Intravenous β-artemether formulation (ARM NLC) as a superior alternative to commercial artesunate formulation.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the in vivo pharmacodynamic efficacy of intravenously administered artemether nanostructured lipid carrier (ARM NLC) with commercial artesunate (C-AST) at different dose levels.


METHODS
The study compared the in vivo pharmacodynamic efficacy of ARM NLC with C-AST in a murine model. For this study, the Peters 4 day suppressive test was adopted. Plasmodium berghei was the causative organism for inducing malaria in mice. The efficacies of the formulations were evaluated on the basis of percentage parasitaemia in, and survival of, mice.


RESULTS
In comparison with the C-AST formulation, ARM NLC demonstrated superior activity in terms of reduction in parasitaemia and increased survival.


CONCLUSIONS
Although both formulations were found to be effective in reducing parasitaemia in the murine model, ARM NLC was found to be superior. The study clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of this novel alternative to existing artesunate dosage forms.
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology,  Institute of Chemical Technology, N. P. Marg, Matunga, Mumbai 400019,  India.
Sushant
S
Patil
Medha
M
Joshi
Sulabha
S
Pathak
Shobhona
S
Sharma
Vandana
V
Patravale
D061605:Administration, Intravenous; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D000077549:Artemether; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D000077332:Artesunate; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000187:drug effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins; D000077332:Artesunate; D000077549:Artemether