Vol 70, No 4 (2021)

To improve the mechanisms of state drug trafficking regulation, certain changes in Russian legislation are required not only to simplify the process of drug trafficking and to decriminalize the actions of medical and pharmaceutical workers, but also to introduce current approaches to treating pain syndrome into medical practice, to expand the range of narcotic drugs and to optimize their need calculation. The stated need for narcotic drugs placed under international control in several countries was studied; priorities were identified in the range of legal narcotic analgesics, and their availability was explored in different regions of the world, including in Russia.

Introduction. The genus Astragalus L. belonging to the legume (Fabaceae) family is represented by a wide variety of life forms and has about 3000 species. Saponins, flavonoids, and polysaccharides are the main biologically active substances (BASs) of plants of the genus Astragalus. Among the related compounds, amino acids (AAs) that are widely distributed in nature and participate in the regulation of different life processes in plants and animals are of interest. The search for new promising sources of AAs generates scientific interest and has practical significance in expanding the range of officinal medicinal plant raw materials. From this point of view, it is relevant to investigate the amino acid composition of Astragalus herb and to quantify this group of BASs in the examined samples. Objective: to comparatively study the amino acid composition of five Astragalus species growing in the Saratov Region Material and methods. The investigation objects were the herb samples of Astragalus henningii (Stev.) Klok., Astragalus varius S.G. Gmel., Astragalus testiculatus Pall., Astragalus dasyanthus Pall., and Astragalus zingeri Korsh., which had been collected in the Saratov Region in 2020-2021. Qualitative analysis was carried out using thin-layer chemical chromatography (TLC) in the n-butanol - glacial acetic acid - water (35:35:10:20) system. The reagent for detection was a 2% ninhydrin ethanol solution. The amount of free AAs was measured by a spectrophotometric method on a SHIMADZU UV-1800 spectrophotometer (Japan) at an analytical wavelength of 568 nm. Results. TLC was used to determine the amino acid composition of the aqueous extracts of the herb of the examined Astragalus species. Asparagine and proline were detected in all the samples analyzed. Nine amino acids, eight of which were significantly identified as arginine, asparagine, proline, glutamic acid, threonine, valine, methionine, and phenylalanine, were first found in the extracts from the herb of Astragalus henningii (Stev.) Klok., Astragalus varius S.G. Gmel., and Astragalus testiculatus Pall. The highest content of AAs was established to be in the aqueous extract from the herb of Astragalus henningii (Stev.) Klok. (5.50%) and Astragalus testiculatus Pall. (5.23%) and the lowest one was in Astragalus zingeri Korsh. (1.67%). Conclusion. The composition and quantification of the content of AAs in the examined samples show that the herb of these plants along with other BASs may be a promising source of AAs. The findings of this investigation can be used when assessing the identity and high quality of the herb of the Astragalus species analyzed.

Musculoskeletal system diseases affect not only the elderly, but also the young who belong to the economically active population. These diseases are almost always accompanied by pain and limited mobility, which negatively affects quality of life and its expectancy, including those in Arab countries. Among the musculoskeletal system diseases, rheumatoid arthritis is widespread among low- and middle-income groups, especially among those with lower socioeconomic status. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the mainstay of treatment for musculoskeletal diseases in the Arab countries. Elderly people (over 65 years old) take NSAIDs almost daily. At the same time, many patients do not have complete information about the drugs, their adverse reactions, interaction with other groups of drugs, and they do not know or cannot calculate the correct dosage of drugs and the frequency of their administration. Today, the main problems with the use of NSAIDs are associated with lack of patients' awareness of their adverse reactions, drug interactions, and the possibility of further pharmacocorrection. The identified problems with the use of NSAIDs in the Arab countries suggest that selective anti-inflammatory drugs should be designed for systemic administration. They are characterized as drugs with the lowest spectrum of adverse reactions, the low frequency of administration and, as a result, can be recommended for patients with certain concomitant diseases, for example, those in the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, etc.

Introduction. Compounds based on the 1,3-diazine cycle have different types of biological activity. Many of them have shown themselves to good advantage in the pharmaceutical market as effective and safe medicines. The production of new compounds based on the pyrimidine core and the study of their biological activity are an urgent area. Objective: to evaluate the in silico and in vivo acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity of 5-butyl-1,2-diphenyl-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-4-sodium olate. Material and methods. The acute toxicity of the test compound was predicted using the local version of the GUSAR software. In vivo acute toxicity was determined in outbred male albino mice. Computer-aided screening of biological activity was performed using the PASS program located on a web service that was freely available via the Internet. Two models (a murine formalin-induced paw edema model and a rat cotton pellet-induced granuloma model) were included in the study to experimentally evaluate anti-inflammatory activity. Results. Predicted and experimental data on acute toxicity correlate with each other. The test compound belongs to the class of practically non-toxic ones. Biological activity screening with the PASS program yielded data on putative anti-inflammatory activity. Studies of in vivo anti-inflammatory activity showed that 5-butyl-1,2-diphenyl-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-4-sodium olate had a pronounced anti-inflammatory activity. Conclusion. The results of computer simulation could determine the acute toxicity of the new 5-butyl-1,2-diphenyl-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-4-sodium olate and identify its potential biological activity. It has been experimentally proven that the test compound has low toxicity and exhibits a pronounced anti-inflammatory activity.