Pharmaceutical Analysis articles list

In the Indo-Pak subcontinent, the traditional systems of medicine, both Ayurvedic and Unani, are primarily based on herbs and herb-based preparation for therapy. Therefore, the importance of the herbal identification process remains critical in achieving the desired and successful therapeutic effect. To support the manufacturers and practitioners of both systems, many herbs are still collected from wild sources, as herbal farming is not very developed in this part of the world. During a survey program conducted in different areas of Pakistan, significant lacks and gaps were noted to be present in the identification & characterization of herbs, which needs to be addressed and fulfilled as many species look alike apparently or physically but have different biological or pharmacological activity. Based on this objective and approach, Centella asiatica was selected for the pharmacognostic and preliminary phytochemical investigation to establish a better correlation and to provide useful methods in its identification as the use of Centella asiatica is very common in Pakistan and other South Asian countries for CNS disorders therapy. Therefore, this study aimed to develop & report some and rapid identification methods for Centella asiatica. The present study includes physical, physicochemical, preliminary phytochemical and fluorescence analysis. For the first time, in the present study, NIR and FT-IR spectra of Centella asiatica have been reported for identification. The findings of the present study are quite promising and can be helpful for the manufacturers and researchers in the identification and development of Centella asiatica-based new drugs or formulations.

Dr. Salman Ahmed

Standardization of crude drugs is a code of conduct and an essential need of the time. Substitution and adulteration now become a widespread practice, which makes the global crude drug market unsafe for crude drugs depending on the world population. Moreover, crude drug evaluation is not easy because numerous influential factors affect the bio-efficacy and reproducibility of therapeutic effects. The broad spectrum of standardization ensures the correct substance in the proper amount for desired therapeutic effects. It also provides all possible careful measures taken from collection and manufacturing to drug dispensing for clinical application. The authors have tried to cover precise tools for crude drug standardization in the present review.

Dr. Salman Ahmed

Emesis is defined as a forceful expulsion of stomach contents via the mouth. The adverse effects of available anti-emetic drugs potentiate us to evaluate natural products to explore effective natural anti-emetics with fewer side effects. The fruits of Illicium verum Hook. f. were selected for anti-emetic activity based on their folkloric use against gastrointestinal complaints. Crude methanolic extract and its aqueous, dichloromethane, ethylacetate and hexane fractions were evaluated using the copper sulphate-induced chick emesis model. Emesis was induced by the oral administration of copper sulfate 10 ml/kg body weight and metoclopramide (150 mg/kg p.o.) as a standard anti-emetic drug. The anti-emetic effect was observed by calculating the mean decrease in the number of retches compared to that of the control. Methanolic extract and its fractions were tested at 25, 50 and 75 mg/kg oral doses. Among all tested fractions, ethyl acetate showed the highest (94.46%), and hexane showed the lowest (56.30%) anti-emetic activity at 50 mg/kg. Further, isolation and purification from the same fractions are in process to discover effective natural anti-emetic compound(s) with less unwanted effects.

Dr. Salman Ahmed