Sports is the play of the spirit, the challenge of the mind and the perfection of the body not a contest in pharmacology. Drugs are used by athletes to produce a wide variety of effects leading to improved performance, increased aggressiveness, increased physical strength, delayed fatigue, increased mental concentration, increased body weight and to desensitize themselves to pain etc. Most athletes ultimately pay a heavy price for these benefits, often with their own life. To protect athlete's health and to avoid unfair means, International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned certain drugs which can be divided into five different groups like stimulants, narcotics, androgenic-anabolic steroids, diuretics and peptide hormones and analogues.

Trigonella foenum Qraecum (Fenugreek) in the form of unroasted and roasted powdered seeds was given in low (2 g/kg) and high (6 g/kg) dose to normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Both the unroasted and roasted forms produced a significant fall in various serum lipids like total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and VLDL cholesterols in normal rats; decreased their raised levels and increased HDL cholesterol in the diabetic rats.

In izolated vas deferens of guinea pig, verapamil in low concentrations (2 x 10-7 M and 2 x 10-6 M) produced leftward shift of the concentration-response curves and enhancement of the maximal response to acetylcholine (ACh), while higher concentration (2 x 10-5M) produced significant rightward shift of the concentration response curve and depression of the maximal response. Lower concentration (2 x 10-7 M) of verapamil produced leftward shift of concentration res 10. D onse curves of norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) while higher concentration (2x10-5M) produced significant rightward shift of the concentration response curves and depression of the maximal responses. Verapamil (2 x 10-7 M, 2 x 1 0-6M and 2 x 1 O-5M) produced concentration dependent rightward shift of the concentration response curve and depression of the Faximal response to potassium chloride (KCI) Nifedipine (2 x 10-7 M, 2 x 10-6 M and 2 x 10-5 M) produced concentration dependent rightward shift of the concentration response curves and depression of the maximal response to NE, ACh, DA and KCI. Both verapamil and nifedipine produced concentration dependent inhibition of the electrical field stimulation-induced contractile responses in guinea pig isolated vas deferens preparation. It is suggested that the voltage-operated calcium channels are more sensitive to both the calcium channel blockers than the receptor-operated calcium channels. Nifedipine is more potent than verapamil in antagonising receptor-operated calcium channels.

Cauvery 100, an ayurvedic formulation was used to treat indomethacin induced ulcers in rats. The levels of hexosamine and sialic acid showed marked increase in ulcer while hexose and fucose did not show any change.However, on treatment with Cauvery 100 for 15 days, the hexosamine and sialic acid levels were brought back to normal. Asimilar result was observed in the activity of the enzyme pepsin. The hormone gastrin was increased in ulcer and was brought back to near normal levels on Cauvery 100 treatment. The tritiated thymidine uptake after 48 hrs of injection showed decreased levels in ulcer, while Cauvery 100 treatment had a similar uptake as that of the controls.From these results it is evident that Cauvery 100 is a promising antiulcer agent,

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) offers new and exciting ways for examining biological phenomena in vivo and H, 13C and 31P NMR spectroscopy has been employed in metabolic studies on intact cells, tissues and organs as well as on whole organisms. In the present study 31PNMR studies were conducted to understand the effect of various drugs on the energy metabolism of filarial parasite. The 31PNMR at 22(C during perfusion with Ringer's solution saturated with N2 containing 5% CO: were composed of 12 peaks. Based on the chemical shift analysis of the intact parasites, the phosphorus component included sugar phosphates, nucleoside diphosphosugars, glycerophosphoryl choline, glycerophosphoryl ethanolamine, phosphoenolpyruvate and nucleotides mono, di and tri phosphates etc. Further standardisation of the perfusion method with normal adult filariids and male, female adult filarial worms separately has been carried out. In vivodrug administration using DEC (standard microfilaricidal drug for filariasis) at 250 mg/kg, i.p. x 5 days showed changes in the content of the 31PNMR peaks as compared with spectra of normal parasites.

The anticonvulsant activity of diazepam given alone or in combination with diphenylhydantoin (DPH) or di-n propylacetate (DPA) was evaluated in pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) and bicuculline-induced convulsions in male mice. DPH did not influence the seizures induced by either convulsants, but potentiated the anticonvulsant activity of diazepam against PTZ induced convulsions. However, the anticonvulsant activity of diazepam against bicuculline- induced convulsions was not influenced by pretreatment with DPH. On the other hand, pretreatment with DPA caused potentiation of the anticonvulsant activity of diazepam against both PTZ and bicuculline-induced seizures. These data suggest that the enhancement of the anti PTZ activity of diazepam by DPH might be related to an increase in the total number of specific benzodiazepine binding sites, while the anti-bicuculline effect of diazepam does not seem to involve in interaction with benzodiazepine receptor sites. Furthermore, the data also propose that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic mechanisms may mediate the DPA potentiation of diazepam anticonvulsant activity against PTZ and bicuculline-induced convulsions.

The roots and leaves of Butea frondosa (BF) was evaluated for ocular anti-inflammatory activity in rabbits. Experimentally induced ocular inflammation manifested as rise in intraocular pressure, leucocytosis and miosis following the breakdown of blood aqueous humor barrier. The study involved the assessment of anti-inflammatory activity of BF preparations by determination of percent reduction in total leucocyte count at various time intervals. The arkas was prepared using the two parts of the plant. Commercially available eye drops of flurbiprofen and a marketed BF arka were used to compare these arkas. Statistical evaluation revealed significant difference between the aqueous preparations (P < 0.05). However, gel formulations of BF leaves arka and flurbiprofen prepared using a commercially available polymer revealed no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). Moreover, the gels revealed the effect until 24 hours.

The present study investigates the influence of the lactational state on some hepatic xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes of adult female mouse. Primiparous nursing mothers were sacrificed in the middle of and at the end of the 21 day lactational period i.e. 2 and 3 weeks postpartum respectively and the livers excised. Non-lactating virgin female mice of the same age group were used as the controls and sacrificed along with the experimental groups. Livers from the nursing mothers showed significantly higher activities of glutathione S-transferase (P<0.001) and glutathione reductase (P<0.01) compared to the non-lactating controls. Acid soluble sulfhydryl content (of which 90% is glutathione) and P-450 and bs contents were lower in the maternal liver than in the control (P<0.001). Glutathione peroxidase activity was not affected by the lactational state. The weight of livers of the lactating mice were greater than that of the control mice (P<0.01). The observed differences in some hepatic enzyme activities suggest that differences exist in the rates and extent of hepatic detoxication during this physiological state.

Comparative serum levels of ampicillin and sulbactam were determined in six healthy male subjects after single oral administration of 2 x 375 mg test (Torrent formulation) and reference (Pfizer formulation) sultamicillin tablets in a double-blind cross-over study. The mean peak serum ampicillin concentration of 8.24 (g/ml was observed at 1.38 h from the test sultamicillin tablet and was similar to that of reference sultamicillin tablet. In case of sulbactam, the mean peak serum concentration of 7.50 (g[R1]/ml reached at 1.46 h from the test tablet and was insignificantly different than that of the reference tablet. The pharmacokinetic parameters of ampicillin and sulbactam from the test and reference sultamicillin tablets were comparable without significant variation. The mean relative bioavailability of ampicillin and sulbactam from the test sultamicillin tablets were 93.32 and 100.73%, respectively.

Different anaesthetic agents are used to record the rat electrocardiogram which is a commonly used parameter for various pharmacological and toxicological studies. In the present study, light ether anaesthesia was administered to the control group and the effects of other commonly used anaesthetic agents were compared with that of control group. It was observed that light ether and pentobarbitone anaesthesia produced minimal cardiac effects whereas urethane, chloralose, moderate and deep ether anaesthesia produced significant fall in heart rate and other cardiac toxicities. Hence, light ether anaesthesia is advisable to be used in acute experiments of short duration and pentobarbitone where anaesthesia of long duration is desired while recording rat electrocardiogram.

Percutaneous absorption of naproxen from three different ointment bases viz, water washable transparent carbopol gel, water soluble PEG and oleagenous petroleum jelly bases in rats was evaluated indirectly by estimating the % unabsorbed drug at different time intervals after the application of the ointments. Rate of drug absorption (Ka) was faster from gel base (0.36h-1), followed by PEG (0.26h-1) and petroleum jelly (0.12h-1) bases with the corresponding absorption half-lives (t1/2) of 1.93 hrs, 2.67 hrs and 5.78 hrs respectively. The same order of drug absorption was also observed from the three different bases in the in viw plasma concentration time profiles indicating a good correlation between in vivo and % unabsorbed drug studies.

The effect of low dose felodipine on serum cholesterol of rabbits fed on atherogenic diet was studied. Total plasma cholesterol was estimated at the beginning and at the end of 10 weeks of diet/drug administration. There was a significant increase in mean serum cholesterol level of rabbits receiving atherogenic diet with vehicle from 62.23( 5.12 mg/dl to 165.75( 13.62 mg/dl, whereas corresponding values for the rabbits receiving atherogenic diet with felodipine was from 66.55(4.53 mg/dl to 100.5% 6.91 mg/dl. The rise in 10 weeks serum cholesterol level in latter group was significantly low (P < 0.001). The drug/vehicle has no significant effect on serum cholesterol of rabbits receiving standard diet. Thus early low dose felodipine has a significant cholesterol lowering effect.