October 2014

The effect on potency of adding (-)-epicatechin to crude extracts of Elephantorrhiza elephantina and Pentanisia prunelloides

  Elephantorrhiza elephantina (Ee) and Pentanisia prunelloides (Pp) are two medicinal plants which are widely used by traditional healers to remedy various ailments including diarrhoea, dysentery, inflammation, fever, rheumatism, heartburn, tuberculosis, haemorrhoids, skin diseases, perforated peptic ulcers and sore joints in Southern Africa (South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana and Zimbabwe). Often, decoctions...

Author(s): Smart J. Mpofu, Titus A.M. Msagati and Rui W. M. Krause

October 2014

Verification of pharmaceutical power of generic meropenem vs innovator trough assessment by microbial potency test

  This study presents the development of a microbiological test method with different microorganisms and different concentrations of antibiotics through "microbial potency," which established the dose-response concentrations and test conditions. The assay method was based on the plate cylinder with the result that there is equivalence between the pharmaceuticals antibiotic such as generic meropenem...

Author(s): Ángela P. Caicedo, Sacha T. Fernández, Janeth Arias and Libardo Hernández

October 2014

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cancer

Angiogenesis plays crucial part in the formation and progression of tumor, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most important cytokine which aids in the growth of tumor cells. In various tumors whether locally invasive or metastasize to distal parts, elevated levels of VEGF is observed in blood through angiogenesis, this leads to progression of cancer.   Key words: Vascular...

Author(s): Hina Manzoor, Muhammad Imran Qadir, Khizar Abbas and Muhammad Ali

October 2014

Quality assessment of different brands of Diclofenac tablets in some pharmacy stores in Abuja

  Diclofenac is one of the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of pain, rheumatism and other inflammatory conditions. The drug has analgesic, anti-pyritic and anti-inflammatory effects. Rapid and sensitive-reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used to analyze the amount of Diclofenac in the samples. The calibration curve was linear with...

Author(s):   Kirim R. A., Mustapha K. B., Isimi C.Y., Ache T., Sadiq A., Galadima I. H. and Gamaniel K. S

October 2014

Projections of pharmacokinetic parameter estimates from mid-dose plasma concentrations in individuals on efavirenz: A novel approach

  This work seeks to project individual pharmacokinetic (PK) parameter estimates of efavirenz (a drug with a long half life) from mid-dose concentrations and covariates, assuming full mass transfer of the drug. Gender, weight and CYP2B6, 516G>T genetic data of 61 patients on efavirenz containing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was collated and analysed. Models were derived to guide dose...

Author(s): Tafireyi Nemaura