Terpenes Terpenes U 0200 Analgesic, Antiinflammatory and CNS Depressant Activities of Sesquiterpenes (I)-(III) and a Flavonoid Glycoside (IV) from Polygonum viscosum. -(DATTA, B. K.; DATTA, S. K.; CHOWDHURY, M. M.; KHAN, T. H.; KUNDU, J. K.; RASHID, M. A.; NAHAR, L.; SARKER*, S. D.; Pharmazie 59 (2004) 3, 222-225; Phytopharm. Res. Lab., Sch. Pharm., Robert Gordon Univ., Aberdeen AB10 1FR, UK; Eng.) -R. Langenstrassen 28-184

It can be concluded that the ethyl acetate extract of stem bark of M. zapota L. possesses significant antitumour activity.

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is an important ingredient in pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and other industries. Microcrystalline cellulose was synthesized from the alpha cellulose content of pretreated cotton, Bombax ceiba L. by hydrochloric acid hydrolysis. The prepared microcrystalline cellulose was characterized by determining some physicochemical properties such as pH, angle of response, Carr's index, Hausner ratio, moisture content etc and compared with commercial-grade microcrystalline cellulose that is used in pharmaceutical industry as excipient. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and FTIR data represented the structure and particle characterization of sample. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed the thermal stability of the sample. The results showed that the yield of microcrystalline cellulose was about 85% and compared favorably with the commercial grade microcrystalline cellulose as well as conformed official specifications for microcrystalline cellulose in British Pharmacopeia. It was also found that the duration of acid hydrolysis affected the polymeric form of the processed alpha cellulose.

The hot water and ethanol extracts of Andrographis paniculata (local name Kalomegh) collected from Chittagong exhibited a significant hypoglycemic (blood glucose lowering) activity in both glucose-loaded and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Oral administration of glucose (1.5 g/kg body weight) increased the blood sugar level while the intraperitonial (ip) administration of alloxan (40 mg/kg body weight) enhanced the blood sugar level much higher than that of the glucose-loaded rats. The hot water (0.8 g/kg b.w.) and ethanol extracts (2 g/kg b.w.) of A. paniculata reduced the elevated glucose level by 41.51 and 41.82%, respectively in glucose-loaded rats as compared to the respective diabetic control rats. On the other hand, administration of hot water and ethanol extracts of A. paniculata decreased the blood sugar level by 46.21 and 45.13%, respectively in alloxan-induced diabetic rats, when compared with that of diabetic control rats. Keywords: Andrographis paniculata, Glucose-loaded, Alloxan-induced, Rats, Antidiabetic. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 6(1): 15-20, 2007 (June) The full text is of this article is available at the Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. website

The in vitro evaluation of the physical characteristics of the pharmaceutical products ensures their quality as well as bioavailability and impart optimum therapeutic activity. Ciprofloxacin HCl, a widely used antibiotic to treat different types of bacterial infections, was chosen for this in vitro comparative study of different pharmaceutical company. The present study compared the content uniformity, weight variation, hardness, friability, thickness, diameter, disintegration and dissolution ability of five brands of ciprofloxacin HCl tablets marketed in Bangladesh to confirm whether they follow USP guidelines. All five brands of ciprofloxacin HCl tested meet the specification of the USP for content uniformity, weight variation, hardness, friability, thickness, diameter, disintegration and dissolution. The amount of active ciprofloxacin HCl varies from 244.46 mg to 248.46 mg among the products. The average hardness and friability of the products varies 73.9 N to 77.6 N and 0.013% to 0.031%, respectively. All the brands had shown disintegration time 5 to 8 minutes while they showed 80 to 95 % release of active ingredient within 30 minutes in dissolution testing. This may confirm the absorption of the drug from gastrointestinal tract for optimum therapeutic effect.Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 50(4), 251-256, 2015

Nicotiana plumbaginifolia Viv. is an annual herb of the family Solanaceae, which grows abundantly in the weedy lands of Bangladesh. This plant possesses analgesic, antibacterial, anti-anxiety and hepatoprotective properties, and produces various phenolic compounds including flavonoids. The present study afforded determination of total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and for the first time, the isolation and characterization of highly oxygenated flavonoids, e.g., 3,3',5,6,7,8-hexamethoxy-4',5'-methylenedioxyflavone (1), 3,3',4',5',5,6,7,8-octamethoxyflavone (2, exoticin), 6,7,4',5'-dimethylenedioxy-3,5,3'-trimethoxyflavone (3) and (3,3',4',5,5',8-hexamethoxy-6,7-methylenedioxyflavone (4) from the leaves of N. plumbaginifolia. All these flavonoids are rather rare natural products, and only found in a few genera, e.g., Polygonum and Murraya. The structures of the isolated flavonoids were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, e.g., UV, 1 H, 13 C NMR, DEPT, HSQC, HMBC and MS.

Electrodeposited copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) thin films grown on conducting glass substrates are investigated in this report. The photoelectrochemical cell (PEC), optical, structural and morphological properties of the deposited films have been characterized. PEC measurements of the CZTS thin film showed p-type electrical conductivity. Optical measurement showed that the transmittance of CZTS films is observed to about 0.5-3.4% in the wavelength range 300-1100 nm. It is also observed that the absorbance of the CZTS thin films rapidly increases in the wavelength range 580-620 nm and then it decreases slowly. The band gap of the CZTS thin film is observed to be in the range 1.6-2.2 eV. The transmittance and band gap decreases upon annealing at different temperatures but the absorbance and the grain size increases due to the improvement of crystalline quality upon annealing. From the X-ray diffraction study, the CZTS films are found to be polycrystalline with ( 112), ( 200), ( 105), ( 204), ( 312), ( 220) orientations of the tetragonal structure. The average crystallite size is estimated to 23 nm for as-deposited film, 26 nm for annealed at 300 °C and 40 nm for annealed at 350 °C. It is found from SEM study that the precursor film shows non-uniform distribution of agglomerated particles with well-defined boundaries. As the annealing temperature increases, the crystallization of the films is observed to improve, and hence the morphology of as-deposited precursor film is observed to change into the larger flat grains upon annealing.

Terpenes Terpenes U 0200 Triterpene Constituents from the Leaves of Melicope indica. -Two unusual pentacyclic triterpenes (I) and (II) are isolated from the leaves of Melicope indica and their structures are elucidated. -(FARRUQUE, R.; CHOWDHURY, R.; SOHRAB, M. H.; HASAN, C. M.; RASHID, M. A.; Pharmazie 58 (2003) 7, 518-520; Dep. Pharm., Univ. Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh; Eng.) -Staver 43-156