FRANKINCENSE OIL-FACTS

FRANKINCENSE OIL-REAL FACTS

There are numerous studies have been conducted with the essential oil frankincense which is the major extract of Boswellia Tree.

There is a Biblical concept about the oil that some wise men gifted it to Jesus as it has numerous medicinal values.

The oil is called as Suva in Hindi and kumanjam (குமஞ்சம் ) in Tamil. There are many studies have been carried out with this oil and found that many of its medicinal benefits such as anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects are due to its content known as Boswellic Acid.

Boswellic acid is found to have the effects of stop bleeding, speed up the process of healing, and reduce inflammation.

As several studies have proved that there are links between inflammation and cancer this concept results with a belief that boswellic acid can reduce the incidence of cancer. But further studies are necessary to confirm this. Yet the frankincense oil has not been approved by the FDA as a cancer cure.

The anti-inflammatory effects of frankincense oil can be effectively used to treat Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Bronchial asthma, and Crohn's disease(inflammation of the small intestine).

The anti-inflammatory effects of the boswellic acid in frankincense oil are due to the inhibition of an inflammatory enzyme known as 5-lipoxygenase. Also further study has proved that boswellic acid removes free radicals and cytokines and prevents them to produce inflammations at the target cells.

NEWS UPDATE:ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES-PROS AND CONS

E-CIGARETTES-ARE THEY HARMFUL?

In 2003 a Chinese pharmacist has invented a handheld inhaler device to inhale or vape nicotine contain liquid as an alternate for conventional smoking. The device came into the market in 2004. When it was introduced as an alternative to conventional cigarette smoking or stop smoking it rapidly picked up the market. The sales increased exponentially in Europe and America.

The device contains a liquid known as e-cigarette liquid which mainly contains nicotine along with glycerine, propylene glycol and other flavouring agents.

But unfortunately, recent studies have proved that vaping(inhaling) nicotine is as harmful as or more harmful than conventional smoking.

These vaping cigarettes have been found that they make the oral and buccal areas more prone to be damaged by gum diseases and oral cancer. These e-cigarettes cause more damages to mouth cells than tobacco smoking.

The e-cigarettes are handheld battery-operated devices that contain a heating device a cartridge full of liquid which can vaporize while the person puff it and the vapour is inhaled. The liquid contains nicotine as equal to the tobacco.

It is found that the menthol flavoured e-cigarette nicotine causes more damages than the non-flavoured conventional cigarettes.

 

NEWS UPDATE:CONTROLLED GLUCOSE DELIVERY BENIFITS DIABETICS

TYPE 2 DIABETES AND GLUCOSE

Type-2 diabetes is the condition in which the blood glucose level is elevated due to insufficient secretion of insulin from the pancreatic beta isle cells.

A recent study has revealed sweet news that administering controlled pulses of glucose has the power to restore normal insulin production and prevent the development of type-2 diabetes.

The study has been conducted by Dr.Joseph McKenna, from Florida State University and colleagues, and published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

We all know that insulin is secreted by the Langerhans Islets(beta islets) of the pancreas. For a full study of diabetes please refer the post-1 in this blog.

In healthy individuals, beta islets release insulin in a pulsatile manner whenever glucose enters into the blood. Glucose enters the system with two sources. The first source is food that is absorbed from the digestive system. Another source is glucose that is generated and secreted from the liver which is endogenous.

The pulses of insulin released from the islets of pancreas restrict the amount of glucose released from the liver as well as regulate the absorption of glucose by our body tissues.

However, in people with diabetes, this regulation is impaired and the islets of the pancreas are no more responding to glucose secretion either from liver or from the digestive system. This eventually leads to hyperglycemia an elevated glucose level in the blood which is known as diabetes mellitus.
High levels of glucose or splash entry of glucose may cause over-stimulation of the islets and may cause damages or blunt their sensitivity.
A newer study has revealed a controlled entry of glucose into the system may repair the islets of the pancreas and can make them more responsive to secret sufficient insulin.
A daily intake of 15gms of glucose may be healthy for a type-2 diabetic patient.

ROLE OF mRNA IN DM

A new study in mice has been revealed that micro RNA may be useful in treating type-2 diabetes in humans. A report from Xiaolin Lin of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China has been revealed in PLOS Genetics.

The study found that the serum of type 2 diabetic patients had lower levels of mRNA (miR-155) than healthy people. This suggests that this miR-155 might be involved in blood sugar control and diabetes.

The study shows that the miR-155 dampening some molecules which are interfering with the ability of insulin to respond to the higher glucose levels. Hence it is concluded that a lower level of this type of mRNA causes unresponsiveness of insulin to sugar level.

CONCEPTS OF PHARMACODYNAMICS

PHARMACODYNAMICS-AN OUTLINE

It is very interesting to know about the drug which has been taken into our body how it acts against our body's physiology.

While pharmacokinetics is described in simple terms as the body vs the drug, pharmacodynamics on the contrary means simply the opposite term the drug vs. the body.

The concepts of pharmacodynamics include the theories of receptor reactions, mechanisms of therapeutic and toxic actions, and dose-response relationships.

RECEPTOR REACTIONS

Receptors are macro-molecules typically made out of proteins that interact with either an endogenous substance or an exogenous substance to mediate a pharmacological or physiological effect.
Receptors are functioning by ligand(an endogenous or exogenous substance) and activation of an effector messenger system
Effectors transduce a stimulus produced as a result of drug-receptor interactions into a physiologic effect. There are four types of effector mechanisms:-
1.Transmembrane
Some endogenous ligands such as insulin cannot enter inside the cell instead they interact with the outer component of its receptor present on the cell. This interaction produces a stimulus that is transduced into the inner component of the receptor present inside the cell that contains the enzyme tyrosine kinase to produce a physiologic effect that is the entry of glucose into the cell.
2.Ligand-Gated Ion Channels
When an active drug specialized for these kinds of receptors binds to them that makes a series of conductance of effects to open the ion gates situated by the sides of the receptors to produce powerful ion influxes and effluxes.
The best examples are benzodiazepines that make Cl- ion influx and acetylcholine that make Na+ ion influx.
3.Intracellular
In these types the ligands or substances react with the cellular receptors to form receptor complexes and enter inside the cell and interact directly on the DNA which causes changes in gene expressions. (e.g.)Thyroxine and steroid hormones.
4.Second Messenger Systems
Drugs bind to receptors that cause the activation of a second messenger system that involves G-proteins.
The second messengers the G-proteins such as Guanosine Tri Phosphates (GTP) and Guonosine Di Phosphates allow cell surface receptor signals to be converted and amplified into a physiologic cellular response.
There are three types of second messenger systems that follow below:-
1.Cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate(cGMP)
These are one of the major second messenger systems responsible for many physiologic cell responses such as ion channel conductance, glycogenolysis, and cellular apoptosis a process of older cell deaths by DNA defragmentation.
cGMP also causes vasodilation and increased blood flow. This action is well demonstrated by some erectile stimulating drugs like sildenafil(Viagra) which causes accumulation of cGMP to dilate the blood vessels of the penis to get more blood to flow into it for a perfect erection.
cGMP is produced by the enzyme guanylyl cyclase from GTP and is reconverted back into GTP by a cGMP specific Phospho Di Esterase(PDE).
2.cyclic Adenosine Mono Phosphate(cAMP)
the cAMP is a second messenger that is produced by adenylyl cyclase from ATP(adenosine triphosphate).cAMP involves many physiological effects such as glucose regulation.
3.Inositol Tri Phosphate (IP3)
This is produced by the enzyme Phospholipase-C. It is mostly used in signal transduction, and lipid signaling in biological cells.

Mechanism Of Therapeutic and Toxic Action

These mechanisms involve a drug binding to a receptor in order to stimulate or inhibit it.

A drug that binds with a receptor in order to stimulate and produce a maximum 100% biological effect is known as a Full Agonist.

A drug that binds with a  receptor in order to inhibit and block the biological effects is known as an Antagonist.
A drug that does not stimulate a receptor to a maximum extent and not to produce a 100% biological effect no matter whatever its concentration is known as Partial Agonist. 
If an antagonist binds to the same receptor site of an agonist competitively and reversibly is known as Competitive Antagonist.
If an antagonist binds to the different receptor sites of an agonist non competitively and irreversibly is known as Noncompetitive Antagonist.
A competitive antagonist can be overcome by increasing the concentration of the agonist. The high concentration of the agonist can replace the reversibly bound antagonist from the receptor site.
A non-competitive antagonist cannot be overcome by increasing the concentration of the agonist.
A drug's maximum efficacy is reduced thus by the presence of a non-competitive antagonist.

Dose-Responce Relations

Efficacy is defined as the ability of a drug to produce the expected biological response. A drug is said to be more efficacious if it produces the required biological response at a maximum level independent of the dosage quantity given.

On the contrary potency is defined as the minimum quantity of the drug to produce the required biological response. A drug is more potent if it produces the required biological response with a minimum quantity of dosage.

In simple terms, efficacy is a qualitative measurement whereas potency is a quantitative measurement

Examples can be described as follows:-

If two drugs A and be B both are claimed to reduce a person's heart rate by 35% and then we can say both are equally efficacious

If drug A requires 30mg to produce a heart rate effect of 35% while drug B requires 50mg to produce the same effect then drug A is said to be more potent than drug B.

The concentration of the drug required to occupy 50% of the receptor is known as the dissociation constant (Kd)

The concentration of the drug required to produce 50% of the maximum response is known as EC50.