Pharmacokinetic Herb-Drug Interactions of Glipizide with Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) and Andrographolide in Normal and Diabetic Rats by Validated HPLC Method

Co-administered medicinal herbs can modify a drug’s pharmacokinetics (PK), effectiveness, and toxicity. Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) ethanolic extract (APE) and andrographolide (AND) (a potent CYP2C9 inducer/inhibitor) can alter the pharmacokinetic parameters of glipizide (GLZ). This study aimed to determine the potential pharmacokinetics of herb–drug interactions between GLZ and APE/AND in the plasma of normal and diabetic rats using the HPLC bioanalysis method. The glipizide bioanalytical method established with RP-HPLC/UV instrument was validated following the EMA guidelines. GLZ was administered alone and in combination with APE or AND to normal and diabetic rats. The GLZ pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated according to the correlation between concentration and sampling time using the PK solver program. A simple and rapid GLZ bioanalysis technique with a lower limit of quantitation of 25 ng/mL was developed and presented the following parameters: accuracy (error ≤ 15%), precision (CV ≤ 15%), selectivity, stability, and linearity (R² = 0.998) at concentrations ranging 25–1500 ng/mL. APE administration significantly improved the C_max and AUC_0–t/AUC_0–∞ GLZ values in normal and diabetic rats (p < 0.05). AND significantly reduced the bioavailability of GLZ in diabetic rats with small values of T 1/2, C_max, and AUC_0–t/AUC_0–∞ (p < 0.05). This combination can be considered in administering medications because it can influence the pharmacological effects of GLZ.     

Boundary value problems and Mayer-Vietoris sequence

Milan Journal of Mathematics - We define formally non characteristic hypersurfaces for a complex of differential operators and we establish a Mayer-Vietoris sequence. We give applications to...     

Antioxidant capacity and in vitro prevention of dental plaque formation by extracts and condensed tannins of Paullinia cupana

Chemical evaluation of the semi-purified fraction from the seeds of guaraná, Paullinia cupana H.B.K. var. sorbilis (Mart.) Ducke, yielded the following compounds: caffeine, catechin, epicatechin, ent-epicatechin, and procyanidins B1, B2, B3, B4, A2, and C1. Measurement of the antioxidant activity by reduction of the DPPH radical confirmed the anti-radical properties of the aqueous (AqE) and crude (EBPC) extracts and semi-purified (EPA and EPB) fractions. The EPA fraction showed radical-scavenging activity (RSA) and protected DPPH from discoloration at 5.23 +/- 0.08 (RSD% = 1.49) microg/mL, and for the phosphomolybdenum complex showed a higher Relative Antioxidant Capacity (RAC) at 0.75 +/- 0.01 (1.75). The EPA fraction had a total polyphenolics content of 65.80% +/- 0.62 (RSD% = 0.93). The plant drug showed 5.47% +/- 0.19 (RSD% = 3.51) and 6.19% +/- 0.08 (RSD% = 1.29) for total polyphenolics and methylxanthines, respectively. In vitro assessment of the antibacterial potential of the Paullinia cupana extracts against Streptococcus mutans showed that these could be used in the prevention of bacterial dental plaque.     

Influence of precession on velocity measurements in a strong laboratory vortex

A strong laboratory vortex is generated in a cylindrical cell using a rotating disk and stretched by pumping the fluid out through a hole in the centre of the top of the cell. The velocity field is measured by means of laser Doppler anemometry and Doppler ultrasonic anemometry which are both non intrusive methods. The vortex exhibits a slight precession which induces temporal fluctuations of the velocity at the measurement point. Due to the centrifugal force, the tracers concentrate in a tubular region around the vortex, leading to spatial variations of the measurement counting rate. Under these two effects, the probability density function (PDF) of the one point velocity exhibits a strong non-Gaussian behaviour. In order to access the details of the velocity profile of the vortex in its own system of reference, the influence of the vortex precession, of the spatial variations of the concentration in tracers and of the intrinsic measurement dispersion is investigated and a model is proposed. It allows to recover statistically the characteristics of the vortex and to deduce the trajectory of its centre from the instantaneous velocity profiles. Received: 5 August 1998/Accepted: 20 February 1999     

Effect of low intensity helium-neon (HeNe) laser irradiation on experimental paracoccidioidomycotic wound healing dynamics

The effect of HeNe laser on the extracellular matrix deposition, chemokine expression and angiogenesis in experimental paracoccidioidomycotic lesions was investigated. At days 7, 8 and 9 postinfection the wound of each animal was treated with a 632.8 nm HeNe laser at a dose of 3 J cm(-2). At day 10 postinfection, the wounds were examined by using histologic and immunohistochemical methods. Results revealed that laser-treated lesions were lesser extensive than untreated ones, and composed mainly by macrophages and lymphocytes. High IL-1beta expression was shown in the untreated group whereas in laser-treated animals the expression was scarce. On the other hand, the expression of CXCL-10 was found to be reduced in untreated animals and quite intensive and well distributed in the laser-treated ones. Also, untreated lesions presented vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in a small area near the center of the lesion and high immunoreactivity for hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), whereas laser-treated lesions expressed VEGF surrounding blood vessels and little immunoreactivity for HIF-1. Laser-treated lesions presented much more reticular fibers and collagen deposition when compared with the untreated lesion. Our results show that laser was efficient in minimizing the local effects observed in paracoccidioidomycosis and can be an efficient tool in the treatment of this infection, accelerating the healing process.     

Laser cleaning of works of art: evaluation of the thermal stress induced by Er:YAG laser

The Er:YAG laser has proven particularly efficient in cleaning procedures of works of art. The removal of the superficial deposits is achieved through melting, thermal decomposition and evaporation. However, the energy absorbed by vibrational modes is dissipated as heat, increasing the temperature of the surface coating that could cause damage on the object. The aim of this study was to evaluate the temperature increase induced by a Er:YAG MonaLaser (LLC., Orlando, FL, USA). To that purpose, we designed a dedicated device to perform the tests in an inert atmosphere or with a wetting agent, to measure the radiant energy per laser pulse. Tests were carried out both on graphite, which absorbs IR radiation and showed a very intense flash emission, and on different kind of samples representative of materials with different levels of conductivity and thermal diffusivity. Results obtained showed that the temperature increase in the irradiated surface depends on the substrate but never causes the damage of the organic and inorganic material. The use of a solvent as wetting agent has been also tested.     

Noncharacteristic hypersurfaces for complexes of differential operators

Sunto Sia X una varietà differenziabile ed S una ipersuperficie orientata in X. Si consideri un complesso di operatori differenziali su X. Se S è formalmente non caratteristica, esso induce un complesso di operatori su S. Si generalizza la nozione di simbolo di un operatore differensiale al caso di multigradazioni e si dimostra che, se S è non caratteristica, modulo «trasformazioni fibra» il complesso indotto è un complesso di operatori differenziali. In particolare, se una ipersuperficie è non caratteristica rispetto alla nozione usuale di simbolo, il complesso al bordo è sempre un complesso di operatori differenziali. Nell'ultima parte del lavoro si studio, il complesso al bordo indotto dal complesso di Hilbert dell'operatore .     

Differences of Convex Compact Sets in the Space of Directed Sets. Part I: The Space of Directed Sets

A normed and partially ordered vector space of so-called directed sets is constructed, in which the convex cone of all nonempty convex compact sets in R ⁿ is embedded by a positively linear, order preserving and isometric embedding (with respect to a new metric stronger than the Hausdorff metric and equivalent to the Demyanov one). This space is a Banach and a Riesz space for all dimensions and a Banach lattice for n=1. The directed sets in R ⁿ are parametrized by normal directions and defined recursively with respect to the dimension n by the help of a support function and directed supporting faces of lower dimension prescribing the boundary. The operations (addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication) are defined by acting separately on the support function and recursively on the directed supporting faces. Generalized intervals introduced by Kaucher form the basis of this recursive approach. Visualizations of directed sets will be presented in the second part of the paper.