Thirteen formulations of cinnamaldehyde/non-ionic surfactant/water system nanoemulsions were prepared using highpressure homogenisation. The result showed that varying the cinnamaldehyde/surfactant ratio had effect significantly
(p<0.05) to mean droplet diameter, polidispersity index, ζ-potential, turbidity and whiteness index, while no significant
effect (p>0.05) to viscosity. The mean droplet diameter ranged from 50.48 to 106.4 nm, polydispersity index from 0.06 to
0.28 and ζ-potential from -4.11 to -6.98 mV. The smallest droplet size was produced using 5% cinnamaldehyde and 5%
Tween 80. Response surface for droplet diameter showed that the higher the cinnamaldehyde and surfactant concentrations,
the larger the droplet diameter, polydispersity index and whiteness index. However, the ζ-potential increased as the
cinnamaldehyde concentration decreased and Tween 80 increased. Increasing the cinnamaldehyde concentration led
to an increase in turbidity. Formulation of 5% cinnamaldehyde and 6.23% Tween 80 gave no observable separation of
the nanoemulsion with minimum droplet size, polidispersity index, viscosity, turbidity, whiteness index and maximum
ζ-potential in modulus. The stability of the optimum formulation was sustained for 10 days upon storage at 4°C. The
values of droplet diameter, PDI and ζ-potential were 55.50 nm, 0.08 and -5.38 mV, respectively.
In Malaysia, drug addiction has been a big threat since 1983. As of by latest statistic by National Anti-Drug Agency in 2016, the number of drug abusers in Malaysia was 30846. Acknowledging the importance of drug abuse and relapse as a public health issue, Malaysian government had implemented Harm Reduction Programme .Under this programme, Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) was launched in Oct 2005. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of MMT programme among opiate dependent individuals in their daily life. In this study, 100 individuals from the Ministry of Health (MoH), Klinik Kesihatan Bayan Lepas (Bayan Lepas Health Clinic) and Agensi Anti-Dadah Kebangsaan (National Anti-Drug Agency) in Telok Bahang were involved. The subjects were interviewed with WHOQOL BREF questionnaires before joining the MMT programme and also after minimum 4 months of joining MMT. Results obtained were used for comparing life style implications among methadone patients before and after joining the MMT programme. Subjects were predominantly of Malay ethnicity (82%). Subjects were mostly aged between 51 to 60 years old (34%). Paired t-test was done on the WHOQOL scores at baseline (before MMT) and after minimum of 4 months enrolment for all four domains. Each domain showed significant improvement in QOL (P < 0.05).The highest improvement was shown in the psychology domain with the mean value increment of 15.13 ± 17.49. Physical domain showed the least improvement with the mean value of 9.39 ± 16.21.This study has proven that MMT have highly contributed to improvement of quality of life among MMT clients in Klinik Kesihatan Bayan Lepas and AADK Telok Bahang.
Kafein mempunyai kesan ergogenik terhadap golongan yang terlatih; walaubagaimanapun, kajian kesan fisiologi kafein terhadap golongan sedentari adalah amat terhad. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengkaji kesan kafein ke atas penggunaan oksigen dan tanggapan tahap lesu semasa senaman intensiti sederhana dalam kalangan dewasa muda perempuan yang sedentari. Subjek terdiri daripada 16 orang mahasiswi yang berumur antara 22 hingga 24 tahun. Kriteria penerimaan adalah tahap aktiviti fizikal yang rendah dan pengambilan kafein adalah kurang daripada 50 mg sehari, disaring dengan menggunakan Soal Selidik Aktiviti Fizikal Antarabangsa (versi pendek) dan soal selidik pengambilan kafein. Reka bentuk kajian eksperimental ini adalah buta tunggal, pindah silang, kawalan plasebo dengan semua subjek menjadi kawalannya tersendiri. Subjek dikehendaki malaporkan diri ke makmal untuk menjalankan dua sesi eksperimen selepas masing-masing mengambil kapsul plasebo atau kafein dengan selang masa 3 hari antara dua sesi eksperimen tersebut. Enam puluh minit selepas mengambil kapsul plasebo (Glucolin, glukosa) atau 100 mg kafein (Pro-plus, United Kingdom), subjek dikehendaki berlari di atas treadmill selama 30 minit pada kuasa kerja yang bersamaan 60% daripada anggaran maksimum kadar denyutan jantung. Penggunaan oksigen, kadar denyutan jantung dan tanggapan tahap lesu direkod pada minit ke-20, ke-25 dan ke-30, manakala tekanan darah direkod serta-merta selepas subjek menghabiskan larian. Perbezaan direkod selepas kesemua subjek menyempurnakan kedua-dua eksperimen plasebo dan kafein. Min peratus lemak tubuh subjek adalah 28.4 ± 5.4. Ujian t bersandar menunjukkan tiada perbezaan signifikan antara trial plasebo dengan trial kafein ke atas penggunaan oksigen (13.99 ± 2.47 vs 14.49 ± 1.73, p = 0.440), tanggapan tahap lesu (12.3 ± 2.5 vs 12.3 ± 2.1, p = 1.000), tekanan darah sistolik (113 ± 10 vs 117 ± 11, p = 0.129), tekanan diastolik (67 ± 8 vs 69 ± 10, p = 0.408) dan kadar denyutan jantung (127.3 ± 11.0 vs 127.1 ± 11.6, p = 0.912). Terdapat korelasi negatif tinggi yang signifikan antara peratusan lemak tubuh dengan pengambilan oksigen (r = –0.568, p < 0.05) serta korelasi positif tinggi yang signifikan antara peratusan lemak tubuh dengan tanggapan tahap lesu (r = 0.515, p < 0.05). Hasil kajian tidak meningkatkan kesan yang signifikan mungkin disebabkan oleh kesan saiz (effect size) kajian ini yang kecil (d = 0.24). Justeru itu, kajian masa depan yang melibatkan lebih ramai subjek harus dijalankan untuk mengkaji kesan kafein semasa senaman dalam kalangan populasi sedentari.
Introduction:Acyclovir, a widely marketed antiviral drug is used for the treatment of Herpes Simplex infection. High doses of acyclovir are prescribed to patients to attain its maximum therapeutic effect due to its poor absorption and low oral bioavailability. The current therapeutics regiment of acyclovir are known to cause unwarranted adverse effects, thus prompted the need for a suitable drug carrier to improve the pharmacokinetic limitations. Develop-ment of solid lipid nanoparticles for oral delivery of acyclovir proposed in this study aimed to enhance acyclovir oral bioavailability. Methods: Comprehensive experiments and a series of optimization process were carried out to ensure reproducibility and assurance of product quality. The physicochemical characteristics of the solid lipid nanoparticles developed from plant-based solid lipid, Biogapress Vegetal 297 ATO with polysorbate 80 as an emul-sifying agent were also evaluated. Results: The spherical-shaped nanoparticles had an average size of 123 nm with good drug entrapment efficiency, up to 80%. The in vitro drug release study showed that solid lipid nanoparticles had prolonged acyclovir release in simulated intestinal fluid for 24 hours. The nanoparticles formulation was con-sidered stable during storage at refrigerated temperature for at least three months. In vivo oral bioavailability study showed that acyclovir-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles possessed superior oral bioavailability when compared with the commercial acyclovir suspension. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study exhibited the feasibility of solid lipid nanoparticles as an oral delivery vehicle for acyclovir and therefore represent a new promising therapeutic concept of nanoparticulate delivery system.
Growing needs, inadequate supply along with health and religious issues are reasons for the increase in the demand for an alternative source of gelatine in the food and pharmaceutical industries. This study was conducted to optimize the process for producing halal-compliance gelatine from chicken waste; chicken shank and toes (CST). Double extraction process employed produced gelatine which was vitreous, lightweight and gossamer in appearance. Gelatine yield was 9.52%(w/w) with a pH of 3.85, moisture content of 7.17%, total protein content of 93.77%, total fat content of 0.93% and total ash of 1.57%. The Bloom strength of the CST gelatine (148.33 ± 5.51) was found to be slightly lower than the commercially available bovine gelatine (BS) (169.33 ± 58.53) (P > 0.05). Amino acid analysis showed that the CST gelatine (91.38 ± 1.01%) was comparable to BS gelatine (90.65 ± 1.56%)(P > 0.05). Double extraction has been shown to successfully increase the surface area to volume ratio of CST waste resulting in increased yield in gelatine and protein with lower total fat content obtained. The test results obtained showed that the CST gelatine produced through this method complies with pharmaceutical standards.
Gelatine is used as an excipient for various pharmaceutical dosage forms, such as capsule shells (both hard and soft),
tablets, suspensions, emulsions and injections (e.g. plasma expanders). It is also broadly used in various industries
such as food and cosmetics. Gelatine is a biopolymer obtained from discarded or unused materials of bovine, porcine,
ovine, poultry and marine industrial farms. The discarded materials can be the skin, tendons, cartilages, bones and
connective tissues. Gelatine sourced from animals is relatively easy and inexpensive to produce. The potential needs of
gelatine cannot be overemphasised. Rising demands, health concerns and religious issues have heightened the need for
alternative sources of gelatine. This review presents the various industrial uses of gelatine and the latest developments
in producing gelatine from various sources.