PurposeRed chili peppers have been highly valued in gastronomy and traditional medicine since ancient times; it seems that it is not just an ingredient for food but also a good remedy for various medical conditions such as increased blood pressure and high levels of serum triglycerides and cholesterol, myocardial infarction, arthritis, and migraines. The objective of this study is the characterization of a new carrier used for encapsulated extract.MethodsChili pepper extract was obtained and was physically entrapped inside polyurethane microparticles in order to diminish the irritative potential of this extract. The particles were evaluated by Zetasizer measurements, small-angle neutron scattering and thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; the encapsulation efficacy and the drug release profile were assessed by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Bioevaluations on mice skin were performed to predict the irritative potential of the samples.ResultsTwo different types of samples were compared: hollow polyurethane microparticles vs polyurethane particles containing the natural extract. The sizes of the particles were very similar, but the sample containing the extract presents three particle populations (the polydispersity index increases from 0.3 to 0.6 from one sample to another). The zeta-potential measurements and SEM images indicate a medium tendency to form clusters, while the UV-Vis study revealed an almost 70% encapsulation efficacy.ConclusionThe results suggest that encapsulation of a chili pepper extract inside polyurethane microparticles leads to a non-irritative product with a prolonged release: ~30% of encapsulated extract is released within the first 8 days and a maximum 45% is reached in 2 weeks.
Background and aim:
The extract of ginger, obtained from the rhizome of
Zingiber officinale
, contains 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 8-gingerol, and 10-gingerol. It has many therapeutic effects such as being chemopreventive against stroke and heart diseases, malabsorption, bacterial infections, indigestion, and nausea, which have been observed since ancient times. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the polyurethane (PU) as a proper material for the hollow nanoparticles’ preparation.
Methods:
The PU nanoparticles were obtained by a spontaneous emulsification, in the presence of a nonionic surfactant, combined with an interfacial polyaddition process between an aliphatic diisocyanate and different mixtures of etheric and esteric polyols. The synthesis was done without any PU additives, such as catalysts, blowing agents, chains promoters, cross-linking agents, and stabilizers.
Results:
The particles present almost neutral pH values and low water solubility. They are heat resistant up to 280°C. Decreased irritation level was found in the assay of PU nanoparticles loaded with pure ginger extract (GE) on the murine skin tests than the irritation level recorded for pure GE.
Conclusion:
This research shows the reduced noxiousness of these PU nanoparticles and consequently the possibility of their use as a possible cardiovascular protector.
Sterile eye drops solutions based on polymer microstructures containing garlic or mistletoe extracts were obtained; the sample based on garlic extracts may be used in the pharmaceutical field as drug carrier with an antiproliferative effect which occurs after a prolong period.
Our results point towards 1,8-cineole as a good candidate for NMDA antagonism, with a weaker AChE inhibitory effect. Our results may be useful in establishing new therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders.
Brain presents very complex advanced protective mechanisms. However, these mechanisms occasionally fail due to risk factors represented by genetic, environmental or social stress and consequently, severe psychiatric disorders such as depression, schizophrenia or psychotic depression are induced. Under such circumstances, latest strategies in experimental and in silico neuroscience consider essential to identify new applications of already clinically-approved drugs for the treatment of psychiatric disorders but also as promoters of neurogenesis and neurites outgrowth. Results of recent studies suggested that antidepressants are able to induce neurogenesis and neurites outgrowth by their agonistic effects on 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor (5-HT), especially 5-HT 1A, and sigma1 receptor (σ1R), but many molecular aspects of these processes are still unclear. Here we present structural aspects of molecular complexes (5-HT 1A and σ1R and their ligands) revealed by experimental and in silico studies. Here we present the chemical structures-biological activity relationship (SAR) of these molecules revealed by recent experimental and in silico studies, offering a new perspective on the antidepressants mechanism as neurogenesis and neurites outgrowth promoters.
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