Immune-enhancing agents in autoimmune skin diseases – A review

Immunosuppressive drugs are the main stay of treatment for autoimmune dermatoses. The main disadvantage of these drugs is the increased susceptibility to life-threatening infections. Hence, in recent years, there has been an enthusiastic search for newer groups of drugs that can reduce this risk. Immune enhancing agents are considered as the key players of future. Immune enhancers function by activating various elements of the immune system and thereby amplifying the immune responses. They can be specific or non-specific in action. The main autoimmune dermatoses where the benefits of these drugs have so far been utilized include alopecia areata, vitiligo, psoriasis, lichen planus, and discoid lupus erythematosus. Immunostimulants are available in both topical and systemic forms. Topical immune- enhancing agents include contact sensitizers (diphenylcyclopropenone, dinitrochlorobenzene, and squaric acid dibutyl ester), anthralin, topical zinc, and interferons. Systemic agents include levamisole, zinc, probiotics, and so on. The exact mechanism of action of some of these drugs and other autoimmune conditions where they can be benefited is not completely understood. Another therapeutic agent that may come up in the future is individualized vaccines. Let us look forward to the days when individualized vaccines work wonders in the management of autoimmune diseases.

Spontaneous Regression of Palmar Warts after Suffering from Diffuse Contact Dermatitis against Alkyl Bromide

Contact immunotherapy with several sensitizing chemicals such as diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) or squaric acid dibutyl ester (SADBE) have been used for the treatment of recalcitrant or multiple warts. Here, we report a case of multiple verrucae vulgaris (VV) on the palm which spontaneously resolved after the development of systemic contact dermatitis against alkyl bromide. We considered that our case accidentally mimics contact immunotherapy against multiple VV. VV sometimes regress spontaneously, which may be triggered by accidental contact dermatitis, as shown in our case.

Esterification of malic acid on various catalysts

Objectives. The study aims to identify the optimal choice of an effective catalyst for the esterification of malic acid to produce esters of high purity. Methods. To determine the qualitative and quantitative composition of reaction masses, the following analysis methods were used: mass-spectroscopy (using FinniganTrace DSQ device with NIST 2002, Xcalibur 1.31 Sp 5 database) and gas–liquid chromatography (using the Kristall 2000M software and hardware complex). Results. Esters of malic acid and butyl alcohol of normal structure were synthesized using the following catalysts: sulfuric, orthophosphoric, p-toluenesulfonic acid, Amberlyst 36 Dry, Amberlyst 36 Wet, KU-2-FPP, and KIF-T. The obtained products were analyzed by gas–liquid chromatography. The structure of the products was confirmed by mass spectrometry. Schemes for the formation of byproducts are proposed. The yields and purity of the malic acid butyl esters obtained using different catalysts were evaluated. The results show that the heterogeneous catalyst Amberlyst 36 Dry is optimal for obtaining a pure malic acid ester with a maximum yield. Conclusions. The results show that during the esterification of malic acid with butyl alcohol of normal structure, byproducts, such as esters of fumaric and maleic acids, are formed using different catalysts. An accumulation of byproducts occurs as a result of reactions of dehydration of malic acid or its ester. The results also show that the number of byproducts is almost independent of the catalyst, with the exception of sulfuric acid. The Amberlyst 36 Dry catalyst provides an optimal ratio between conversion and selectivity for malic acid dibutyl ester production.

Composition and characterization by GC-MS of the essential oil extracted from Nicotiana glauca Graham

Fresh leaves of N. glauca were collected from the northern region of Tunisia. The leaves were submitted to water distillation for 4 h, using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The obtained essential oils were dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and after filtration, stored at 4 °C until use. The chemical composition of the isolated essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Eighteen compounds were identified: eugenol, the major compound in the essential oil, was present at a high level (58.49%), followed by nonadecane, eugenyl acetate and tridecane, 3-methyl at 6.38; 5.57 and 5.19%, respectively. The percentage of compounds dodecane, 2, 6, 11 trimethyl, tetradecane, docosane, tricosane and 1, 2-benzene dicarboxilic, dibutyl ester varied between 1 and 2%; whereas the other compounds (including limonene, and saturated hydrocarbons) remained at low percentages, not exceeding 1%. This study could be very useful for the characterization, pharmaceutical and therapeutic applications of the essential oil from N. glauca.