Polymer and liposome-based nanocarriers not only improve the aqueous phase solubility of artemisinin but also helps to retain its therapeutic efficacy in vivo as well.
Sustainability drives modern technology. Practices ensuring efficient resource utilization, guided resource handling and promotion of negative ecological footprint befittingly implicates “growth”. With manufacturing forming one of the major contributing sector...
The hepatoprotective properties of the ethanolic extracts of Punica granatum peels, Crataeva religiosa leaves and Jasminum polyanthrum leaves were evaluated for the paracetamol induced liver toxicity in mice. Antioxidant, cytotoxicity and phytochemical screening were carried out to assure the therapeutic efficacy of these plants. Oral administration of plant extracts for 7 days in mice significantly reduced the impact of paracetamol toxicity on the serum markers of liver damage, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and total protein. The extract showed significant hepatoprotective effects as evidenced by decreased serum enzyme activities like ALT, AST and changed total protein. The phytochemical and antioxidant studies also supported that plant extract markedly reduced the toxicity due to presence of antioxidant phytochemicals. The result suggests that Jasminum polyanthrum is potent hepatoprotective agent against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity in mice.
Microbial pathogenesis
is considered one of the most
critical health challenges worldwide. Although several antibiotics
have been procured and used, the microbes often manage to escape and
become resistant to antibiotics. Thus, the discovery of new antibiotics
and designing smart approaches toward their delivery are of great
importance. In many cases, the delivery agents using foreign chemicals
like lipids or polymers induce immunogenic responses of varying degrees
and are limited to a shorter circulatory time and burst release. In
the current work, we have designed a novel antibiotic delivery system
where the antibiotic is encapsulated into a blood component—platelet.
Platelets have been previously reported as efficient drug delivery
vehicles for targeting cancer cells. On the other hand, during platelet–bacterial
interaction, platelets can act as covercytes. Keeping this in mind,
smart antibiotic-loaded platelets have been used for killing bacterial
cells. The loading of the antibiotic was done using its typical nature
of engulfing surrounding small molecules. The water-soluble antibiotics
were loaded directly into the platelet, whereas the hydrophobic antibiotics
were preloaded in polycaprolactone (FDA-approved polymer)-based nanovesicles
to make them solubilized prior to loading inside the platelets. The
antibiotic-loaded platelets (containing hydrophilic antibiotics or
hydrophobic antibiotic -encapsulated polymer nanoparticles) were found
to be stable when studied through platelet aggregometry. The carrier
showed bactericidal effects at a significantly lower concentration
at which the free antibiotic has negligible efficacy. This could be
attributed to the molecular confinement of the antibiotics inside
the platelets, therefore causing localization of the drug and leading
to efficient activity against bacteria. Interestingly, the smart antibiotic-loaded
platelets were capable of killing the resistant strains too at the
same lower concentration regime. Therefore, the antibiotic-loaded
platelet could emerge as a potential strategy for efficient delivery
of antibiotics with a significant reduction of the dose required to
achieve the intended antibacterial efficacy. Moreover, this antibiotic
delivery method can be very useful to minimize immunogenic responses
due to antibiotic administration and to avoid the development of drug
resistance due to the invisible mode of delivery.
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