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Background: Due to side-effects and lost efficacy of common drugs on new resistance strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), investigation on novel drugs and natural compounds from rich source of endemic plants is required. Thus, in the present study, the anti-mycobacterial effect of 22 Iranian endemic or rare plant extracts on multi-drug resistance (MDR) and extensively-drug resistance (XDR) Mtb isolates was evaluated. Methods: 22 Iranian endemic and rare plant species from 9 families were collected and extracted by methanol. Their inhibitory-effects were then evaluated against Mtb H37Rv strain, seven clinical MDR-TB and two XDR-TB isolates using resazurin microtiter assay (REMA) method. Best of them were then fractionalized by five different polar solvents (Petroleum-Ether, Dichloromethane, Ethyl-Acetate, n-butanol and water). To find anti-mycobacterial fractions, inhibitory effect of isolated fractions were tested on Mtb H37Rv. Results: Out of the 22 plants, 14 plant extracts demonstrated anti-mycobacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 4 to 30µg/mL against Mtb H37Rv. Eight plant extracts also exhibited anti-mycobacterial activity against MDR and XDR clinical strains of Mtb by MICs, 15-60μg/ml. Crinitaria grimmii and Linum album were the best anti-mycobacterial plants. Among fractions of Crinitaria grimmii, dichloromethane and n-butanol and for Linum album, dichloromethane and Ethyl-Acetate fractions displayed more anti-mycobacterial effect comparing to crude extract on Mtb. Conclusion: The present study confirms the potential role of some plants to treat respiratory diseases as our results have demonstrated that these plants exhibit anti-mycobacterial activity in the acceptable range against Mtb. Thus, these plants could be good sources and alternatives of plant metabolites for anti-TB-drug development.

The interest of many has been attracted by plant-mediated synthesizing procedures for nanoparticles since they provide certain qualities including being cost-effective, quick, and compatible with the environment. In this regard, this work introduces the production of selenium-nanoparticles (Se-NPs) in a biological manner utilizing aqueous extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis (R. officinalis). Production of Se-NPs was confirmed using UV-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. Also, dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis was used for determination particle size distribution, while we distinguished the identification of crystalline construction of nanoparticles through the means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, DLS, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination indicated that Se-NPs are often spherical with a size about 20 to 40 nm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the synthesized Se-NPs by R. officinalis extract against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) was 256, 16, 32, 128, and 64 µg/mL, respectively. The synthesized Se-NPs had no significant effect on Mycobacterium simiae (M. simiae) and had exhibited a strong antimicrobial functionality towards the gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and can stand as a potent antibacterial agent.

Sepiwhite is a novel anti-pigmenting agent that is derived from fatty acid and phenylalanine and used for hyperpigmentation induced by light exposure or inflammation. In this study, a simple and validated high-performance liquid chromatography method for the quantitation of sepiwhite was developed. Optimized forced degradation of sepiwhite at thermal, acid/base, photolysis, oxidative, and heavy metal ions conditions were evaluated and the effect of each of them on production of specific 10%-30% degradants was studied by the approach of design of experiments. Sepiwhite accelerated study was conducted and toxicity of sepiwhite at each condition was tested. An optimized high-performance liquid chromatography method was validated by a face-centered central composition design. Ten different degradants were identified from sepiwhite and degradation behavior under different conditions was studied. Sepiwhite and its degradant products show no cytotoxicity. This optimized high-performance liquid chromatography method can be applied for quality control assay and sepiwhite degradation behavior may be considered in the manufacturing of sepiwhite products.

Green synthesis of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) was done using Abelmoschus esculentus extract as the capping and reducing agent and sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) as the selenium source. UV-Vis spect...

Hesperidin and hesperetin are two important plant flavanones abundantly found in citrus fruit. They have discovered many biological activities to treat diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. Despite their various benefits, they have poor solubility, which reduces their bioavailability and absorption. In this study, nanophytosomes have been utilized to improve their payload's solubility and bioavailability. In the current study, hesperetin or hesperidin was complexed with Phospholipon 90G with a 2:1 or 3:1 molar ratio, respectively. The formation of associations between active compounds and phospholipid were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. Dynamic light scattering data show that the prepared associations in the presence of body fluids can make nanoparticles in the range of 200-250 nm. In addition, oral administration demonstrated that C

Background Isoniazid (INH) is well known as a first-line anti-tuberculosis, while some studies demonstrate that it has anti-inflammatory activity via a different mechanism such as inhibition the production of IL-1, ROS, activation of PPARγ expression, inhibition of the transcriptional regulatory activity of NF-κB and AP-1. The aim of this study, investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of INH and INH combined with Sulfasalazine-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) in the ulcerative colitis mouse model. Methods To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of INH and NPs in the ulcerative colitis mice model, we evaluated the effect of INH clinical symptoms and colonic mucosal histology in colitis. Result The present study demonstrates that combination therapy of INH with sulfasalazine as well as NPs reduces the symptom of ulcerative colitis and improved disease activity index include body lose weight, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, colonic length, spleen weight, and colon histopathological score in DSS-induced colitis mice model. Conclusion Our results suggest that the nanoforms of INH with sulfasalazine enhances the therapeutic effect of the drugs in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

Due to side-effects and low efficacy of common drugs on new resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), investigation on novel drugs and natural compounds from rich sources of endemic plants is required. Thus, in the present study, the anti-mycobacterial effects of 22 Iranian endemic or rare plant extracts on multi-drug resistance (MDR) and extensively-drug resistance (XDR) Mtb isolates were evaluated.Twenty-two Iranian endemic and rare plant species from 9 families were collected and extracted by methanol. Their inhibitory-effects were then evaluated against Mtb H37Rv strain, seven clinical MDR-TB, and two XDR-TB isolates using the resazurin microtiter assay (REMA) method. The best of them were then fractionalized by five different polar solvents (Petroleum- Ether, Dichloromethane, Ethyl-Acetate, n-butanol, and water). To find anti-mycobacterial fractions, the inhibitory effect of isolated fractions was tested on Mtb H37Rv.Out of the 22 plants, 14 plant extracts demonstrated anti-mycobacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 4 to 30μg/mL against Mtb H37Rv. Eight plant extracts also exhibited anti-mycobacterial activity against MDR and XDR clinical strains of Mtb by MICs, i.e., 15-60μg/ml. Crinitaria grimmii and Linum album were the best antimycobacterial plants. Among fractions of Crinitaria grimmii, dichloromethane and n-butanol, and for Linum album, dichloromethane and Ethyl-Acetate fractions displayed more anti-mycobacterial effect as compared to crude extract on Mtb.The present study confirms the potential role of some plants to treat respiratory diseases as our results have demonstrated that these plants exhibit anti-mycobacterial activity in the acceptable range against Mtb. Thus, these plants could be good sources and alternatives of plant metabolites for anti-TB-drug development.

Ibuprofen is a widely prescribed non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory drug, which is practically insoluble in water and causes gastrointestinal (GI) side effects. Ibuprofen-phosphathidylcholine association (IPA) was prepared by refluxing ibuprofen and phosphathidylcholine in three different molar ratios (1:0.25, 1:0.5 and 1:1) in aim to induce the amorphous nature of ibuprofen and increase its solubility. The characteristics of IPA were evaluated by H1-NMR, FT-IR spectra, X ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), drug content, photon correlation spectroscopy, computational molecular simulation, solubility and in vitro dissolution study. Computational molecular simulation, DSC, FT-IR, H1-NMR and XRD patterns confirmed the reaction between carboxyl group of ibuprofen and polar moiety of phosphathidylcholine. IPAs showed an increase in solubility in phosphate buffer medium (pH 7.2) and a decrease in solubility in HCl medium (pH 1.2). The IPA dissolution rate increased in the simulated intestinal medium, whereas the dissolution rate of the IPA decreased in the simulated gastric medium. It is concluded that the phosphatidylcholine association of ibuprofen may be of potential use for improving the ibuprofen solubility and hence its bioavailability. Furthermore, considering decrease of dissolution rate of IPA in acidic medium, it may also reduce GI toxicity of ibuprofen. Moreover, comparing different molar ratios of IPA, there is no significant difference in their characteristics and dissolution profiles.

In the current study, in order to augment the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin, thermo-sensitive biodegradable hydrogel composed of poly (e-caprolactone-co-lactide)-b-poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly (e-caprolactone-co-lactide) (PCLA-PEG-PCLA) incorporating curcumin-loaded polyethylene glycol-b-polylactide (mPEG-PLA) nanopolymersome was prepared. The final objective of this study was to introduce a biodegradable thermo-responsive, injectable hydrogel that can prolong and localize therapeutic effects of curcumin. The obtained results demonstrated that the encapsulation of curcumin nanopolymersome in the thermos-sensitive hydrogel provided the sustained controlled release of the encapsulated curcumin. The rheological investigation demonstrated that the viscosity of the prepared composite hydrogel (20% copolymer solution) was low which made it intratumorally injectable. However, at physiological temperature (37 °C), system was in gel state with good mechanical strength thereby providing sustained release of the encapsulated platform upon intratumoral administration. In vivo administration of the prepared composite hydrogel incorporating curcumin nanopolymersome to ectopic C6 glioma tumor model in nude mice illustrated ideal therapeutic response of the prepared composite platform. The key innovation of the current study was the development of biodegradable, injectable therapeutic-loaded implant to improve the outcomes of glioma treatment while reducing the treatment complications.