The present study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial and insecticidal activities of plant Sanchezia speciosa Hook. F. extract against pathogenic bacteria and fungi by disc diffusion method and insect by surface film activity test. Fifteen different species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, six species of fungi and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) insect were used for this screening. The result revealed that among the three fractions obtained by solventsolvent partitioning, chloroform fraction was the best extractive for antibacterial and antifungal properties than other two fractions (pet-ether, ethyl acetate). The ranges of zone of inhibition were 8 ± 0.01 to 23 ± 0.02 mm using 500 μg/disc. In addition the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of different solvent fractions tested were found to be in the range from 16 µg/ml to 128 µg/ml against fifteen pathogenic bacteria depending on isolates and extracting solvent. The insecticidal assay also indicated reasonable activity with 60 %, 40 % and 20 % mortality rate of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) at a dose of 50 mg/ml in 48 hours for chloroform, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether extract respectively. This is the first report of antibacterial, antifungal and insecticidal activities of the ethanolic extract and it's fractionates (Chloroform, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether fraction) of Sanchezia speciosa Hook. F.

The present work was accomplished to explore the antibacterial activity and cytotoxic potentials of ethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves using disc diffusion method and brine shrimp lethality test respectively. Four Gram-positive and eight Gram-negative human pathogenic bacteria were used for antibacterial screening. Ethanolic extract of leaves showed prominent activity against all the microbes with the zone of inhibition ranging from 10.1 to 26.3 mm. Comparatively higher activity was exhibited by Gram negative bacteria, in that case Escherichia coli and Shigella dysenteriae showed 26.3 mm and 25.2 mm zone of inhibition. The MIC values for Gram negative bacteria ranged from 62.5 to 125 µg/ml while for Gram positive bacteria ranged from 125-250 µg/ml. Cytotoxic potentials were evaluated from leaves extract against Artemia salina Leach at concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 µg/ml and vincristine sulphate was used as positive control. The extracts showed significant brine shrimp lethality having LC50 value of 8.12 µg/ml in comparison with the standard vincristine sulphate having LC50 value of 6.76µg/ml. The results suggest that ethanol extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves can be considered as a source of natural antibacterial and anticancer agent.

Dexamethasone is a type of steroid medication having anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant effects. One of the major problems with this drug is its low solubility in water which results into poor bioavailability after oral administration. So the objective of the present work is to improve the solubility and dissolution rate of dexamethasone using its solid lipid nano particles (SLNPs) with stearic acid as solid lipid, lutrol F-68 as surfactant and tween-80 as stabilizer. SLNPs are prepared by hot homogenization method at different ratio of drug, lipid, surfactant and stabilizer and designated as DNP1 to DNP6. In vitro dissolution study was performed using the USP type II apparatus (paddle method) at 50 rpm to a temperature of 37°±0.5°C in distilled water containing 0.75% w/v SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate). The absorbance of sample was measured spectrophotometrically at ?max 239nm on a UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Release pattern of drug was found to follow zero order, first order and Korsmeyer-Peppas equations. Improvement of dissolution was observed in all the solid lipid nano particles as compared to pure drug. Pure drug showed only 27.25% release in 50 min whereas the dexamethasone SLNPs showed faster (66.19%) in vitro drug release. Hence, this finding indicates that dexamethasone SLNPs prepared by hot homogenization method can be used to enhance the dissolution rate and to show novel application to this drug delivery system.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/icpj.v3i12.20829 International Current Pharmaceutical Journal, November 2014, 3(12): 331-335

Dexibuprofen is a poorly water soluble nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, prescribed for moderate to severe pain and inflammation. It is the active dextrorotatory enantiomer of ibuprofen and has better anti-inflammatory effect. Hence present study was carried out to enhance dissolution properties of dexibuprofen through the preparation of solid lipid nano particles (SLNPs) using stearic acid as lipid, lutrol F-68 (Poloxamer) as surfactant and tween-80 as stabilizer by hot homogenization method. Six formulations were prepared in different ratios and were designated as DNP1 to DNP6. USP type II rotating paddle dissolution studies in 900 ml distilled water at 50 rpm to a temperature of 37°C ± 0.5°C were performed for evaluation of solid lipid nano particles. UV spectrophotometric method was selected for assay as well as in-vitro dissolution studies at λmax 222 nm. The drug release profile followed zero order and first order kinetics. In-vitro studies showed that solubility and dissolution rate of dexibuprofen were significantly improved by SLN formulation than the drug alone. This result may trigger more research in the intension of exploiting this feature to develop a novel drug delivery system for dexibuprofen with enhanced bioavailability.

Glimepiride is an antidiabetic drug of sulfonylurea group and indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The present study was conducted to enhance the dissolution rate of glimepiride solid lipid nano particle dispersions using hot homogenization method and glimepiride solid dispersion by precipitation method. Solid lipid nanoparticles have been used as suitable carriers for delivery of drug with poor solubility. In this investigation glyceryl monostearate and stearic acid were used as solid lipid, Lutrol F-68 as surfactant, Tween 80 as stabilizer and the used polymer were urea crystal and ?-cyclodextrin. Three formulations were prepared in different ratios for two methods and were designated as GMLN1 to GMLN3 in case of hot homogenization method and GMP1 to GMP3 for precipitation method. The evaluation of all the dispersions were done by in vitro dissolution studies using US Pharmacopeia type II apparatus (paddle method) in 900ml distilled water at 50 rpm to a temperature of 37°C ± 0.5°C for 45 minutes. In situ and externally sink method revealed the release pattern of drug was found to follow zero order, first order and Korsmeyer-Peppas equations. Improved dissolution profile was observed in all the solid lipid nano particle dispersions as compared to pure drug as well as market preparation. Thus, glyceryl monostearate and ?-cyclodextrin can be successfully used as carrier for improvement of dissolution and bioavailability of glimepiride.Rafshanjani et al., International Current Pharmaceutical Journal, September 2015, 4(10): 436-441