Articles

About Author: Mr. Rupajit Bhattacharjee, M.Pharm

What are Prebiotics?
Prebiotics are components present in foods, or that can be incorporated into foods, which yield health benefits related to their interactions with the gastrointestinal tract (GIT).
Prebiotics can be defined as “nondigestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth of one or a limited number of bacterial species in the colon, such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, which have the potential to improve host health.” Prebiotics are, simply speaking, the “food” for beneficial bacteria.

About Author: Rinki Verma (Research fellow)
Institute of Medical science (CEMS)
Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi - 221005

About Author: Ashish Chauhan
M.Pharm (Pharmaceutical Chemistry)
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar (Punjab).

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
(A Protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer)

Ozone Layer

• The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3).
• This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is damaging to life on Earth.
• It is mainly located in the lower portion of the stratosphere from approximately 30 to 40 kilometres above Earth, though the thickness varies seasonally and geographically.
• The ozone layer was discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson.
• Its properties were explored in detail by the British meteorologist G. M. B. Dobson, who developed a simple spectrophotometer (the Dobson meter) that could be used to measure stratospheric ozone from the ground.
• Between 1928 and 1958 Dobson established a worldwide network of ozone monitoring stations, which continue to operate to this day.
• The "Dobson unit", a convenient measure of the columnar density of ozone overhead, is named in his honour.

About Authors: Divya Gupta,
M.Pharm (Pharmaceutics),
Dehradun Institute of Technology, Dehradun

Introduction
In the words of Hughes and Mitra2: “ophthalmic drug delivery is one of the most interesting and challenging endeavours facing the pharmaceutical scientist...The anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of the eye render this organ exquisitely impervious to foreign substances...The challenge to the formulator is to circumvent the protective barriers of the eye without causing permanent tissue damage...The primitive ophthalmic solutions, suspensions and ointment dosage forms are clearly no longer sufficient to combat some present virulent diseases...”

Eye is a unique and very valuable organ. This is considered a window hinge. We can enjoy it and look at the world body. There are many eye diseases that can affect the body and loss of vision as well. Therefore, many eyes in drug delivery systems are available. They are classified as traditional and new drug development system. Topical application of drugs to the eye is the most popular and well-accepted route of administration for the treatment of various eye disorders. The bioavailability of ophthalmic drugs is, however, very poor due to efficient protective mechanisms of the eye. Blinking, baseline and reflex lachrymation, and drainage remove rapidly foreign substances, including drugs, from the surface of the eye [1].

About Authors:
DIPAK KUMAR DASH
M.PHARM, PHARMACEUTICS
HIMALAYAN PHARMACY INSTITUTE, SIKKIM

SUSPENSION
Pharmaceutical suspension may be defined as coarse dispersions in which insoluble solids are suspended in a liquid medium. Insoluble solids may have a size range from 10 to 1000 µm.

STABILITY OF SUSPENSION
It is important to understand that suspensions are kinetically stable, but thermodynamically unstable, system.
Physical stability is defined as the condition in which the particles remain uniformly distributed throughout the dispersion without any signs of sedimentation. It is difficult to achieve this condition. Hence the definition can be restated as –if the particles settle they should be easily resuspendable by moderate amount of shaking.

About Authors: Ajay Kumar Pathak,
Analytical Science Division,
Shriram Institute for Industrial Research,
19 University Road, Delhi, 110007

Introduction
The plant kingdom comprises many species of plants containing substances of medicinal value, which are yet to be explored. A large number of plants are constantly being screened for their possible medicinal value.[12] The use of plant extracts in traditional medicine has been going on from ancient time.[13] Herbalism and folk medicine, both ancient and modern, have been the source of much useful therapy.[14-16] In the recent years, the development of resistance of pathogens against antibiotics has become a difficult issue caused by the indiscriminate use of modern antibiotics.[17-23] Therefore, the demand for new and effective antimicrobial agents with broad spectrum activities from natural sources are increasing day by day. Infectious diseases account for approximately one-half of all deaths in tropical countries. The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Ethnopharmacologists, botanists, microbiologists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and "leads" which could be developed for treatment of infectious diseases. While 25 to 50% of current pharmaceuticals are derived from plants, none are used as antimicrobials.

About Authors: Rinki Verma,
Research fellow,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005

Abstract
Cancer is caused by damage of genes which control the growth and division of cells. Detection/diagnose/treatment is possible by confirming the growth of the cells and treated by rectifying the damaging mechanism of the genes or by stopping the blood supply to the cells or by destroying it. Conventional detection method of the cancer is not more efficient than nanotechnogical detection method. Nano Particles (NP) being of a few of nano meters size and the cells being of the size of few microns, NP can enter inside the cells and can access the DNA molecules/Genes and therefore, there is a possibility that the defect in the genes can be detected. The conventional treatment is less sensitive than the nanotechnology methods, certain NP can be designed to absorb preferentially certain wave length of radiation and if they enters in the cancerous cells, they will burn them So, Nanotechnology can be used to create therapeutic agents that target specific cells and deliver toxin to kill them.

About Authors: Manoj Kumar Jadia1*, Dr. U. L. Narayan2
1. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
Indira Gandhi institute of Pharmaceautical Sciences,
IRC village, Bhubaneswar, Odhisa, India
2. Principal, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
Indira Gandhi institute of Pharmaceautical Sciences,
IRC village, Bhubaneswar, Odhisa, India

Abstract
The two methods are described for the simultaneous determination of Paracetamol and Etodolac in binary mixture. The first method was based on UV-spectrophotometric determination of both of the drugs, using simultaneous equation method. It involves absorbance measurement at 256.0 nm (λmax of Paracetamol) and 226.0 nm (λmax of Etodolac) in methanol; linearity was obtained in the range of 5 – 25 μg.mL-1 for both the drugs. The second method was based on HPLC separation of the two drugs in reverse phase mode using Promosil C18 column. Linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 30-70μg.mL-1 for Paracetamol and 20-60 μg.mL-1 for Etodolac. The LOD and LOQ value of UV-Spectrophotometric determination was found to be 167.43 ng mL-1, 507.37 ng mL-1  and for HPLC determination was found to be 1653.12 ng mL-1, 5009.48 ng mL-1.Both these methods have beensuccessively applied to pharmaceutical formulation and were validated according to ICH guidelines.

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About Authors: Sharath Babu
M.Pharm, Mallareddy Institute of Pharmacy

Liver Enzymes
Four separate liver enzymes are included on most routine laboratory tests. They are-aspartate aminotransferase (AST or SGOT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT or SGPT), which are known together as transaminases; and alkaline phosphatase (AP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), which are known together as cholestatic liver enzymes. Elevations of these enzymes can indicate the presence of liver disease.