Essential oils are complex mixtures of biologically active substances used since a long time as flavouring agents and constituents of number of commercial products. Currently, their importance is more highlighted due to their increasing demand for food,
cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Recent scientific literature revealed the antimicrobial, antifungal and antioxidant potential of essential oils. In view of the multiple applications of essential oils, their characterization based on their chemical profiles, is of great importance.
On the other hand Albania is a very important country for Maps and their essential oils due to their high quality. Because of the lack of an accredited laboratory in the country the exporters trade them with low prices which are affected in the economy of the country. That’s why we analysed and validated a Gas/Fid method for Satureja Montana essential oil, in order to be able to analyze their chemical contents.
In the present study, some of most important MAPS of Albania were screened for the isolation of essential oils. The hydro-distilled essential oils were characterized for their physico-chemical and biological activities. GC and GC-MS analysis of the chemical constituents of the isolated oils mainly revealed the presence of monoterpene hydrocarbons, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes, and oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Satureja montana
The investigated essential oils exhibited good antioxidant, antifungal and antimicrobial activities as measured by different in-vitro assays and experimental models.
Objective: The irrational use of medicines is a major problem worldwide. The irrational antibiotics are one of the causes of mortality and morbidity around the world and the increasing of antimicrobial resistance too. The objective is to study the consumption of some reimbursement drugs, the study of consumption of main antibiotics in a few pharmacies in Tirana, Albania and at the same time, to study the knowledge of the random antibiotic use of patients in Tirana. Methods: Part I. There are five pharmacies randomly selected in Tirana, which are part this study. They accepted us to have access to a considerable number (2910) of reimbursement prescriptions, consumed in a total of 5 months. The medical prescriptions were analyzed for: (1) The average total number of drugs prescribed; (2) The percentage of drug prescribed with the right generic name; (3) The percentage of antibiotics prescribed; (4) The percentage of injectable pharmaceutical forms prescribed; (5) The average cost of every reimbursement prescription. Part II. There are taken into consideration ten pharmacies located in the city of Tirana. The consumption and the knowledge of the patients about antibiotics were analyzed. The data are collected for a single month (May 2014). We took into consideration the entries of antibiotics and antimicrobials subtracting the present stock of these drugs. Results: As we see from the results in there are 91.6% of reimbursement prescription prescribed in accordance with low Albanian Drug Regulation. The average number of drugs prescription is about 2 which means we have not overprescribed of drugs in reimbursement ones. The average of the percentage of injectable forms is 3.18, which is not very high too. Azithromycin has the highest consume, followed by amoxicillin, and the chloramphenicol has the lowest one. A high number of patients interviewed (in total 148 or 59.2%) are answered that they take antibiotics only with a medical prescription, and there were not a significant difference between female and males. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that the drugs given in reimbursement prescription are generally in accordance with diagnosis and rational prescription. Further investigation is needed to analyze non-reimbursement prescription which do not have the some monitoring system which means that may have more problems that reimbursement ones. The authorities must have under control the enforcement of regulation low for drug purchasing process. On the other hand, we should sensibilize all the age groups to avoid self-medication especially with antibiotics which cause the resistance problems. The doctors should be careful not to prescribe the drugs by trade name respecting the proper protocols. Keywords: Rational use, Reimbursement drugs, Antibiotic
Objective: Satureja montana L. is well-known for its essential oil contents and dermatological benefits. Main components of its essential oil are borneol, carvacrol, thymol, γ-terpinen, p-cymen. Our objective is to develop a Gas/Fid analytical method for quantification and identification of main components of Satureja montana L. essential oil. Methods: Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation of Satureja montana L. using Clevenger apparatus. Analyses of essential oil and validation method were developed by GC/FID apparatus tip Varian 3800. Results: The validation process; linearity, optimization of GC/FID parameters of method proposed, precision and accuracy results were statistically significant. Conclusion: The method proposed were found appropriate for GC/FID analyses of Satureja montana L.
(1) Background: Capsaicin is the main capsaicinoid of the Capsicum genus and it is responsible for the pungent taste. Medical uses of the fruits of chili peppers date from the ancient time until nowadays. Most of all, they are used topically as analgesic in anti-inflammatory diseases as rheumatism, arthritis and in diabetic neuropathy. Reports state that the Capsicum genus, among other plant genera, is a good source of antimicrobial and antifungal compounds. The aim of this study was the preparation of a pharmaceutical Carbopol-based formulation containing capsaicin and the evaluation of its in vitro release and antimicrobial and antifungal properties. (2) Methods: It was first stabilized with an extraction method from the Capsicum annuum fruits with 98% ethanol and then the identification and determination of Capsaicin in this extract was realized by HPLC. (3) Results and Conclusions: Rheological analyses revealed that the selected formulation exhibited a pseudo-plastic behavior. In vitro release studies of capsaicin from a Carbopol-based formulation reported that approximately 50% of capsaicin was release within 52 h. Additionally, the Carbopol-based formulation significantly increased the antimicrobial effects of capsaicin towards all tested bacteria and fungi strains.
Beside their use as a food additive, Capsicum (due to its capsaicin content) is currently used for various therapeutic purposes such as asthma, coughs, sore throats, to relieve toothaches, counter-irritant balm for external application, to alleviate pain in shingles, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, etc. The pungent components responsible for the medical uses are the alkaloids called capsaicinoids. Isolation of capsaicin from Capsicum fruits was described by many authors with different methods of extraction. The most used methods are maceration, Soxhlet extraction, supercritical fluidextraction (CO2) and ultrasound. The aim of this study was to apply and compare three extraction methods of capsaicin from Capsicum fruits, in order to find the most suitable method and appropriate organic solvents. The qualitative and quantitative estimation of this substance was realized by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC). The amount of caspsaicin in each extract varied from 0.009% to 0.052 %.The most easy and appropriate methods were maceration and Collins. The best solvents were ethanol and methanol
Thymosin α-1 belongs to the small molecule family of thymosines, which have been studied for a long time as molecules with very high potential use as drugs. In particular Thymosin α-1 is under intensive studies for its use in different disorders and diseases such as respiratory distress syndrome, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, AIDS, cyto-megallovirus infection etc. Thymosin α-1 is implicated in the control of gene expression of MHC I, MHC II, cytokines and other immune system regulators, but its molecular mechanism remains still unclear. On the other hand several studies were conducted with the aim to identify the structure of the peptide. In fact it was found that thymosin α-1 presents an α-helix conformation in fluorinated alcool/water mixtures but it is highly unstructured in water solution. It is also presumed that very likely thymosin α-1 presents an α-helix conformation when bound to the receptor. Here we present a MD simulation of a Poly Ethylen Oxide Diamine stapled thymosin α-1 as a new strategy for the stabilization of its α-helix conformation in water solution. The PEO diamine stapled peptide presented a good overall stability also at high temperatures offering new insights into the design of more potent Thymosin α-1 derivative molecules.
Origanum vulgare L. essential oil possesses a wide spectrum of biological activities. Nanoencapsulation of O. vulgare essential oil into liposomes seems to be a promising strategy to maintain and improve these biological properties. This research was carried out to develop a suitable liposomal formulation for the effective encapsulation of O. vulgare essential oil in order to improve the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The characterization of liposomal nanocarriers was conducted in terms of size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency. An MTT assay was used to assess the cytotoxic activity of the prepared and characterized O. vulgare essential oil liposomes in MCF-7 cancer cell lines. Antioxidant activity was determined by assessing DPPH scavenging activity. O. vulgare essential oil exerted cytotoxic activity with an IC50 of 50 μg/ml. The essential oil of O. vulgare was effectively encapsulated in liposomes, with no significant change observed among the formulations. The antioxidant activity was significantly enhanced after encapsulating the essential oil in liposomes. Origanum vulgare essential-oil-loaded Phospholipon 90H liposomes demonstrated considerably increased cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells, whereas Lipoid S100 liposomes showed no significant differences from the non-encapsulated essential oil. Phospholipon 85G liposomes had the least cytotoxic impact. As a result, liposomes containing O. vulgare essential oil may be promising nanocarriers for the development of anticancer agents.
