Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

Determination of Site of Absorption of Propranolol in Rat Gut Using In Situ Single-Pass Intestinal Perfusion

Previously, permeability and site of intestinal absorption of propranolol have been reported using the Ussing chamber. In the present study, the utility of Single-Pass Intestinal Perfusion to study permeability and site of intestinal absorption of propranolol was evaluated in rats. Drug permeability in different regions of rat intestine viz. duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon was measured. Propranolol (30 μg/ml) solution was perfused in situ in each intestinal segment of rats. Effective permeability (Peff) of propranolol in each segment was calculated and site of absorption was determined. The Peff of propranolol in rat duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon was calculated to be 0.3316×10-4 cm/s, 0.4035×10-4cm/s, 0.5092×10-4 cm/s and 0.7167×10-4 cm/s, respectively. The above results suggest that permeability of propranolol was highest through colon compared to other intestinal sites, which is in close agreement to that reported previously. In conclusion, in situ single pass intestinal perfusion can be used effectively to study intestinal permeability as well as site of intestinal absorption of compounds in rats

Influence of a niosomal formulation on the oral bioavailability of acyclovir in rabbits

The purpose of this research was to prepare acyclovir niosomes in a trial to improve its poor and variable oral bioavailability. The nonionic surfactant vesicles were prepared by the conventional thin film hydration method. The lipid mixture consisted of cholesterol, span 60, and dicetyl phosphate in the molar ratio of 65:60:5, respectively. The percentage entrapment was ∼11% of acyclovir used in the hydration process. The vesicles have an average size of 0.95 µm, a most probable size of 0.8 µm, and a size range of 0.4 to 2.2 µm. Most of the niosomes have unilamellar spherical shape. In vitro drug release profile was found to follow Higuchi’s equation for free and niosomal drug. The niosomal formulation exhibited significantly retarded release compared with free drug. The in vivo study revealed that the niosomal dispersion significantly improved the oral bioavailability of acyclovir in rabbits after a single oral dose of 40 mg kg−1. The average relative bioavailability of the drug from the niosomal dispersion in relation to the free solution was 2.55 indicating more than 2-fold increase in drug bioavailability. The niosomal dispersion showed significant increase in the mean residence time (MRT) of acyclovir reflecting sustained release characteristics. In conclusion, the niosomal formulation could be a promising delivery system for acyclovir with improved oral bioavailability and prolonged drug release profiles