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Aim:The purpose of our investigation is to evaluate the anti-arthritic potential of isolated rosmarinic acid from the rind of Punica granatum. Method: Rosmarinic acid was isolated by bioactivity-guided isolation from butanolic fraction of Punica granatum and acute toxicity of rosmarinic acid was carried out.The experiment was conducted at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg, in Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA)-induced arthritic rats. Various parameters, that is arthritic score, paw volume, thickness of paw, hematological, antioxidant and inflammatory parameters such as glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malonaldehyde (MDA) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were also estimated. Results:Rosmarinic acid significantly decreased the arthritic score, paw volume, joint diameter, white blood cell count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. It also significantly increased body weight, hemoglobin and red blood cells. The significantly decreased levels of TNF-α were observed in treated groups as compared to arthritic control rats (P < 0.001). At the same time antioxidant parameters (like GSH and SOD) were increased significantly while levels of MDA were significantly decreased (P < 0.001). Conclusion:The outcome of the present research concludes that rosmarinic acid showed significant anti-arthritic potential in FCA-induced arthritis in Wistar rats. This study represented the therapeutic role of rosmarinic acid from Punica granatum for the management of arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis/osteoarthritis and related inflammatory complications with negligible side effects which was still far from complete mitigation with available conventional medicines. K E Y W O R D Sarthritic rats, bioactivity-guided isolation, butanolic fraction, Punica granatum, rosmarinic acid

Available conventional drugs produce several side effects; thus, a potent herbal drug is urgently required for the management of rheumatoid arthritis. The present investigation was performed to evaluate the antiarthritic activity of butanol fraction of Punica granatum Linn. rind methanolic extract (PGBF) against Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA)-induced arthritis in rats. An acute toxicity study of butanol fraction was conducted, accompanied by a study of its antiarthritic activity. Chromatography (thin layer chromatography and high-performance thin layer chromatography) analyses were also conducted. Phytochemical screening of the fraction was performed to confirm the presence of phytoconstituents. For antiarthritic activity, the active butanol fraction was administered at doses of 50 and 75 mg/kg body weight. The antiarthritic activity was evaluated by using biophysical paramaters (arthritic score, body weight, paw volume and joint diameter) and hematological parameters [red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)]. Dexamethasone (5 mg/kg) was selected as the standard. Phytochemical screening of butanol fraction showed the presence of steroids, tannins, flavonoids, irioid glycosides, and phenolic compounds. Acute toxicity studies suggested that butanolic fraction was safe up to a dose of 500 mg/kg. The data regarding biophysical and hematological parameters clearly indicated that the butanol fraction at a 75 mg/kg dose showed a more significant effect (**P<0.01 and ***P<0.001) than the 50 mg/kg dose. The antiarthritic potential of a butanol fraction of Punica granatum Linn. rind extract may be due to the presence of active phytoconstituents such as flavonoids, irioid glycosides, and phenolic compounds. Future studies will provide a new approach in relation to the antiarthritic activity of Punica granatum Linn., and the isolation of its active compound may eventually lead to the development of a new category of the antiarthritic agent.

Dendrimers are nanosized, symmetrical molecules in which a small atom or group of atoms is surrounded by the symmetric branches known as dendrons. The structure of dendrimers possesses the greatest impact on their physical and chemical properties. They grow outwards from the core-shell which further reacts with monomers having one reactive or two dormant molecules. Dendrimers’ unique characteristics such as hyperbranching, well-defined spherical structure, and high compatibility with the biological systems are responsible for their wide range of applications including medical and biomedical areas. Particularly, the dendrimers’ three-dimensional structure can incorporate a wide variety of drugs to form biologically active drug conjugates. In this review, we focus on the synthesis, mechanism of drug encapsulations in dendrimers, and their wide applications in drug delivery.

Oxazolidinones are a new class of totally synthetic antibacterial agents with wide spectrum of activity against a variety of clinically significant susceptible and resistant bacteria. These compounds have been shown to inhibit translation at the initiation phase of protein synthesis. DuP-721, the first oxazolidinone showed good activity against M. tuberculosis when given orally or parenterally to experimental animals but was not developed further due to lethal toxicity in animal models. Later two oxazolidinones, PNU-100480 and Linezolid, demonstrated promising antimycobacterial activities in the murine model. While Linezolid has been approved for clinical use, PNU-100480 was not been developed further. DA-7867 showed good in vitro and better in vivo efficacy than Linezolid but was poorly tolerated in rat toxicology studies. The antimycobacterial activity of AZD-2563 has not been explored. RBx 7644 had modest antimycobacterial activity while RBx 8700 has potent antibacterial and concentration dependent activity against all slow growing mycobacteria. It demonstrated better activity than RBx 7644 against MDR strains of M. tuberculosis along with intracellular activity. Toxicity, especially myelosuppression, has been an important limiting factor for development of an oxazolidinones. The GM-CSF assay has helped in selecting molecules with less myleosuppressive potential. We report, a review on the promising antituberculosis activities of the class oxazolidinones.