Thesis (MTech. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2010. / Aims to assess the efficacy and adverse effects of Trichilia emetica in reducing post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation on black skin.

[6]-Gingerol, [8]-gingerol, and [10]-gingerol are phytochemical extracts from ginger that are thought to contribute to its health-benefitting properties. The objectives of this investigation were to explore and compare the in vitro anti-proliferative and cytotoxic effects of [6]-, [8]-, and [10]-gingerol on human and mouse mammary carcinoma cells, as well as their ability to inhibit T cell proliferation. [8]-Gingerol and [10]-gingerol induced mammary carcinoma cell death that did not require ROS production or caspase activation. All three gingerols inhibited the proliferation of mammary carcinoma cells and T cells, and the production of IFN-? by T cells. The production of IL-2 and the expression of early T cell activation markers, CD25 and CD69, were significantly decreased by [8]- and [10]-gingerol. The results demonstrated that [10]-gingerol was the most potent, followed by [8]-gingerol, then [6]-gingerol. Consequently, [8]- and [10]-gingerol warrant further investigation for the treatment of breast cancer and the control of inflammation.

Thesis (M. Med. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

Thesis (M.S.)--Villanova University, 2008. / Biology Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Glasgow, 2008. / Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, 2008. Includes bibliographical references. Print version also available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-144).

CNPq / O Capim Annoni-2 (Eragrostis plana Nees) é uma poaceae que apresenta potencial alelopático conforme observado em trabalhos anteriores. Neste estudo os extratos, obtidos com solventes em ordem crescente de polaridade (éter de petróleo, acetato de etila e metanol), das folhas de Capim Annoni-2, coletadas no verão e inverno, foram analisados e comparados, levando-se em conta composição e/ou concentração de metabólitos produzidos, utilizando-se técnicas de Infravermelho e Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência, sendo que, os dados de Infravermelho foram comparados estatisticamente por PCA, em seguida realizou-se o fracionamento dos extratos de acetato de etila verão e inverno, as substâncias isoladas foram identificadas através de métodos espectrométricos e espectroscópicos: RMN de 1H e 13C, experimentos de HSQC e HMBC e CG-EM. Verificou-se que os extratos apresentam riqueza em termos de provável variedade de compostos químicos, além disso, observa-se que os solventes utilizados para a extração resultam, estatisticamente, em maiores diferenças, em termos de composição química, do que a estação do ano em que as folhas foram coletadas. Foram identificadas duas substâncias resultantes do fracionamento do extrato de acetato de etila verão, um triacilglicerol e um rotenóide. A presença de um rotenóide nas folhas de Capim Annoni-2, pode justificar a ação alelopática observada nesta espécie em outros trabalhos. / The Annoni-2 grass (Eragrostis plana Nees) is a poaceae that presents allelophatic potential as observed in other research. In this study, the extracts were obtained from leaves collected during summer and winter. The extraction process was performed using solvents in a increasing order of polarity (petroleum ether, etyl acetate and methanol) and the extracts were analyzed and compared regarding the composition and/or concentration of metabolites produced. The techniques utilized were high performance liquid chromatography and infrared spectroscopy, and, the data obtained from the infrared analisys was compared using PCA, then the fractionation of summer and winter ethyl acetate extracts was carried out and the isolated compounds were identified by spectrometric and spectroscopic methods: NMR 1H and 13C, experiments of HSQC and HMBC and GC-MS. The results show the extracts are rich when it comes to probable variety of chemical compounds. It is also observed that, statistically, the solvents used in the extraction process influence the diversity of chemical compounds more than the season in which the leaves were collected. Triacylglycerol and rotenoid were identified from the fractionation summer ethyl acetate extract, and the presence of a rotenoid in the leaves of Annoni-2 grass, can justify the allelopathic action observed in this species in other works.

The overall objective of this thesis was to investigate how the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis can affect the production of phytochemicals (antioxidants; rosmarinic and caffeic acid, RA & CA) in the shoots of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). As a result of an increasing interest in natural/herbal medicines, more effort is now needed to produce herbal products of better quality, i.e. higher and standardised phytochemical concentrations. Thus, it was hypothesised that the naturally occurring AM fungi (AMF) could play an important role in improving the growth and phytochemical concentrations in medicinal herbs such as basil, as organic methods of cultivation are increasingly sought after to grow such plants. Despite a reasonable amount of information available in the literature on the changes of phytochemical concentrations in the roots of host plants following AM colonisation, very little is known about such processes in the aerial part of such plants. Furthermore, basil has hardly been studied as a host plant in AM research, and very little is known of its responsiveness to AM colonisation. As AMF are well known to improve phosphorus (P) uptake in their host plant, the first objective of this work was to obtain AM and non-mycorrhizal (NM) plants matched for tissue P concentrations and growth rates. Only under such conditions would it then be possible to separate benefits derived from improved plant P uptake from non-nutritional benefits. It was found that basil is highly responsive to P, and that under low or little P supply it is quite dependent on the AM symbiosis in order to grow. However, growth depressions were observed when growing basil in winter with Glomus intraradices, suggesting that the fungal symbiont can act as a strong sink of carbon (C) under such conditions. Thus, in order to obtain AM and NM plants with matched growth rates and tissue P concentrations, it was found that basil needed to be cultivated in summer in a soil/sand mixture with a ratio of 1:3 (w/w), along with 0.2 g/kg CaHPO4 and 25% of AM inoculum (AM plants). Under these conditions, AM plants grew as well as NM plants and G. caledonium and G. mosseae were shown to increase the concentrations of RA and CA in the shoots of basil, but not in roots. Such results were not an indirect effect of improved P uptake. In order to understand the mechanisms by which AMF increased RA and CA concentrations in basil, further experiments were set up to investigate the effect of 1) AM developmental stages, 2) nitrogen (N) supply and 3) phytohormone changes on the production of RA and CA in the shoots. None of these factors was found to contribute to increases in antioxidants in basil under AM symbiosis. Therefore, the mechanisms by which AMF affect RA and CA concentrations in basil still remain unknown. A final experiment was carried out to investigate the potential of an AM fungus to improve the growth of basil when challenged with a specific pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. basilici (Fob), which causes significant production losses. The results showed that inoculation of basil with G. mosseae not only improved plant growth compared to NM plants, but also conferred a protective effect against Fob. However, shoot antioxidant concentrations (RA, CA, total phenolics and essential oils) were not increased in AM plants compared to NM plants, and the mechanism of protection against Fob could not be elucidated. Due to the high variability of RA and CA concentrations obtained in AM plants in different experiments, it cannot be concluded that AMF confer an absolute advantage over uninoculated plants if the main concern is to obtain standardised concentrations of phytochemical in basil. On the other hand, the key results presented in this thesis do indicate that inoculating basil with AMF can be beneficial to improve its growth as well as antioxidant concentrations, compared to NM plants grown under similar conditions. Such results could be of potential interest to basil growers who wish to cultivate this medicinal herb organically (i.e. low P supply and no chemical fertilisers added). / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1330324 / Thesis (Ph.D) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2008

Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm / Fast dispersible tablets (FDTs) are solid single-unit dosage forms that are placed in the mouth and allowed to disperse or dissolve in the saliva without the need of water. The basic approach to formulating FDTs consists of adding a superdisintegrant to a tablet formulation. These tablets offer both the advantages of conventional tablets and liquid dosage forms along with distinctive properties which include accurate dosing, ease of administration, quick onset of action, enhanced bioavailability, and increased patient adherence. FDTs have been found to be effective in remedying therapeutic in-adherence caused by dysphagia (swallowing difficulties) particularly in paediatric and geriatric subjects. There is a strong correlation between therapeutic success and patient adherence especially with HIV/AIDS treatment regimens, consequently the dosage form should be patient friendly and devoid of unappealing characteristics. This study aimed at developing a cost effective fast dispersible tablet of lamivudine using alternative excipients and conventional techniques. Only conventional tablets and oral liquid dosage forms of lamivudine are available on the South African market. Two natural polymers reported to have superdisintegrating properties were selected to serve as multipurpose excipients in this study. The polymers were identified, characterised and compared using thermal, spectroscopic and micromeritic analytical tools. The polymer that displayed the best characteristics in terms of micromeritic, tableting and disintegrating properties was retained and used for the optimum formulation. The optimum formulation was composed of 150 mg of lamivudine, 23% w/w unripe banana powder and 2% w/w magnesium stearate. FDTs of lamivudine were obtained using the compression technique with and without wet granulation. The tablets were assessed as per the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) guidelines and other evaluation procedures pertaining to FDTs. The wet granulated tablets were found to be less friable and thus more resilient than the directly compressed tablets. In-vitro disintegration of the wet granulated tablets occurred within 50±3 sec in deionised water (pH 7) and 35±2 sec in a phosphate buffer solution (pH 6.8). Consequently, the innovative tablets fulfilled the core requirement of FDTs i.e. rapid disintegration. Drug release studies were carried out by analysing dissolution aliquots of the innovative tablets using a validated High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method, and comparing them to Aspen Lamivudine®, a conventional tablet of lamivudine presently on the South African market. Complete dissolution in deionised water (pH 7) was attained within 10 minutes and 30 minutes for the innovative tablets and Aspen Lamivudine® respectively.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising field in the quest to address health conditions. Green nanotechnology is a fairly new branch of nanotechnology, which aims to produce and utilize nanomaterials in a way that is safe for living organisms and their environment. Plant extracts are increasingly used in the green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which involves the reduction of sodium tetrachloroaurate (III) dehydrate by phytochemicals present in the plant extract. It is probable that the green synthesised AuNPs are more biocompatible than chemically synthesised AuNPs as biomolecules of plant origin are involved in the synthesis process. Therefore, this study aimed to explore various water extracts from indigenous South African plants, which included Perlagonium capitatum, Otholobium bracteolatum, Gerbera linnae, Morrella quercifolia, Searsia lucida, Phylica bubescens, Euclea racemosa, Tetragonia fruticosa, and Searsia glauca for their potential to synthesize AuNPs and to investigate their toxicity towards several microorganisms known to cause skin infections. These organisms play a significant role in delaying the healing of wounds. The antimicrobial properties of nanoparticles are increasing exploited in the production of wound treatments.