Preparation and characterization of chitin beads as a wound dressing precursor

Chitin was dissolved in N, N-dimethylacetamide/5% lithium chloride (DMAc/5%LiCl) to form a 0.5% chitin solution. Chitin beads were formed by dropping the 0.5% chitin solution into a nonsolvent coagulant, ethanol. The beads were left in ethanol for 24 h to permit hardening, consolidation, and removal of residual DMAc/5%LiCl solvent in order to give spherical chitin beads uniform size distribution. The ethanol-gelled chitin beads had an average diameter of 535 microm. The chitin beads were subsequently activated in 50% (w/v) NaOH solution and reacted with 1.9 M monochloroacetic acid/2-propanol solution to introduce a carboxymethylated surface layer to the chitin beads. The bilayer character of the surface-carboxymethylated chitin (SCM-chitin) beads was verified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and confocal microscopy. The bilayered SCM-chitin beads were found to absorb up to 95 times their dry weight of water. These SCM-chitin beads have potential as a component of wound dressings.     

Vitamin E: A potential therapy for gastric mucosal injury

Context: Many scientific reports have shown the involvement of oxidative stress and inflammation as well as diminished gastroprotective substances in the pathogenesis of gastric lesions using various models. Therefore, treatment with antioxidants like tocopherol and tocotrienol may afford beneficial effects in attentuating the formation of the gastric lesions.

Objective: The aim of this work was to summarize documented reports on the effects of vitamin E on various models of gastric lesion.

Methods: A literature search was performed from databases in Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Googlescholar from June to December 2013.

Results and conclusion: The potential roles of tocopherol and tocotrienol in modifying the effects of ulcerogenic agents are discussed in this review. The protective effects of the vitamin E might involve ameliorating oxidative stress and inflammation as well as restoration of endogenous gastroprotective substances. This vitamin has the potential to be used as a therapy for gastric mucosal injury.     

Mechanisms of the antihypertensive effects of Nigella sativa oil in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats

OBJECTIVESThis study was conducted to determine whether the blood pressure-lowering effect of Nigella sativa might be mediated by its effects on nitric oxide, angiotensin-converting enzyme, heme oxygenase and oxidative stress markers.METHODS:Twenty-four adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided equally into 4 groups. One group served as the control (group 1), whereas the other three groups (groups 2-4) were administered L-NAME (25 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). Groups 3 and 4 were given oral nicardipine daily at a dose of 3 mg/kg and Nigella sativa oil at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg for 8 weeks, respectively, concomitantly with L-NAME administration.RESULTSNigella sativa oil prevented the increase in systolic blood pressure in the L-NAME-treated rats. The blood pressure reduction was associated with a reduction in cardiac lipid peroxidation product, NADPH oxidase, angiotensin-converting enzyme activity and plasma nitric oxide, as well as with an increase in heme oxygenase-1 activity in the heart. The effects of Nigella sativa on blood pressure, lipid peroxidation product, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase and angiotensin-converting enzyme were similar to those of nicardipine. In contrast, L-NAME had opposite effects on lipid peroxidation, angiotensin-converting enzyme and NO.CONCLUSION:The antihypertensive effect of Nigella sativa oil appears to be mediated by a reduction in cardiac oxidative stress and angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, an increase in cardiac heme oxygenase-1 activity and a prevention of plasma nitric oxide loss. Thus, Nigella sativa oil might be beneficial for controlling hypertension.     

A Review on Dietary Intervention in Obesity Associated Colon Cancer

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. According toNational Cancer Registry, the incidence of colorectal cancer in Peninsular Malaysia increases with age. The incidenceis highest among Chinese population but lower among Indians and Malays. Many reviews have suggested that obesitymay be associated with a higher risk (>50%) of colorectal cancer. Methods: This study collects a comprehensivedata from the literature review available from respective journals on dietary intervention and the chemo-protectivemechanisms of a few natural resources in obesity -associated colon cancer based on previous and current studies.Results: In obesity-associated colon cancer, the genes of interest and pathways that are mainly involved includeNFκB, P13K/Akt, and MAPK pathways, and FTO, leptin, Cyclin D, MMPs, and STAT3 genes. Dietary modificationis one of the alternative steps in early prevention of colon cancer. It has been proposed that the components present incertain foods may have the ability to protect against many diseases including the prevention of cancer. Conclusion:There are many factors that lead to obesity-associated colon cancer and the mechanisms behind it is still undergoingintensive research. This review aims to scrutinize research as well as reviews that have been previously reported onobesity associated colorectal cancer and the beneficial effects of including antioxidants-rich foods such as vegetablesand fruits in the diet to reduce the risk of obesity associated colorectal cancer.     

Comparative study for determination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis susceptibility to first- and second-line antituberculosis drugs by the Etest using 7H11, blood, and chocolate agar

We investigated the performance of blood and chocolate agar as alternatives to Middlebrook 7H11 agar for testing the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to first-and second-line drugs by the Etest method. A total of 39 strains of M. tuberculosis including 22 multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains and 17 susceptible strains were tested. In conclusion, our results showed that chocolate agar gave insufficient growth, needing up to 21 days of incubation, while results on blood agar were comparable to those on Middlebrook 7H11 agar and can be further explored as an alternative for Etest-based susceptibility testing of M. tuberculosis.     

Early phase oncology clinical trials in Malaysia: current status and future perspectives

Historically, the majority of oncology clinical trials are conducted in Western Europe and North America. Globalization of drug development has resulted in sponsors shifting their focus to the Asia-Pacific region. In Malaysia, implementation of various government policies to promote clinical trials has been initiated over a decade ago and includes the establishment of Clinical Research Malaysia, which functions as a facilitator and enabler of industry-sponsored clinical trials on a nationwide basis. Although oncology clinical trials in Malaysia have seen promising growth, there are still only a limited number of early phase oncology studies being conducted. Hence, the Phase 1 Realization Project was initiated to develop Malaysia's early phase clinical trial capabilities. In addition, the adaptation of good practices from other countries contribute to the effective implementation of existing initiatives to drive progress in the development of early phase drug development set up in Malaysia. Furthermore, holistic approaches with emphasis in training and education, infrastructure capacities, strategic alliances, reinforcement of upstream activities in the value chain of drug development, enhanced patient advocacy, coupled with continued commitment from policy makers are imperative in nurturing a resilient clinical research ecosystem in Malaysia.