Chromatographic Detection and Determination of Cyproheptadine and Dexamethasone as Adulterants in Weight Gain Supplements.

Background: The increasing popularity of herbal medicines and dietary supplements has raised concern about potential adulteration with pharmaceutical drugs.

Objective: To detect and determine cyproheptadine (CYP) and dexamethasone (DEX) as adulterants in weight gain herbal supplements found in the Iraqi market.

Methods: Nine herbal supplements marketed as natural weight gainers were purchased from local pharmacies and were screened using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for qualitative and quantitative detection of CYP and DEX.

High-Throughput Screening Platforms in the Discovery of Novel Drugs for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are incurable and debilitating conditions that result in progressive degeneration and/or death of nerve cells in the central nervous system (CNS). Identification of viable therapeutic targets and new treatments for CNS disorders and in particular, for NDDs is a major challenge in the field of drug discovery. These difficulties can be attributed to the diversity of cells involved, extreme complexity of the neural circuits, the limited capacity for tissue regeneration, and our incomplete understanding of the underlying pathological processes.

Optimization of gold nanoparticle-based real-time colorimetric assay of dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity.

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV also referred to as CD-26) is a serine protease enzyme with remarkable diagnostic and prognostic value in a variety of health and disease conditions. Herein, we describe a simple and real-time colorimetric assay for DPP-IV/CD-26 activity based on the aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with the peptide substrates: Gly-Pro-Asp-Cys (GPDC) or Val-Pro-ethylene diamine-Asp-Cys (VP-ED-DC). Cleavage of the substrates by DPP-IV resulted in aggregation of the AuNPs with accompanying color change in the solution from red to blue that was monitored using either a UV-visible spectrophotometer or by the naked eye.