Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Volume 22, Issue 2, 2021

COVID-19 is a pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is a severe acute respiratory syndrome. The devastating impact of this novel coronavirus outbreak has necessitated the need for rapid and effective antiviral therapies against SARS-CoV-2 to control the spread of the disease and importantly, alleviate the severe life-threatening symptoms and disorders. Drug repurposing strategy offers an attractiv Read More

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), a form of adult stem cells, are known to have a selfrenewing property and the potential to specialize into a multitude of cells and tissues such as adipocytes, cartilage cells, and fibroblasts. MSCs can migrate and home to the desired target zone where inflammation is present. The unique characteristics of MSCs in repairing, differentiation, regeneration, and the high capacity of immune Read More

Nowadays, consumers have become increasingly attentive to human health and the use of more natural products. Consequently, the demand for natural preservatives in the food industry is more frequent. This has led to intense research to discover new antimicrobial compounds of natural origin that could effectively fight foodborne pathogens. This research aims to safeguard the health of consumers and, above all, to avoi Read More

Background: Several human diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease, and systemic amyloidosis are associated with the misfolding and aggregation of protein molecules. Objective: The present study demonstrated the comparison of 4-methyl coumarin and 4-methylthiocoumarin derivative for their anti-amyloidogenic and disaggregation activities. The hen egg-white lysozyme is used as a model system to study pr Read More

Background: The present limitations related to the ocular administration of antifungal drugs for the treatment of fungal keratitis include poor ocular bioavailability, limited retention time, and low ocular tissue penetration. Methods: This study aimed to prepare a novel ophthalmic voriconazole-loaded nanosuspension based on Eudragit RS 100. Pharmasolve® was explored as a corneal permeation enhancer in voriconazole opht Read More

Background: Oleamide is an essential substance for human health. So, the plants with high oleamide content are great sources for health care products. Objective: This study is conducted to investigate the quality of oleamide in plants and test the bioactivity in the selected two studied species. Methods: The three Ipomoea and five Dillenia species including Ipomoea alba, Ipomoea aquatica and Ipomoea pes-caprae, and Read More

Background: The anticancer effects of Phyllanthus amarus extract on various cancer cells have been investigated, however, the effects of its major constituents on HCT116 human colorectal cancer cells have not been reported. Objective: In the present study, we investigated the cytotoxic effect of 80% ethanol extract of P. amarus and its marker constituents (phyllanthin, hypophyllanthin, gallic acid, niranthin, greraniin, phyltetrali Read More

Background: Apigenin, a natural plant flavone, has been shown to possess a variety of biological properties. Objective: In this report, a highly selective and sensitive LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of apigenin in rat plasma. Methods: Analysts were separated on the HSS T3 column (1.8 μm 2.1×100 mm) using acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in 2mM ammonium acetate buffer at a s Read More

Objectives: In order to prevent infections through dummies used during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training, we analyzed the microbiological contamination on dummies used in CPR institutions. Methods: A total of 31 dummy samples were collected from 13 different institutions in Korea, and were evaluated for the number of contaminating bacteria and fungi on the surface. PCR and biochemical tests Read More

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is characterized by hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) which is due to the destruction of insulin-producing β-cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. It is associated with oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress. The plant alkaloid Palmatine has been previously reported to possess antidiabetic and antioxidant properties as well as other protective properties against Read More

Background: The chicken eggshells and their subcrustal membranes are a valuable source of calcium, but they are not further processed but disposed of as waste from the food industry. Chicken eggshells have high content (>95%) of calcium carbonate. Some properties suggest that eggshells may be a promising alternative to the present calcium sources used in the pharmaceutical industry. Methods: The effect of roa Read More

Background: Clinical studies indicate that recombinant tumor necrosis factor receptor:Fc fusion protein (rhTNFR:Fc) quickly alleviates symptoms and physical signs of active Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), improving the manifestation of spinal inflammation on radiological imaging. However, the regulatory mechanism of rhTNFR:Fc in the chemokine pathway is unclear. Thus we study the mechanism of phlogogenic activity of CXCL Read More

Background: Salinomycin, an ionophore antibiotic, has a strong anti-cancer effect, inducing the apoptosis of cancer cells and cancer stem cells. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the influence of salinomycin on the expression profile of genes related to stemness and miRNA regulating their expression in endometrial cancer cells. Methods: Endometrial cancer cells of cell line Ishikawa were exposed to salinom Read More