BackgroundCurcuma longa Linnaeus and Zingiber officinale Roscoe are two main representatives of Zingiberaceae family studied for a wide range of therapeutic properties, including: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, antibacterial, analgesic, immunomodulatory, proapoptotic, anti-human immunodeficiency virus properties and anticancer effects. This study was aimed to analyse the ethanolic extracts of Curcuma rhizome (Curcuma longa Linnaeus) and Zingiber rhizome (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in terms of polyphenols, antioxidant activity and anti-melanoma potential employing the B164A5 murine melanoma cell line.ResultsIn order to evaluate the total content of polyphenols we used Folin-Ciocâlteu method. The antioxidant activity of the two ethanolic extracts was determined by DPPH assay, and for the control of antiproliferative effect it was used MTT proliferation assay, DAPI staining and Annexin-FITC-7AAD double staining test. Results showed increased polyphenols amount and antioxidant activity for Curcuma rhizome ethanolic extract. Moreover, 100 μg/ml of ethanolic plant extract from both vegetal products presented in a different manner an antiproliferative, respectively a proapoptotic effect on the selected cell line.ConclusionsThe study concludes that Curcuma rhizome may be a promising natural source for active compounds against malignant melanoma.

Abstract. The aim of the present investigation was to develop and evaluate microemulsion-loaded hydrogels (MEHs) for the topical delivery of fluconazole (FZ). The solubility of FZ in oils, surfactants and cosurfactants was evaluated to identify the components of the microemulsion. The pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed using the novel phase diagram by micro-plate dilution method. Carbopol EDT 2020 was used to convert FZ-loaded microemulsions into gel form without affecting their structure. The selected microemulsions were assessed for globule size, zeta potential and polidispersity index. Besides this, the microemulsion-loaded hydrogel (MEH) formulations were evaluated for drug content, pH, rheological properties and in vitro drug release through synthetic membrane and excised pig ear skin in comparison with a conventional hydrogel. The optimised MEH FZ formulations consisting of FZ 2%, Transcutol P 11.5% and 11%, respectively, as oil phase, Lansurf SML 20-propyleneglycol 52% and 50%, respectively, as surfactant-cosurfactant (2:1), Carbopol EDT 2020 1.5% as gelling agent and water 34.5% and 37%, respectively, showed highest flux values and high release rate values, and furthermore, they had low surfactant content. The in vitro FZ permeation through synthetic membrane and excised pig ear skin from the studied MEHs was best described by the zero-order and first-order models. Finally, the optimised MEH FZ formulations showed similar or slightly higher antifungal activity as compared to that of conventional hydrogel and Nizoral® cream, respectively. The results suggest the potential use of developed MEHs as vehicles for topical delivery of FZ, encouraging further in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

The use of water-soluble polymers of natural, semisynthetic, and synthetic origin for dermal and transdermal drug delivery systems is manifold. Among the most used biopolymers in the formulation of skin preparations, the cellulose ether derivatives as representatives of semisynthetic polymers distinguish through their specific physicochemical properties, by which the pharmacist can select the appropriate cellulose derivative for a particular purpose. The hydrogels containing cellulose derivatives as gelling agents are widely used as water-soluble ointment bases, because they usually associate the characteristics of both conventional and innovative hydrogels, including especially safety, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and a relatively easy way of preparation and low price. The present chapter describes the following issues: the physicochemical properties of water-soluble cellulose derivatives in relationship with their type and grade; physical and chemical properties of cellulose-derivatives-based hydrogels and their compatibility with other auxiliary substances commonly used in the formulation of pharmaceutical hydrogels; the development and manufacturing of these hydrogels on both small and large scales; the characterization of cellulose derivatives hydrogels as pharmaceutical dosage forms through different compendial and noncompendial methods; and well-recognized and novel applications of cellulosederivatives-based hydrogels for dermal and transdermal drug delivery.

A comparative study of 36 molecular descriptors derived from the topological distance matrix and van der Waals space is carried out within this paper. They are partitioned into 16 generalized topological distance matrix indices, 11 topological distance indices known in the literature (seven obtained from eigenvalues/eigenvectors of distance matrix), and 9 van der Waals molecular descriptors. The generalized topological distance indices, k δ λ (λ = 1 -3, k = 1 -4), are introduced in this work on the basis of reciprocical distance matrix. Intercorrelation analysis reveals that topological distance indices mostly contain the same type of information, while van der Waals indices can be bound to the shape or the size of molecules. Furthermore, we found that topological distance indices are good for describing molecular size, and they may be viewed as bulk parameters. The most accurate QSPR models for predicting boiling point of alkanes are based on some of the generalized, eigenvalues/eigenvectors topological distance indices and the van der Waals descriptors of molecular size.

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