Development and validation of LC–MS/MS method for the determination of cyproheptadine in several pharmaceutical syrup formulations

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatographic–tandem mass spectrometric (LC–MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the qualitative and quantitative assay of cyproheptadine (CP) in pharmaceutical samples. Diphenylpyraline hydrochloride (DPP) was used as an internal standard (IS). Two multiple reaction-monitoring (MRM) transitions for each analyte were observed: 288.1/96.1 and 288.1/191.2 for CP and 282.1/167.2 and 282.1/116.3 for DPP. The retention time of the drug was 7.29 min. The analytical method was successfully validated for linearity (1–100 ng/ml), intra-day precision, inter-day precision, and accuracy. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.86 and 0.98 ng/ml, respectively. The proposed method was applied to analyse the cyproheptadine content from seven different syrup formulations.     

Drug-related hospital admissions in a generic pharmaceutical system

1. Generically based pharmaceutical systems exist in a few countries of the world, such as Iran. Most developed countries have free market pharmaceutical systems. Drug-related problems (DRP) have been reported mostly in the Western world but few data are available for generic systems. In this study, we tried to measure the prevalence of drug-related problems leading to hospital admissions in Isfahan, Iran. 2. One thousand consecutive hospital admissions in three major teaching hospitals were studied for a period of 6 months for the presence of DRP as a cause of hospital admissions. Two subcategories of DRP were considered: (i) drug therapy failure; and (ii) adverse drug reactions. Preventability and outcome measures were also assessed. Medications responsible for DRP were classified according to the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification of the World Health Organization. 3. Of the 1000 admissions studied, 115 (11.5%) were owing to DRP, 81% as a result of drug therapy failure and 19% as adverse drug reactions. A total of 106 out of the 115 DRP cases (92%) were either preventable or probably preventable, most of which had to do with either prescriber or patient error. An overview of DRP showed that 58.3% resulted in complete recovery, 33.9% in relative recovery and 7.8% in death. Close to 1% of hospital admissions resulted in DRP-related deaths. 4. The overall prevalence of hospital admissions caused by DRP is similar to that in free market pharmaceutical systems. The high preventability rate of these problems should alert clinicians and policy makers to design strategies to curtail this. Also, reasons for differences in subtypes of DRP between the results of this study and those of the literature from free market systems needs to be investigated further.     

Synthesis,Molecular Docking and Biological Evaluation of Diaryl Pyrimidine Derivatives as Urease Inhibitors

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal - Urease is a dinickel enzyme that is responsible for the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. A series of bacteria like Helicobacter pylori produce...     

Gum resin extract of Boswellia serrata attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation and oxidative damage in hepatic and renal tissues of rats

Objective:To explore the effect of ethyl acetate gum resin extract of Boswellia serrata on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)induced inflammation and oxidative damage in hepatic and renal tissues of rats.Methods:The rats were divided into four groups:control,LPS,LPS+Boswellia serrata extracts(100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg).LPS(1 mg/kg)and the extract(100 and 200 mg/kg,30 min before LPS)were administered intraperitoneally for 3 weeks.The levels of liver enzymes,albumin,total protein,creatinine,blood urea nitrogen(BUN),interleukin(IL)-6,malondialdehyde(MDA),and total thiol groups and superoxide dismutase(SOD)and catalase(CAT)activities were measured.Results:The levels of liver enzymes,creatinine,and BUN,IL-6,MDA in the LPS group were markedly increased(P<0.001)while albumin,total protein,and total thiol concentration,as well as SOD and CAT activities,were decreased compared with the control group(P<0.05 or 0.01).Boswellia serrata extracts diminished the levels of liver enzymes,creatinine,BUN,IL-6,and MDA(P<0.01 and P<0.001),and elevated the concentration of total protein and total thiol and SOD and CAT activities(P<0.05 or 0.01).Conclusions:The ethyl acetate gum resin extract of Boswellia serrata reduces LPS-induced inflammatory reactions and oxidative damage,thus ameliorating hepatic and renal function.