Volume 1 - 2, 2012

About the Cover

Major depression is a common and potentially life threatening condition. Stress induced helplessness in rodents constitutes a well-defined model to investigate physiological attributes of depression. The present study was undertaken to determine the antidepressant property of Bacopa monnieri using the stress induced animal model of depression. In this study, we have confirmed the actual doses of administration of this herbal product for recovery from stress related disorders in rats. Acute treatment with Bacopa monnieri extract of 80 and 120 mg/kg body weight, significantly reduced escape latency and plasma corticosterone level along with the significant restoration of body weight among the stressed rats. Such properties of Bacopa extract clearly coincides with the effects of well accepted antidepressant drug Fluoxetine hydrochloride and prominently forecast the antidepressant property of Bacopa monnieri in stress related neuropsychiatric disorders.

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RESEARCH

GC-MS analysis of Ficus religiosa root extract and its effect against periodontal disease

Eswaralakshmi R, Arifa Khatoon

F. religiosa is a sacred tree native to India where it grows up to elevations of 5,000 ft (1,524 m) (Neal 1948). It is known to be a sacred plant in India and since ancient times it is widely being used to treat various ailments like skin diseases, heart diseases, constipation, dysentery, snakebite and important constituent of various traditional herbal preparations like shankha vati, chandraprabha vati, kaminivindravan rasa.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(1), 3-8

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Antioxidant and anticancer efficacy of D-Limonene in Benzo(A)pyrene lung carcinogenesis in mice

Anitha P, Jaikumar S, kamaraj S, Devaki T

Chemoprevention is regarded as one of the most promising and realistic approaches in the prevention of cancer, several bioactive compound present in fruit & vegetable have revealed their cancer curative potential on lung cancer. d-Limonene is one such naturally occurring terpenoid widely found in citrus fruits

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(1), 9-16

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Development and validation of a reversed phase HPLC method for the determination of SAHA bulk drug

Balasubramanian J, Fakrudeen Ali Ahaned N, ShahulHammed Maraicar K, Azhagesh Raj K, Vijaya Kumar N

A rapid sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of Suberoyl anilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA). The chromatographic system utilized a C18 column with the detector wavelength set at 240nm.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(1), 17-22

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GC-MS and in-silico analysis of Cleistanthus collinus for its activity against cancer

Pratheepa M

Cleistanthus is a plant genus of the family Phyllanthaceae. Cleistanthus collinus plant is well known for its toxicity. All parts of the plants are reported to be highly toxic.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(1), 23-26

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Analyze the efficacy of Opuntia fragilis against bacteria and its effects on diabetic protein butyryl cholinesterase

John Varghese Y, Praveen Kumar C

Opuntia commonly known as prickly pears is used by humans as therapeutic medicine for past centuries. However, there is no report on the anti-microbial activity of the species Opuntia fragilis. This study concentrates on the anti-microbial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria by disc diffusion assay method.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(2), 33-35

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DRUG OF THE MONTH

FDA Approval for Vincristine Sulfate Liposome

Brindha Seenivasagam

On August 9, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval for vincristine sulfate liposome injection (Marqibo®, made by Talon Therapeutics, Inc.) for the treatment of adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph –) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in second or greater relapse or whose disease has progressed following two or more anti-leukemia therapies

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(3), 38-39

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FDA APPROVED DRUGS

FDA approved drugs - July 2012

Brithvi V

Vascepa (icosapent ethyl) is an ethyl ester of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). EPA reduces hepatic very low-density lipoprotein triglycerides (VLDL-TG) synthesis and/or secretion and enhances TG clearance from circulating VLDL particles

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(3), 40-43

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COMMUNICATION

Dendrimer based nanotechnology

Balasubramanian J

The word dendrimer comes from the Greek word ‚dendron‛ which means ‚tree‛, thus indicating its tree-shaped structure. They are highly branched, with many arms held on a central core, symmetric and three-dimensional.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(3), 44-47

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REVIEW

A Review on Chitosan based Nanoparticulate drug delivery system

Balasubramanian J, Senthilkumar M, Vijayakumar N, Azhageshraj K, Pragadeesh K

Chitosan has prompted the continuous movement for the development of safe and effective drug delivery systems because of its unique physicochemical and biological characteristics.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(3), 48-53

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COMMUNICATION

Trial blazing information on anticancer immunosuppresent Everolimus

Balasubramanian J

Anticancer, or antineoplastic, drugs are used to treat malignancies, or cancerous growths. Drug therapy may be used alone, or in combination with other treatments such as surgery or radiation therapy.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 1(3), 54-59

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FDA APPROVED DRUGS

FDA approved drugs - August 2012

Brithvi V

Lucentis (ranibizumab) is a therapeutic antibody fragment designed to inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), a protein that plays a critical role in ocular angiogenesis. Blocking VEGF-A can decrease abnormal new blood vessel formation and the resultant leaking of serum into the retina.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 2(4), 5-7

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RESEARCH

Evaluation of Antidepressant activity of Bacopa monnieri in rat: A study in Animal Model of Depression

Somoday Hazra, Ritabrata Banerjee, Biplab K. Das, Anup K. Ghosh, Tarit K. Banerjee, Uday S. Hazra, Susanta K. Biswas, Amal C. Mondal

Major depression is a common and potentially life threatening condition. Stress induced helplessness in rodents constitutes a well-defined model to investigate physiological attributes of depression.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 2(4), 8-13

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DRUG OF THE MONTH

Current panorama on Camptothecin in Cancer treatment

Balasubramanian J

This paper is a review on Camptothecin and its solubility, QSAR; release effects while combining with various polymers, DNA damage, Programmed cell death and MMR effect in cells. Camptothecin (CPT) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent for treatment of patients with cancer.

Drug Discovery, 2012, 2(5), 16-18

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FDA APPROVED DRUGS

FDA approved drugs - September 2012

Brithvi V

Stivarga (regorafenib) is a small molecule inhibitor of multiple membrane-bound and intracellular kinases involved in normal cellular functions and in pathologic processes such as oncogenesis, tumor angiogenesis, and maintenance of the tumor microenvironment

Drug Discovery, 2012, 2(5), 19-20

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PERSPECTIVES

A Pharmacological Characterization of Adenosine Receptors

Nouh MH. Aljarari, Dhastagir Sultan Sheriff

Adenosine receptors (AR) are member of the G-protein Coupled Receptors (GPCR) superfamily, with four subtypes currently recognised, A1, A2A, A2B and A3 receptors. Because of various potential physiological implications of stimulating AR, the main purpose of the present review was to briefly describe the pharmacological properties of these receptors and how they could be activated

Drug Discovery, 2012, 2(5), 21-27

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FDA APPROVED DRUGS

FDA approved drugs - October 2012

Brithvi V

Synribo (omacetaxine mepesuccinate) is a cephalotaxine ester. It is specifically approved for the treatment of adults with chronic or accelerated phase chronic myeloid leukemia with resistance and/or intolerance to two or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Drug Discovery, 2012, 2(6), 33-35

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RESEARCH

Larvicidal activity of various solvent extracts of Lichen Roccella Montagnei against Filarial Vector Culex Quinquefasciatus

Balaji P, Sakthivadivel M, Bharath P, Hariharan GN

Polarity based different solvent extracts (at four different conc.) of lichen, Roccella montagnei Bél. emend. Awas. (Roccellaceae) were screened for mosquito larvicidal activity against the 3rd instar larvae of the filarial vector, Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae).

Drug Discovery, 2012, 2(6), 36-39

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