Caleb Firemp[ong

• Clinical and Medicinal Plant Biochemistry
• Lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Background Cancer continues to pose a significant threat to human well-being due to the overwhelming rate of morbidity and mortality associated with it. Hence, the quest for newer, effective and safer anticancer agents has become more crucial. Over the years, some medicinal plants have been used to treat abnormal tissue growths (tumours) in Ghana....

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to formulate a menantine hydrochloride (MH) sustained-release suspension. Methods: Menantine hydrochloride drug resin complex (MH-DRC) was prepared with strong acid cation exchange resin as carrier using water bath method. The MH-DRC was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffr...

Snakebites are rampant in Ghana, especially among the farmers, herdsmen, military recruits, hunters and rural dwellers, and the antisnake venoms (ASV) used in treating these bites are not locally produced but rather imported, which comes with a high cost, lack of constant supply and low specificity. The study was therefore aimed at isolating, purif...

Pirfenidone (PFND) is a recommended oral drug used to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, but have low bioavailability and high hepatotoxicity. The study, therefore, seeks to improve the therapeutic activities of the drug via increased bioavailability and reduced associated side effects by developing a novel drug delivery system. The electrostatic...

Purpose: To prepare ranitidine hydrochloride (RH) sustained-release suspension aimed at improving its safety, effectiveness and convenience of administration. Methods: The RH resinate suspension was prepared using bath method, with a cation- exchange resin as carrier. To obtain an ideal sustained release effect, RH resinates were coated with Eudrag...

Due to the low solubility and poor bioavailability of Ticagrelor (TIC), the current study developed a structured bioadhesive core-shell drug delivery system to address it. Ticagreior solid dispersion (T-SD) was fabricated using the uniaxial electrostatic spray method. Ticagrelor bio adhesive solid dispersion (T-BSD) was also prepared using the coax...

Recombinant human endostatin (rhES) is a protein drug with poor stability and short in vivo circulation time. The present study was therefore aimed at developing sustained-release lung targeted microspheres drug delivery system and evaluating its targeting efficiency using in vivo imaging techniques with quantum dots (QDs) as the imaging material....

Recombinant human interferon α-2b (rhINF-α-2b), like most proteins, has several shortcomings such as relatively short half-life, low therapeutic index, high circulating drug fluctuations, and rapid degradation which could hinder its effective delivery. Novel electrostatic spray and ion exchange drug-loading techniques were combined to formulate rhI...

Ethnopharmacological significance and aim Hura crepitans is commonly used to treat liver diseases in Nigeria and Ghana. Previous studies have supported its ethnomedicinal use in protecting the liver. The present study aimed at assessing the effect of H. crepitans stem bark on the subacute carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver damage in rats. M...

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to prepare a Clonidine Hydrochloride (CH) sustained-release suspension. Methods: The processes involved in the drug formulation included drug loading, impregnating and suspension preparation. Clonidine Hydrochloride drug-resin complexes (CH-DRC) were prepared using the bath method and the CH-DRC im...

Medicinal plants play a vital role in the healthcare of many people in Africa and other developing countries. Of these, Hura crepitans L. is used in some parts of Nigeria and Ghana in the management of liver diseases. This study evaluated the hepato-protective effects of the aqueous (AE) and ethanolic extracts (EE) of H. crepitans stem bark in CCl...

Liver diseases have now become a global canker due to increasing drug abuse and several viral infections. The current medicines on the market are woefully inadequate and limited in the application against these diseases. Fortunately, medicinal plants continue to serve as a potential source of drug discovery that could be explored to improve the sit...

Background and Objectives: Medicinal plants have become popular in the search ofa cure for various hepatopathies with a considerable number of herbal products being used for the management of liver ailments. However, most, including Hura crepitans (HC), have not been Original Research Article Owojuyigbe et al.; EJMP, 31(8): 1-16, 2020; Article no.E...

Herbal medicines are the main source of treatment of diseases in non-urban centres of the developing world. Secondary metabolites obtained from herbal sources contain bioactive phytochemicals, many of which have been the origin for the development of novel pharmaceutical drugs. Hura crepitans L. (Euphorbiaceae) or sandbox tree has been beneficial i...

Objectives: Cuminaldehyde self-emulsified nanoemulsion (CuA-SEN) was prepared and optimised to improve its oral bioavailability and antihepatotoxicity. Methods: Cuminaldehyde self-emulsified nanoemulsion was developed through the self-nanoemulsification method using Box-Behnken Design (BBD) tool while appropriate physicochemical indices were eva...

The current investigation aimed at formulating self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) to ameliorate oral bioavailability of a hydrophobic functional ingredient, limonene. Solubility test, compatibility test, and pseudo-ternary phase diagrams (PTPD) were adopted to screen the optimal compositions of limonene-SMEDDS (L-SMEDDS). The chara...

The prevalence of hyperuricemia is relatively high worldwide, and a great number of patients are suffering from its complications. 6-shogaol, an alkylphenol compound purified from the root of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), has been proved to possess the diverse pharmacological activities. However, its poor aqueous solubility usually lead to l...

Background Periplogenin, an active ingredient in Cortex Periplocae, is widely noted for its multiple biological activities; however, the metabolism of this compound has been scarcely investigated. The present report proposed the in vitro metabolic profiling and reaction pathways of periplogenin in rat liver microsomes. Method and Results The metab...

Punicic acid of pomegranate oil (PAP) has gained heightened interest due to several health benefits such as anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic and antiatherosclerotic properties. However, these bioactivities have been hampered by chemical instability, poor water solubility, rapid metabolism and low bioavailability of PAP. Therefore, the present study w...

6-Gingerol, an active herbal ingredient of ginger, has various bioactivities such as anti-neurodegenerative disease, anti-inflammatory and so on. The aim of the present study was to enhance the oral bioavailability and brain distribution of 6-Gingerol via polymeric micelles. A polymeric micelles drug delivery system of 6-Gingerol consisting of D-α-...

Hit, Lead & Candidate Discovery Punicic acid of pomegranate oil (PAP) has gained heightened interest due to several health benefits, such as anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, and antiatherosclerotic properties. However, these bioactivities have been hampered by chemical instability, poor water solubility, rapid metabolism, and low bioavailability of...

[6]-shogaol, an alkylphenol compound purified from the root and stem of ginger (Zingiber officinale), has attracted considerable interest due to its potential anticancer, antioxidative and antirheumatic properties. However, the oral bioavailability of [6]-shogaol has been severely limited because of its poor solubility. In this study, a significant...

The study was aimed at formulating self-assembled capsaicin prodrug nanoparticles (Cap-SSVE NPs) with improved bioavailability, increased antihyperlipidemic activity and less gastrointestinal mucosa irritations. The in vitro release profile of the developed Cap-SSVE NPs was stable in HCl solution (pH 1.2) and distilled water, but very susceptible i...

The purpose of this study was to develop a [6]-Gingerol-loaded self-microemulsifying drug delivery system ([6]-Gingerol-SMEDDS) for oral administration and enhanced bioavailability of the drug. The [6]-Gingerol-SMEDDS, consisting of oils (ethyl oleate), surfactant (Cremophor EL35) and co-surfactant (1,2-propanediol), showed an acceptable spherical...

An optimized perillaldehyde liposomal nanoformulation (PAH-LNF) was successfully applied to improve the pharmacological effect of perillaldehyde (PAH) in poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemia. Oral administration of PAH-LNF (240mg/kg per body weight) in rats significantly enhanced solubility and relative bioavailability (270.7%) compared to the free...

This study was aimed at preparing orally administered naringenin-loaded liposome for pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies in animal models. The liposomal system, consisting of phospholipid, cholesterol, sodium cholate, and isopropyl myristate, was prepared using the thin-film hydration method. Physicochemical characterization of naringen...

Aim: Ergosterol is a plant sterol with anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic activities, but is poorly soluble. In this study, we attempted to enhance its anti-tumor action and oral bioavailability via poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticle encapsulation. Methods: Ergosterol-loaded PLGA nanoparticles (NPs/Erg) were prepared using the emulsion/s...

Segetoside I is a plant-derived bisdesmosidic saponin from Vaccaria segetalis (Neck) with reported anticancer-related activities. This development has raised an interest in the therapeutic potential of segetoside I. Here, we report the in vitro and in vivo antitumor activities of segetoside I against some selected cancer cell lines (HepG2, human he...

Context Linalool (LL) is associated with numerous pharmacological activities. However, its poor solubility usually results in poor bioavailability, and further limited its applications. Objective To reduce volatilization and improve bioavailability of LL, linalool-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (LL-NLCs) were prepared. Materials and methods L...

This study reports the hypolipidemic effects of perillaldehyde-loaded self-nanoemulsifying delivery system (PAH-SNEDS) developed with D-Optimal experimental design based on a three component system: 40% w/w drug-oil phase, X1 (a mixture of perillaldehyde-isopropyl myristate/medium chain triglyceride, 1:1, w/w); 48% Surfactant, X2 (Kolliphor EL); an...

Introduction The quest for novel cancer drugs is one of the most significant studies in natural products, and Chinese herbs with its promising antitumor properties cannot be exempted from this chemotherapeutic bracket. This study was therefore aimed at piloting the use of receptor-rich lipid raft biomaterial as a mass screening tool for rapid isola...

A recently discovered receptor-rich lipid raft, which is linked to numerous transmembrane signal transduction pathways, has emerged as a medically significant biomaterial for screening antitumor agents. Compounds that interact with the biomaterial might potentially inhibit cancer cell growth, and thus be valuable as antitumor agents. Two standard a...

Capsaicin (CAP) is an effective drug in the treatment of pain and cancer. However, its practical administration has been limited due to poor aqueous solubility and bioavailability, as well as strong gastrointestinal irritation. The objective of this study is to improve the solubility and oral bioavailability of CAP by reducing irritation via hydrox...

Novel lipid raft stationary phase chromatography (LRSC), with lipid rafts that contain abundant tropomyosin-related tyrosine kinase A receptors immobilized on the stationary phase, was developed for a high-throughput screening of potentially active antitumor agents. Lestaurtinib was used as a model compound to determine the operational parameters o...

Titratable acidity (TA) and fermentation index (FI) are important quality indicators of cocoa beans. This paper attempted the simultaneous analysis of these indicators by electronic tongue (ET) and two multivariate calibrations. ET was used for data acquisition, while partial least squares (PLSs) and principal component support vector machine regre...

Background Capsaicin, as a food additive, has attracted worldwide concern owing to its pungency and multiple pharmacologic effects. However, poor water solubility and low bioavailability limited its application. This study aims to develop capsaicin-loaded microemulsion to enhance the oral bioavailability of the anti-neuropathic-pain component, caps...

This study innovatively prepared an effective capsaicin-loaded liposome, a nanoformulation with fewer irritants, for oral administration. The in vitro and in vivo properties of the liposomal encapsulation were investigated and the potential possibility of oral administration evaluated. The liposomal agent composed of phospholipid, cholesterol, sodi...

For the first time, a novel biological affinity separating system called lipid raft stationary phase chromatography (LRSC) was developed. It was employed to screen bioactive components from Chinese gallnut, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The LRSC was prepared by the addition of activated silica to Tris–HCl solution, which contains the isolat...

An efficient HPLC method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of ergosterol and 22,23-dihydroergosterol in Flammulina velutipes sterol-loaded microemulsions (FVSMs). The different chromatographic conditions for in vitro and in vivo determinations were investigated, with the application examined by tissue distribution. Chro...

This study innovatively investigated the anticancer effect of Flammulina velutipes sterols (FVS), the in vivo pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of FVS-loaded liposomes. The FVS consisting of mainly ergosterol-54.8% and 22, 23-dihydroergosterol-27.9% exhibited evident in vitro antiproliferative activity (Liver HepG-2-IC50 = 9.3 μg•mL-1; Lung...

The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-tumor effect of sterols initially separated from Flammulina velutipes and the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution after oral administration of F. velutipes sterol nanomicelles (FVSNs). F. velutipes sterol (FVS) consisted of mainly ergosterol (54.78%), 22,23-dihydroergosterol (27.94%) and ergost...

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between fluoride ions in drinking water and the incidence of dental fluorosis in some endemic areas of Bongo District, Ghana. Two hundred children were randomly selected from various homes and taken through a questionnaire. Their teeth were examined for the detection of dental fluorosis u...

Purpose To investigate the growth inhibition activity of Flammulina velutipes sterol (FVS) against certain human cancer cell lines (gastric SGC and colon LoVo) and to evaluate the optimum microemulsion prescription, as well as the pharmacokinetics of encapsulated FVS. Methods Molecules present in the FVS isolate were identified by gas chromatograp...

Traditionally, information on the diversity and uses of medicinal plants in Ghana is only made known through ethnobotanical studies by some individual researchers. Such studies, although few in number and isolated, have usually focused on the efficacy of plant extracts as well as their safety assessment. Consequently, scanty literature exists on th...

The effect of oral administration of two different composite diets prepared from maize, groundnut and soybean on some anthropometric, haematological and biochemical indices of albino rats was investigated. In this study, the material balance method under steady state conditions was employed to prepare a composite diet of one part of groundnut to ei...