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The present study investigated the effect of hesperidin, a natural flavonoid, in cardiac ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury in diabetic rats. Male Wistar rats with diabetes were divided into five groups and were orally administered saline once daily (IR-sham and IR-control), Hesperidin (100 mg/kg/day; IR-Hesperidin), GW9962 (PPAR-γ receptor antagonist), or combination of both for 14 days. On the 15th day, in the IR-control and IR-treatment groups, rats were subjected to left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery occlusion for 45 minutes followed by a one-hour reperfusion. Haemodynamic parameters were recorded and rats were sacrificed; hearts were isolated for biochemical, histopathological, ultrastructural and immunohistochemistry. In the IR-control group, significant ventricular dysfunctions were observed along with enhanced expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax. A decline in cardiac injury markers lactate dehydrogenase activity, CK-MB and increased content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, a marker of lipid peroxidation, and TNF-α were observed. Hesperidin pretreatment significantly improved mean arterial pressure, reduced left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, and improved both inotropic and lusitropic function of the heart (+LVdP/dt and –LVdP/dt) as compared to IR-control. Furthermore, hesperidin treatment significantly decreased the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and reversed the activity of lactate dehydrogenase towards normal value. Hesperidin showed anti-apoptotic effects by upregulating Bcl-2 protein and decreasing Bax protein expression. Additionally, histopathological and ultrastructural studies reconfirmed the protective action of hesperidin. On the other hand, GW9662, selective PPAR-γ receptor antagonist, produced opposite effects and attenuated the hesperidin induced improvements. The study for the first time evidence the involvement of PPAR-γ pathway in the cardioprotective activity of hesperidin in I/R model in rats.

Antimony, a natural element that has been used as a drug for over more than 100 years, has remarkable therapeutic efficacy in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia. This review focuses on recent advances in developing antimony anticancer agents with an emphasis on antimony coordination complexes, Sb (III) and Sb (V). These complexes, which include many organometallic complexes, may provide a broader spectrum of antitumoral activity. They were compared with classical platinum anticancer drugs. The review covers the literature data published up to 2007. A number of antimonials with different antitumoral activities are known and have diverse applications, even though little research has been done on their possibilities. It might be feasible to develop more specific and effective inhibitors for phosphatase-targeted, anticancer therapeutics through the screening of sodium stibogluconate (SSG) and potassium antimonyltartrate-related compounds, which are comprised of antimony conjugated to different organic moieties. For example, SSG appears to be a better inhibitor than suramin which is a compound known for its antineoplastic activity against several types of cancers.

Summary Increasing consumption of fossil fuels and environmental concern has led to increased use of compressed natural gas (CNG) in the transportation sector. Keeping in view limited resources of CNG, biogas is advised as potential fuel to provide continuous supply of CNG in the form of bio‐CNG. Various technologies, that is, physical and chemical absorption (using water and amine solutions, respectively, for the absorption of carbon dioxide), pressure swing adsorption, membrane separation, and cryogenic separation, are available for purifying biogas and thus upgrading it, to bio‐CNG with about 95% methane. Among these, water scrubbing and pressure swing adsorption are the best technologies with respect to various aspects including cost; however, suitability of a technology is decided by various factors including size/quantity of biogas generation, targeted quality of biogas, site of application, and economics of process. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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The developed in situ gelling system as a promising ophthalmic formulation to prolong the drug lowering effect on the intraocular pressure.

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