In conclusion, this review dwells upon comparative analysis of various conventional and novel engineering strategies in developing RBC based drug delivery systems, diversifying their applications in arena of drug delivery. Regardless of the challenges in front of us, RBC based delivery systems offer an exciting approach of exploiting biological entities in a multitude of medical applications.

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Bacopa monniera is a traditional Ayurvedic medicinal plant that has been used worldwide for its nootropic action. Chemically standardized extract of B. monniera is now available as over the counter herbal remedy to enhance memory in children and adults. Considering the nootropic action of B. monniera, we evaluated the effect of clinically available B. monniera extract and six of B. monniera constituents (bacoside A3, bacopaside I, bacopaside II, bacosaponin C, bacosine, and bacoside A mixture) on recombinant human monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzymes. The effect of B. monniera extract and individual constituents on human recombinant MAO-A and MAO-B enzymes was evaluated using MAO-Glo(TM) assay kit (Promega Corporation, USA), following the instruction manual. IC50 and mode of inhibition were measured for MAO enzymes. Bacopaside I and bacoside A mixture inhibited the MAO-A and MAO-B enzymes. Bacopaside I exhibited mixed mode of inhibition with IC50 and Ki values of 17.08 ± 1.64 and 42.5 ± 3.53 µg/mL, respectively, for MAO-A enzyme. Bacopaside I is the major constituent of B. monniera, which inhibited the MAO-A enzyme selectively.

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1. For centuries Bacopa monniera (BM) has been used as an herbal drug for the treatment of various mental ailments. A chemically standardized alcoholic extract of BM is clinically available over the counter herbal remedy for memory enhancement in children and adults. Consumption of herbal preparations has been reported to alter the function of membrane transporters, especially P-glycoprotein (P-gp), ATP-dependent drug efflux transporter responsible for the development of herb-drug interactions. 2. In the present study, we evaluated the in vitro effect of BM extract and its five individual active constituents (namely, bacopaside I, bacopaside II and bacopasaponin C, bacoside A and bacoside A3) on P-gp function using luminescent P-gp ATPase assay and Rh123 transport assay across human MDR1 gene transfected LLC-GA5-COL150 cell line. 3. It was observed that BM extract and its five individual constituents inhibited both basal activity as well as verapamil-stimulated ATPase activity, suggesting their affinity towards P-gp. Further, BM and its five active constituents inhibited the rhodamine 123 (Rh123) transport across LLC-GA5-COL150 cell monolayer with bacopaside II being the most potent inhibitor of P-gp, which decreased P-gp efflux ratio of Rh123 by fourfold in comparison to control. 4. Our finding may prove beneficial in predicting the potential herb-drug interactions of BM on concomitant medication with P-gp substrate drugs in clinical settings.

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