Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products

BACKGROUND: Celecoxib is a selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitor recommended orally to treat arthritis and osteoarthritis. It is a highly lipophilic, poorly soluble drug with oral bioavailability of around 40%. Long term oral administration of celecoxib causes serious gastrointestinal side effects. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to assess the skin permeation of celecoxib by a transdermally applied liposomal formulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Liposomes were prepared by thin film method using soya lecithin and cholesterol...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: The key enzyme in the process of melanin biosynthesis is tyrosinase. Skin hyperpigmentation and browning of foods are undesirable phenomena which tyrosinase represents. Therefore, tyrosinase inhibitors have been used increasingly for medicinal and cosmetic products. OBJECTIVES: In this study, inhibitory effects of four plants including: physalis alkekengi L., Alcea rosea L., Bunium persicum B. Fedtsch. and Marrubium vulgare L. on diphenolase activity of mushroom tyrosinase were evaluated...

BACKGROUND: Royal Jelly (RJ), a food item secreted by worker honeybees, is a mixture that contains protein, glucose, lipid, vitamins, and minerals; it is widely used as a commercial medical product. Previous studies have shown that RJ has a number of physiological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiallergic and antioxidant activities. OBJECTIVES: In the present study, the anti-inflammatory properties of RJ were investigated in formalin-induced rat paw edema...

BACKGROUND: The development of drug delivery systems has improved the therapeutic and toxic properties of existing drugs in therapy. Microemulsion systems are novel vehicles for drug delivery, which have been developed in recent years. These systems are currently of interest to the pharmaceutical scientist because of their considerable potential to act as drug delivery vehicles by incorporating into a wide range of drug molecules. Although these systems improved solubility and bioavailability of drugs, they may have potential toxic effects on the body organs...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Skin burn is one of the most common complications and remains a major public health issue worldwide. OBJECTIVES: This experiment was conducted to study the effects of traditional medicine (Visceral Fat and Barely Seed Ash) compared with silversulfadiazine (SSD) cream on healing burn wounds in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of equal numbers; each group consisted of 15 animals...

BACKGROUND: Lidocaine hydrochloride (LH) is one of the most extensively used local anesthetics and peripheral analgesics. Availability of a simple and sensitive assay method for this analyte in pharmaceutical preparations as well as development of new voltammetric detectors that can be applied in chromatographic systems for determination of this analyte in biological samples are of great importance. OBJECTIVES: In this study, a square-wave voltammetric (SWV) determination of LH at a bare carbon-paste electrode (CPE) was reported...

BACKGROUND: Quince seed mucilage (QSM) has been used in Iranian folk medicine in the treatment of wounds and burns. Experimental and clinical studies showed its wound healing activity. However, the mechanism by which this agent affects cells involved in the wound healing process is unknown. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we investigated the effects of QSM at concentrations of 50, 100, 200, and 400 µg/mL on human skin fibroblast proliferation as an aspect of promotion of wound healing...

CONTEXT: Ginger is the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, a perennial plant, used alone or in compounds as a spice or remedy in ancient recipes of Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) as an effective tonic for the memory and digestive system, the opener of hepatic obstructions, aphrodisiac, for expelling compact wind from stomach and intestines, diluting, desiccating and emollient of phlegmatic and compact humor sticking to body organs, stomach, intestine, brain and throat. The ITM scholars believed that ginger was a vermifuge as well as a remedy for paralysis and obstructive jaundice...

BACKGROUND: Medicinal plants have a long history in treating blood disorders, which is one of the most common problems in today's advanced world. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a medicinal plant with a high content of polyphenols and has antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of fennel on some hematological indices in male rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, thirty male Wistar rats were divided into six groups (five rats in each group)...

BACKGROUND: Hymenodictyon excelsum is a medicinal plant traditionally used for tumor treatment as it contains phytochemicals of anthraquinone and coumarin class. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to unfold the therapeutic value of selected phytocompounds of Hymenodictyon excelsum in prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight phytochemicals were selected based on the literature search including anthragallol, damnacanthal, esculin, lucidin, morindone, nordamnacanthal, rubiadin, and soranjidiol while dihydrotestosterone was considered as the control...

BACKGROUND: Patients in the final stages of renal failure have accelerated inflammation conditions. Inflammation causes progressive kidney damage, faster progression of atherogenesis, chronic malnutrition and increased anemia, resulting in lower life expectancy of patients under dialysis. Statins have pleiotropic effects, because the drug has effects more than just decreasing lipids such as antioxidant effects, changes in endothelial dysfunction, stabilizing the plaque and immune system regulator...

BACKGROUND: Cerebral ischemia causes some disorders in behavioral patterns, including memory disorders and pain, which is due to the production of free radicals. Ferulago angulata, known in Iran as chavir, contains some bioactive compounds having antioxidant and free radical-scavenging properties. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of two weeks oral administration of hydroalcoholic extract of F. angulate (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) on pain as well as active and passive avoidance memories after permanent, bilateral common carotid artery occlusion or cerebral ischemia/hypoperfusion in male adult rats...

BACKGROUND: It is well known that contact with some physical, chemical or biological compounds can increase the incidence of mutation. Among these compounds, are pharmaceuticals that meet long duration of use and potentially could be misused and taken more than the ordered dosage. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate mutagenic effect of methadone in addicted patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz by single cell gel electrophoresis technic or comet assay...

BACKGROUND: Reteplase is a mutant version of t-PA (tissue plasminogen activator) with prolonged half-life. In the present study, E. coli Top 10 bacteria were utilized in the production of reteplase, which is the nonglycosylated active domain of t-PA. Reteplase gene was ligated into pBAD/gIII plasmid which, allows secretion of this protein in periplasmic space. It would allow the correct formation of disulfide bonds in protein structure. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at expression of reteplase in optimum condition...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Well-documented studies reported several pharmacological properties for crocin, the active compound of Crocus sativus, such as its antitumor, radical scavenging, antidepressant, and memory-enhancing effects. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the possible cytotoxic activity of crocin on B lymphocytes in human myeloma (U266 cell line) after 24- and 48-hour treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this purpose, cell viability was determined by the colorimetric MTT assay and cell death pattern was evaluated using Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) apoptosis detection kit...

BACKGROUND: 2-Aminopyridine and benzaldehydes mixture readily reacted with phenols at 80°C without any solvents to produce novel 2-[phenyl (pyridine-2-yl amino (methyl] phenol derivatives as pseudo-Betti products in good to high yields. These compounds are efficient processor for synthesis of the natural products. OBJECTIVES: We decided to report the synthesis of a series of novel N-heteroaryl-arylmethyl phenols via a simple three-component, one-pot method, using aromatic aldehydes, heteroaryl amines, and phenols in the absence of any acid catalysts and under solvent-free conditions...

BACKGROUND: High expression of p-glycoprotein (P-gp) has been associated with a poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is likely that P-gp overexpression is responsible for multidrug resistance in HCC. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of potent carcinogen nitrosamine with and without verapamil and rifampin drugs on P-gp expression at the mRNA level in HCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four groups of rats (n = 5) were selected with different treatments and one group as control...