7, v/v/v) as the mobile phase with a flow-rate of 1 mL/min. Using 500 L of whole blood, the limit of determination was 50 ng/mL with fluorescence detection with excitation at 263 nm and emission at 475 nm for both enantiomers. This method is comparatively simple and practical for the determination of small amounts of mefloquine enantiomers.

A rapid and sensitive HPLC method was developed for determination of losartan in plasma. Losartan was extracted from plasma by a two-step extraction procedure using chloroform as extracting solvent in acidic medium. HPLC analysis was performed on a cyano reversed-phase column using phosphate buffer (pH 4.3), acetonitrile (750:250, v/v) as mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min. Sodium diclofenac was selected as internal standard. Excellent linearity between the peak area ratios and losartan concentrations over the range of 2-200 ng/mL of plasma was observed. The limit of determination with UV detection at 225 nm, with a CV < 5% was 2 ng/mL in 500 L of plasma sample. The assay was rapid, safe and reliable for use in pharmacokinetic studies of losartan in human being.

Abstract: Lilium ledebourii (Baker) Boiss.(Liliaceae), locally named “Susan -e Chelcheragh” is a native and rare species grown on the heights of Damash region (ca. 2100 m) in Gilan province, north part of Iran.The microscopic and anatomical features and the composition of oils of flower and corm of this unique plant were studied. The microscopic study has shown the main characteristic elements of leaf, stem, corm and flower of this plant. The composition of essential oils of flower and corm were determined by coupled GC-MS analysis. The yields of oils of flower and corm were 0.71 % and 1.65 % (v/w) respectively. The major components of flower’s oil were isopulegol (55.15 %), pentacosane (18.1%), 3-methyltricosane (9.97%), tricosane (5.35%), 2-methylpentacosane (4.35%), docosane (4.28%) and linalool oxide (2.20%). The components of corm’s oil were almost fatty acids. No aromatic volatile compound was found in the corm oil. Primary qualitative phytochemical tests of stem, leaf, corm and flower showed positive results for alkaloid and flavonoid (one plus) in stem and for saponin (4 plus) in corm and (2 plus) in the flower. Tests for tannin in all parts were negative. Further phytochemical and botanical studies on this unique plant is of importance.

The in vitro activity of rac-mefloquine hydrochloride and its pure enantiomers was tested against a chloroquine-resistant (PF.IBS2) strain of Plasmodium falciparum. The parasite isolated from Iranian patients was cultured in vitro by the candle jar method described by Tranger and Jensen and was exposed to the racemic mefloquine or its enantiomers over the concentration range of 10-9 to 10-4 M. Neither rac-mefloquine nor the enantiomers showed antiparasitic activity at 10-9 M. The ()-mefloquine was more potent than the (-)-mefloquine and the racemate by IC50 equal to 1.17 µM in comparison to 4.09 µM.

Abstract: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a prevalent and complicated disorder and its management is directed toward treatment of symptoms. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of three herbal preparations in the management of RAS. One hundred and one out of 115 patients with minor aphthae were selected and randomly divided into four groups. Groups A, B and C received topical preparations of Zataria multiflora, Anthemis nobilis and a 50 % (v/v) mixture of Zataria multiflora and Anthemis nobilis respectively. Groups D (positive control) received Myrthus communis (Myrtle, mouth rinse), which reported to be efficient in the management of RAS. The time of pain elimination and the duration of the thorough healing were recorded. Mean time of pain elimination showed significant differences (p<0.01) between groups A (3.00±1.14 day), C (3.08±1.84 days) and D (4.30±2.12 days) with group B (5.20±3.11 days). The mean duration of healing also showed significant differences (p<0.03) between groups A (6.00±2.80 days), C (6.70±2.70 days) and D (7.60±3.10 days) with B (8.70±3.90 days). No significant differences were observed between groups A and C with group D (positive control). The result obtained for treatment with Z. multiflora (group A) was similar to that of group C, but better than M. communis (group D). Findings of this study revealed that Z. multiflora extract showed better effects than M. communis which is reported to be effective in the treatment of RAS. It is concluded that the Z. Multiflora extract is an effective product for the management of minor aphthae.

Abstract: Ginkgo biloba (GB) preparations are now among the leading herbal medicines that exert a broad spectrum of possible clinical applications. Several methods have been reported for quantification of ginkgolides of GB and its pharmaceutical preparations and the HPLC techniques are now considered to be the method of choice. However, most reported HPLC methods are not simple and their work-up procedure are inadequate. The present paper describes a simple and non-expensive method for extraction and determination of ginkgolides A and B in GB leaves and their phytopharmaceuticals. The method is based upon extraction of ginkgolides from aqueous solution by activated charcoal, followed by extraction with Methanol and injection of the Methanolic solution into chromatographic system. Ginkgolides were separated on an ODS column with a mobile phase of water-methanol (67:33 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and were detected at 220 nm. The mean recoveries of ginkgolide A and B were 97 and 98.4%, respectively. This method is simple and can be used for routine analysis of GB extracts and phytopharmaceuticals preparations.

Abstract: Ginkgo biloba (GB) preparations are now among the leading herbal medicines that exert a broad spectrum of possible clinical applications. Several methods have been reported for quantification of ginkgolides of GB and its pharmaceutical preparations and the HPLC techniques are now considered to be the method of choice. However, most reported HPLC methods are not simple and their work-up procedure are inadequate. The present paper describes a simple and non-expensive method for extraction and determination of ginkgolides A and B in GB leaves and their phytopharmaceuticals. The method is based upon extraction of ginkgolides from aqueous solution by activated charcoal, followed by extraction with Methanol and injection of the Methanolic solution into chromatographic system. Ginkgolides were separated on an ODS column with a mobile phase of water-methanol (67:33 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and were detected at 220 nm. The mean recoveries of ginkgolide A and B were 97 and 98.4%, respectively. This method is simple and can be used for routine analysis of GB extracts and phytopharmaceuticals preparations.

Abstract: Derivative spectrophotometry offers a useful approach for the analysis of drugs in multi-component mixtures. In this study a third-derivative spectrophotometry method was used for simultaneous determination of anthocyanoside and beta-carotene using the zero-crossing technique. The measurements were carried out at wavelengths of 625 and 540 nm for anthocyanoside and beta-carotene respectively. The method was found to be linear (r2>0.999) in the range of 125-750 µg/mL for anthocyanoside in the presence of 25 µg/mL beta-carotene at 625 nm. The same linear correlation was also obtained (r2>0.997) in the range of 6.25-37.50 µg/mL for beta-carotene in the presence of 500 µg/mL of anthocyanoside at 540 nm. The limit of determination was 125 and 6.25 µg/mL for anthocyanoside and beta-carotene respectively. The method was successfully applied for simultaneous determination of anthocyanoside and beta-carotene in pharmaceutical preparations without any interferences from excipients.