Al Mustansiriyah Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Determination of mineral composition of the selected vegetable lactuca sativa which is
commonly used as food. Macroelement Sodium (Na), Potassium (K) and Iron (Fe) were
analyzed using AAS and Flame-photometric techniques the microelement including Fe is
found to be )7.03 ppm(; The results of macroelements obtained having values Na (9.61 ppm)
and K (32.67 ppm); The results indicated that this vegetable has the potential to provide
essential nutrients to the human beings and it is found to be a good source of Fe, Na and K.
The present method is accurate, the average recovery of Na, K and Fe were 100 %, 100.6 %
and 105.8, respectively and precise the RSD is < 5%, <2 %,> 2% for Na, K and Fe
respectively.
Key words: lactuca sativa, Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), Flame photometry.

A new, stable and accurate UV spectrophotometric method was introduced for the
determination of Mefenamic acid content in pure pharmaceutical material and in tablet dosage
form. The method was based on the formation of a metal complex between Mefenamic acid
and Nickel (II), which showed to exhibit a maximum absorbance at 360 nm.
The analytical results obtained for both the pure compound and the four samples from
different pharmaceutical brands available in the Iraqi pharmaceutical market were validated
statistically.
A comparison of the results obtained for the brands under study has revealed that Mefenamic
acid content of the different brands was in good agreement with the labeled values and was
within the permitted allowed percentage limits according to the United States pharmacopeia.
Key words: Mefenamic acid; spectrophotometry; metal complex.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative, chronic disease presented by
both nonmotor and motor features. The neuronal loss which rich by dopamine in striatum was
the main cause for the PD motor symptoms. While neuronal loss in non-dopaminergic areas
support PD nonmotor. liraglutide (Glucagon like peptide-1 mimetic), have effect on CNS by
decreasing the number of neutrophils infiltration within CNS which reflect anti-inflammatory
characteristics in model of intracerebral haemorrhage in mice. This study represent an attempt
o investigate the potential therapeutic effect of liraglutide in male rats Parkinson’s disease
model. Thirty six adult male rats were divided into three equal groups. Rats in group A were
treated with saline intraperitoneally for 30 days. Meanwhile these rats in group B and group C
were treated with 6- hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) toxicant unilaterally intrathecal injection in
a dose of 8 μg/per rat in 2 μl distal water, to introduce Parkinson model in rats. Group B were
treated similar to that of group A with saline intraperitoneally for 30 days, while group C were
treated with liraglutide intraperitoneally for 30 days in a dose 25nmol/kg. Histological
changes were observed by light microscopy. The histopathological study showed that
neurotoxins, that is, 6-OHDA, caused marked hypertrophic changes, infiltration of
neutrophils, alterations of architecture, and even cell death in group B. Furthermore, many
neurons were shrunken, and darkly stained with small nuclei compared with normal vehicle
treated rats of group A. There is marked reversal of neuronal damage or neuronal alterations
observed with liraglutide (25 nmol/ kg) treated rats in group C.

Leiomyoma is a common benign tumor of female reproductive system arising from the
smooth muscle cells of uterus. About 17.8% of females in 40s age group and 77% of
hysterectomies found to have leiomyoma. It affects females in reproductive age and cause
pelvic pain, abortion, infertility, menorrhagia which in some cases ends by hysterectomy. In
this study the extrinsic apoptotic pathway was evaluated in patients with uterine leiomyoma
by measuring serum soluble Fas (sFas) and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNFα) in both
patients and control healthy women. Forty patients with leiomyoma from 22-52 years old
were involved in this study. Forty apparently healthy, their ages matched volunteers were
selected as a control. Four ml of venous blood sample was obtained from each, serum was
separated and serum concentration of sFas and TNFα measured using ELISA technique.
There was a highly significant increase in serum concentration of TNF-α in patients with
leiomyoma (mean 0.579pg/ml ± SE 0.039) than control group (mean 0.120pg/ml ± SE 0.007),
also there was a highly significant increase in serum concentration of sFas of patient (mean
0.326pg/ml ± SE 0.028) compared to control healthy subjects (mean 0.126pg/ml ± 0.025).
Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve for determination of TNFα and sFas cutoff
value shows that TNFα has cutoff value of ≥0.220pg/ml with 97.5% sensitivity and 100%
specificity for leiomyoma and accuracy rate of 99.6%. The sFas cutoff value is ≥0.154pg/ml
with 80% sensitivity and 82.5% specificity for leiomyoma and accuracy rate of 87.4%.

Background: the patient’s perceptions about hypertension play an important role to reach the
best control of this chronic disease. However, many hypertensive patients particularly the
elderly present with uncontrolled blood pressure, which is a leading factor for mortality.
Patient\'s knowledge and modifications of life style can contributes in the controlling of
hypertension and preventing their long-term complications.
Methods: Cross-sectional study, data from 212 hypertensive patients was collected from
medical outpatient clinics in Baghdad along period of more than one year. Level of
knowledge, attitude, perceptions and practice about hypertension were assessed using
questionnaire sheet prepared for this purpose.
Results: There were 212 hypertensive patients, 138 (65.1%) were women and 47 (34.9%)
were men. Mean ± standard deviation age of patients was 56.56 ± 9.58 years. Most of the
patients had completed high school (n = 179, 84.43%), and nearly half of them were have a
job as average (n = 114, 53.8%).
In general, more than half of participants revealed good knowledge, attitude and perception
about elevated blood pressure, but unfortunately there are still a cogent percent of Iraqi
patients present with poor knowledge and practice regarding to risk factors of hypertension,
benefits of life style modifications mainly exercise, and taking healthy diet. Patient\'s
knowledge, attitude, perception & practice were positively related to the educational level of
hypertensive patients.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated a non-convincing knowledge, attitude and perception
and poor practice about hypertension in patients with elevated blood pressure in the study
population. More efforts should be made to educate patients about the acquaintance of
hypertension and the suitable individual way of treatment.
Keywords: Hypertension, Patient’s knowledge, perception, attitude, practice.

A reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC) has been developed
for the determination of chlordiazepoxide in the pharmaceutical formulations . Separation was
achieved using supelco C18 column(25cm x 4.6 mm. 5 µm). The mobile phase (ethanol),
adjusted pH to 1.0 with 1N sulfuric acid and pumped at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min . The peaks
were detected at 310 nm. Linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 0.01- 0.20 mg/ml
.The method was statistically validated and RSD was found to be less than 1.5 % indicating
high degree of accuracy and precision of the proposed HPLC method. Due to its simplicity,
rapidness, high precision and accuracy, the proposed HPLC method may be used for
determining chlordiazepoxide in pure drug samples, and pharmaceutical dosage forms.
Keyword: HPLC, Chlordiazepoxide, Pharmaceutical formulations.

The renin angiotensin system (RAS) was involved in various metabolic processes including
insulin secretion, carbohydrate absorption and proliferation of adipose tissue. This study aims
to evaluate the effects of aliskiren on the absorption of glucose in rats with fructose-induced
metabolic syndrome. The results showed that treatment with aliskiren attenuates the increase
in body weight and improves fasting serum glucose, insulin, triglycerides and cholesterol
levels. Moreover, absorption of glucose was significantly decreased after oral glucose load in
high-fructose diet fed rats. In conclusion, aliskiren significantly reduces body weight, fasting
serum glucose, insulin, triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, and the rate of glucose
absorption after oral glucose load in high fructose-fed rats.

A series of sulfamethoxazole derivatives attached to heterocyclic ring such as 1,2-diazepane
(3), 1,3,4-oxadiazole (4), two pyrazoles (5,6), 1,2,4-triazine (7), 1,3,4-oxadiazine (8) and four
novel 1,3-oxazepines (14-17)were designed and synthesized in this research. The structures of
the newly prepared compounds were confirmedbased on a comprehensive characterization of
spectral data by applied (infrared, proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance
spectroscopy). Physicochemical properties also determined for each synthesized derivatives.
The finallyprepared compounds were tested for their anti-bacterial and fungal activity in
vitro. Four types of pathogenic bacteria with two types of yeast similar to fungi were used in
the evaluation. Each screened compounds showed perfect antimicrobial activity comparable
with sulfamethoxazole used as parent drug.
Key words: Synthesis, characterization, heterocycles, sulfamethoxazole, antimicrobial.

The aim of this work was to promote an intranasal mucoadhesive drug allocation system to
simplify the systemic delivery of ondansetron HCL (OND-HCl) for the immediate and sustain
prevention of repeated nausea and vomiting caused by the initial and repeated courses of
anticancer therapy. An in situ gel dosage form was used to raise the permanence time and
hence the absorption of OND-HCl from nasal mucosa. Temperature stimulated in situ gel
formulations were intended by cold method using polymers like kolliphor 407, chitosan and
HPMC E15. A mixture of polysorbate 20 and ethanol (1: 2 ratio) was used as solvent to
dissolve the drug. The pH of in situ gel solution was measured to pH range (4.5-6.5). The six
in situ gel formulas were characterized for gelation temperature, pH, viscosity, drug content,
mucoadhesion and dissolution release .The temperatures of conversion of all the formulas
solution to gel were within the range of 30–43ºC. The drug content of all six in situ gel
formulas showed drug content uniformity (99.15–99.76%). Dissolution release of the drug
from in situ gel formulas showed immediate and sustained release features with Higuchi
model and zero order model mechanisms .
Key words: in situ gel, OND-HCl, kolliphore 407, chitosan, HPMC E15.

Rosmarinus officinalis is one of the important bioactive medicinal plants belongs to labiatae
family. The aim is to identifying the essential oil and rosmarinic acid extracted from rosemary
leaves and to evaluate its anti bacterial activity. Gas Chromatography-Mass analysis was per
formed for essential oil of rosemary and HPTLC analysis was done for 90% methanolic extract
of rosemary leaves. Rosmarinic acid was detected and The essential oil content was 1.5% and
characterized with high amount of 1,8 cineol (53.63%) . The zone of inhibition of some bacteria
was estimated. Our findings showed that rosemary leaves has Good percentage of rosemary
phytochemicals (essential oil and rosmarinic acid) and has significant antibacterial activity
against different species of bacteria.
Keyword: Rosmarinus officinalis L., essential oil, GC/MS, rosmarinic acid.

A modify, fast, accurate and precise HPLC conditions were developed and validated for the
determination of dutasteride (DT) in niosomes derived from proniosomal gel. The work has
shown enough isolation for DT from other contents of the niosomes. The isolation of DT was
achieved on C18 column (3μm, 125 × 4.6 mm). The mobile phase was a mixture of
acetonitrile: water in a ratio of (50:50) and the flow rate was 1.5 mL per minute. The wave
length used to detect dutasteride was 210 nm and the ejection volume was 100 μL. The
calibration curve of concentrations range from 50 to 0.3 μg/mL obeys Beer-Lambert\'s law (R²
= 1) for DT. The limits of detection were 0.3 µg/mL for DT with high accuracy and precision
which approved that no interaction between the drug and other niosomal content unlike the
ordinary UV-spectroscopy and the reported HPLC procedure for DT.
Keywords: Acetonitrile, Dutasteride, Modified HPLC condition, Niosomes.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is considered as a general term for groups of idiopathic,
chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorders of the GIT. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can
be divided into two main diseases: Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD).
Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a hormone that is secreted from a pineal gland
and other tissues such as gastrointestinal tract (GIT). This study was intended to evaluate the
potential effectiveness of melatonin as an adjuvant to the standard treatment. This
interventional prospective randomized-controlled, open-label, single center study was carried
out on 30 patients visiting the Biological Unit/Baghdad Teaching Hospital/Medical City
Directorate, for their scheduled standard treatment for moderate to severe CD during the
period from August 2016 to March 2017. Ethical committee approval and patients written
consent were obtained. Hemoglobin (Hb) level in CD patients was significantly increased
after both regimen (standard treatment and melatonin adjuvant therapy), but no significant
difference in hemoglobin between the two groups. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
level was significantly decreased after both regimens (P<0.05) with no significant difference
was found between patients groups. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) level was not affected
after both regimens in CD patients. From the present study, a promising therapeutic strategy
emerged in respect to melatonin as adjuvant therapy in patients with CD which may suggest a
role in ameliorating disease process both subjectively and objectively thus optimize
therapeutic outcome.
Keyword: Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, Melatonin.

The public only views a few pharmacists as the foremost health care professionals who are
responsible for the utilisation of medicines to prevent or treat disease. The study aims to
explore the attitude of patients towards the practice and roles of community pharmacists and
to evaluate the services offered by community pharmacists working in Basra city. A total of
150 cross sectional surveys were given to patients who were visiting the community
pharmacies. SPSS version 17 was used to conduct the descriptive analysis. There was a
71.3% response rate, and 71% were males. 58% of the participants believed that the
pharmacists were businessmen.
Furthermore, 64.49% stated they first communicate with the physician to obtain answers to a
drug-related problem or question. A majority of the respondents (66%) stated that they
consulted their pharmacist in the case of minor health problems. Positive view regarding the
expanded role of the community pharmacists.Thus, to improve the practice of community
pharmacy and to implement pharmaceutical care successfully in community pharmacies in
Iraq, efforts should be concentrated towards addressing and identifying issues and promoting
the roles that community pharmacists have in monitoring drug therapy and in working as a
public drug information resource.
Key words: Community pharmacy, Attitude, Public, Health service

Uremicopruritus,0isochronic0itchingothat0occursoin0patientsowith0advancedoor0 end-stage
renal0disease.oIt0isoone0ofocommon0symptomsoinopatients00with00end-stage renal0
diseaseowith0approximatelyo60–90%0ofopatients0on0hemodialysis(HD)
suffering0fromothis0problem. This study wasodesigned0to evaluate theoefficacy0and safety
of prescribing Gabapentinoand0Omega-3 in combination or aloneofor0relieving
uremicopruritus0in Iraqi patients undergoing0hemodialysis. The resultsoshowed0that all the
threeoinvolved0regimens0(gabapentin, omega-3,0and the combinationoof0both drugs)
had0significantly reduced the pruritus score. Furthermore,0theocombination0was
significantlyosuperior0tooother0regimens in reducingopruritus 0score, owhile0no0significant
effect0wasoobserved0by oallothe regimensoon0interleukin-6oor0on parathyroid hormone
serum0levels.In Conclusion Gabapentin0100mgoplus01000mg0omega-30based fishooil
capsules containing 120mg0DHA and0180mg0EPA isosuperior0to each drug alone0in
reducing pruritus scoreoin0a0sample0of Iraqi0patients.
Keywords: Gabapentin, Omega-3, Uremic Pruritus, Hemodialysis