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Objective: Present study is aimed at formulation of hydrogel containing PLGA nanoparticles loaded with of Crossandra infundibuliformis (CI) extract. Leaf extract of Crossandra infundibuliformis has been reported to possess antibacterial, antifungal activity hence an attempt was done to improve the efficacy of the extract by formulating into nanoparticulate hydrogel which can be used as a feasible alternative to conventional formulations of Crossandra infundibuliformis extract with dual benefit of sustained release and advanced permeation characteristics for transdermal application. Methodology: In this study, the active ingredients present in the leaves of Crossandra infundibuliformis (CI) were extracted by cold maceration using ethanol. The crude extracts were developed into polymeric nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation method using PLGA as polymer, polyvinyl alcohol as surfactant and dimethyl sulphoxide as organic phase solvent. Polymeric nanoparticles were incorporated into gel matrix containing HPMC K4M as gel matrix base. Results: Polymeric nanoparticles showed nearly spherical shape with z-average 143-325nm, PDI in the range of 0.235-0.299 and -2.08 mV to -3.58mV zeta potential with maximum % drug entrapment of 69%. Nanoparticulate hydrogel formulations showed high viscosity, neutral pH with good spreadability which is suitable for transdermal application. In vitro drug release showed initial burst release of 28.56 ± 0.93 % with prolonged drug release of 90.06± 0.93 % from optimized formulation up to 24 h. Conclusion: Nanoparticulate hydrogel can be used as carrier for transdermal delivery of extract of Crossandra infundibuliformis.

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Aims: The present study aim was to analyse the molecular interactions of the phytoconstituents known for their antiviral activity with the SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural proteins such as main protease (6LU7), Nsp12 polymerase (6M71), and Nsp13 helicase (6JYT). The applied in silico methodologies was molecular docking and pharmacophore modeling using Schrodinger software. Methods: The phytoconstituents were taken from PubChem, and SARS-CoV-2 proteins were downloaded from the protein data bank. The molecular interactions, binding energy, ADMET properties and pharmacophoric features were analysed by glide XP, prime MM-GBSA, qikprop and phase application of Schrodinger respectively. The antiviral activity of the selected phytoconstituents was carried out by PASS predictor, online tools. Results: The docking score analysis showed that quercetin 3-rhamnoside (-8.77 kcal/mol) and quercetin 3-rhamnoside (-7.89 kcal/mol) as excellent products to bind with their respective targets such as 6LU7, 6M71 and 6JYT. The generated pharmacophore hypothesis model validated the docking results, confirming the hydrogen bonding interactions of the amino acids. The PASS online tool predicted constituent's antiviral potentials. Conclusion: The docked phytoconstituents showed excellent interactions with the SARS-CoV-2 proteins, and on the outset, quercetin 3-rhamnoside and quercetin 7-rhamnoside have well-interacted with all the three proteins, and these belong to the plant Houttuynia cordata. The pharmacophore hypothesis has revealed the characteristic features responsible for their interactions, and PASS prediction data has supported their antiviral activities. Thus, these natural compounds could be developed as lead molecules for antiviral treatment against SARS-CoV-2. Further in-vitro and in-vivo studies could be carried out to provide better drug therapy.

Nipah virus (NiV) caused several outbreaks in Asian countries, including the latest one from the Kerala state of India. There is no drug available against NiV till now, despite its urgent requirement. There are reports about the anti-influenza viral drug Favipiravir, which has positively affected the Nipah virus in vitro models. In the current work, we have provided a computational screening for NiV inhibitors. Twenty-two designed compounds from favipiravir and Nipah glycoprotein, 3D11, were chosen and performed molecular docking to analyse the various conformations and interactions with the amino acids; further, their physicochemical and ADMET properties were also computed. The compound 5_Favipiravir have an excellent docking score (-6.16 kcal/mol), followed by compound 4_Favipiravir and 19_Favipiravir with docking score of -5.50 and -5.38 kcal/mol respectively. The three compounds had the respective heterocyclic moieties such as pyrazole, imidazole and pyrazinone. All the twenty-two designed compounds obey the Lipinski rule of five, which infer that they will not have problems with oral bioavailability.  Thus, it is concluded that the incorporated heterocyclic groups in favipiravir can add to the anti-Nipah activity; hence it can act as future leads for the treatment for the disease caused by Nipah virus.