Jutti Levita

Chromatogram profiles of andrographolide in A23187-induced New Zealand rabbit's urine and faeces

This study was designed to assess the analgesic and antiinflammatory actions of an aqueous ethanolic extract of Lagerstroemia speciosa L. (Family: Lythraceae). The analgesic investigations were carried out against two types of noxious stimuli, chemical (formalin-induced pain and acetic acid-induced writhing) and thermal (hotplate and tail immersion tests). The effects of standard drugs, aspirin and naloxone pretreatments were also studied. For antiinflammatory activities, the carrageenan -induced oedema of the hind paw of rats was used and the paw volume measured plethysmometrically 3h after injection. This was compared to a standard drug aspirin (300 mg/kg). The results were subjected to statistical analysis. The crude plant extract significantly increased the reaction time of hotplate and immersion tests. It decreased the writhings of acetic acid-induced abdominal contractions and lickings of formalin-induced pain. Aspirin had no effect on hotplate and tail immersion tests but showed an effect on writhing test. These results showed that the plant had both central and peripheral acting effects and this was confirmed by its effect on both phases of formalin-induced pain. The extract also significantly decreased the rat paw oedema volume at 200 mg/kg and above. In conclusion, Lagerstroemia speciosa has central and peripheral analgesic properties as well as antiinflammatory activities. Abstract This study was designed to assess the analgesic and antiinflammatory actions of an aqueous ethanolic extract of Lagerstroemia speciosa L. (Family: Lythraceae). The analgesic investigations were carried out against two types of noxious stimuli, chemical (formalin-induced pain and acetic acid-induced writhing) and thermal (hotplate and tail immersion tests). The effects of standard drugs, aspirin and naloxone pretreatments were also studied. For antiinflammatory activities, the carrageenan -induced oedema of the hind paw of rats was used and the paw volume measured plethysmometrically 3h after injection. This was compared to a standard drug aspirin (300 mg/kg). The results were subjected to statistical analysis. The crude plant extract significantly increased the reaction time of hotplate and immersion tests. It decreased the writhings of acetic acid-induced abdominal contractions and lickings of formalin-induced pain. Aspirin had no effect on hotplate and tail immersion tests but showed an effect on writhing test. These results showed that the plant had both central and peripheral acting effects and this was confirmed by its effect on both phases of formalin-induced pain. The extract also significantly decreased the rat paw oedema volume at 200 mg/kg and above. In conclusion, Lagerstroemia speciosa has central and peripheral analgesic properties as well as antiinflammatory activities.

Determination of ligand position in aspartic proteases by correlating tanimoto coefficient and binding affinity with root mean square deviation

The objective of this study was to develop and validate of Structure-Based Virtual Screening (SBVS) protocol which was used to select the best pose of inhibitor-aspartic protease complex interaction in the active sites of HIV-1 protease, plasmepsin I, II, and IV. Retrospective validation was performed on enhanced dataset of ligands and decoys (DUD-E) for HIV-1 protease. The crystal structures 1XL2, 3QS1, 1SME, and 1LS5 were obtained from Protein Data Bank. The protocol was then challenged to re-dock the ligands to its origin places in the active sites by correlating Tanimoto coefficient (Tc) and binding affinity (Ei) with Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD). Enrichment factor at 1% false positives (EF1%) values for Tc and Ei were 18.26 and 9.03, respectively, while the Area Under Curve (AUC) values for Tc and Ei were 76.84 and 60.95. The SBVS protocol was validand showed better virtual screening qualities in ligand identification for HIV-1 protease compared to the originalprotocol accompanying the release of DUD-E and showed its ability to reproduce the co-crystal pose in the HIV1 protease, plasmepsin I,II,and IV to its origin places in the active sites.

Torch Ginger (Etlingera elatior): A Review on its Botanical Aspects, Phytoconstituents and Pharmacological Activities

In order to propose a prospective candidate for novel complementary phytopharmaceuticals, one of Zingiberaceae family plant, Etlingeraelatior or torch ginger, was being evaluated. The aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive literature research focused on the botanical aspects, nutritional quality, phytoconstituents and pharmacological activities of E. elatior. Researches on this particular plant were conducted in Malaysia (55.5%), Indonesia (33.3%), Thailand (8.3%) and Singapore (2.7%). This review article has revealed that the most prominent pharmacological activities were anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and anti-tumor activities in consistent with the dominated levels of flavonoids, terpenoids and phenols. However, extended and integrated research should be converged towards intensive investigations concerning to isolated phytoconstituents and its bioactivities, pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, molecular mechanism of its specific pharmacological activities, safety and efficacy studies for further development.