Thursday, November 26, 2009

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation. It was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994.
Specifically, TRIPS contains requirements that nations' laws must meet for: copyright rights, including the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations; geographical indications, including appellations of origin; industrial designs; integrated circuit layout-designs; patents; monopolies for the developers of new plant varieties; trademarks; trade dress; and undisclosed or confidential information. TRIPS also specifies enforcement procedures, remedies, and dispute resolution procedures. Protection and enforcement of all intellectual property rights shall meet the objectives to contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations.
The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectual property law into the international trading system for the first time and remains the most comprehensive international agreement on intellectual property to date. In 2001, developing countries, concerned that developed countries were insisting on an overly narrow reading of TRIPS, initiated a round of talks that resulted in the Doha Declaration. The Doha declaration is a WTO statement that clarifies the scope of TRIPS, stating for example that TRIPS can and should be interpreted in light of the goal "to promote access to medicines for all."
TRIPS has been criticized by the alter-globalization movement. Members of the movement object, for example, to its consequences with regards to the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

Background and history
TRIPS was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994. Its inclusion was the culmination of a program of intense lobbying by the United States, supported by the European Union, Japan and other developed nations. Campaigns of unilateral economic encouragement under the Generalized System of Preferences and coercion under Section 301 of the Trade Act played an important role in defeating competing policy positions that were favored by developing countries, most notably Korea and Brazil, but also including Thailand, India and Caribbean Basin states. In turn, the United States strategy of linking trade policy to intellectual property standards can be traced back to the entrepreneurship of senior management at Pfizer in the early 1980s, who mobilized corporations in the United States and made maximizing intellectual property privileges the number one priority of trade policy in the United States (Braithwaite and Drahos, 2000, Chapter 7).
After the Uruguay round, the GATT became the basis for the establishment of the World Trade Organization. Because ratification of TRIPS is a compulsory requirement of World Trade Organization membership, any country seeking to obtain easy access to the numerous international markets opened by the World Trade Organization must enact the strict intellectual property laws mandated by TRIPS. For this reason, TRIPS is the most important multilateral instrument for the globalization of intellectual property laws. States like Russia and China that were very unlikely to join the Berne Convention have found the prospect of WTO membership a powerful enticement.
Furthermore, unlike other agreements on intellectual property, TRIPS has a powerful enforcement mechanism. States can be disciplined through the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism.
The requirements of TRIPS
TRIPS requires member states to provide strong protection for intellectual property rights. For example, under TRIPS:
• Copyright terms must extend to 50 years after the death of the author, although films and photographs are only required to have fixed 50 and to be at least 25 year terms, respectively.(Art. 7(2),(4))
• Copyright must be granted automatically, and not based upon any "formality", such as registrations or systems of renewal.
• Computer programs must be regarded as "literary works" under copyright law and receive the same terms of protection.
• National exceptions to copyright (such as "fair use" in the United States) are constrained by the Berne three-step test
• Patents must be granted in all "fields of technology," although exceptions for certain public interests are allowed (Art. 27.2 and 27.3 [1]) and must be enforceable for at least 20 years (Art 33).
• Exceptions to the exclusive rights must be limited, provided that a normal exploitation of the work (Art. 13) and normal exploitation of the patent (Art 30) is not in conflict.
• No unreasonable prejudice to the legitimate interests of the right holders of computer programs and patents is allowed.
• Legitimate interests of third parties have to be taken into account by patent rights (Art 30).
• In each state, intellectual property laws may not offer any benefits to local citizens which are not available to citizens of other TRIPs signatories by the principles of national treatment (with certain limited exceptions, Art. 3 and 5 [2]). TRIPS also has a most favored nation clause.
Many of the TRIPS provisions on copyright were imported from the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and many of its trademark and patent provisions were imported from the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

Controversy
Since TRIPS came into force it has received a growing level of criticism from developing countries, academics, and Non-governmental organizations. Some of this criticism is against the WTO as a whole, but many advocates of trade liberalization also regard TRIPS as bad policy (see, for example, Jagdish Bhagwati's In Defense of Globalization for a discussion on the detrimental effect of TRIPS on access to medicines in developing countries). TRIPS' wealth redistribution effects (moving money from people in developing countries to copyright and patent owners in developed countries) and its imposition of artificial scarcity on the citizens of countries that would otherwise have had weaker intellectual property laws, are a common basis for such criticisms.
Access to essential medicines
The most visible conflict has been over AIDS drugs in Africa. Despite the role which patents have played in maintaining higher drug costs for public health programs across Africa, this controversy has not led to a revision of TRIPs. Instead, an interpretive statement, the Doha Declaration, was issued in November 2001, which indicated that TRIPs should not prevent states from dealing with public health crises. After Doha, PhRMA, the United States and to a lesser extent other developed nations began working to minimize the effect of the declaration.
A 2003 agreement loosened the domestic market requirement, and allows developing countries to export to other countries where there is a national health problem as long as drugs exported are not part of a commercial or industrial policy [3]. Drugs exported under such a regime may be packaged or colored differently to prevent them from prejudicing markets in the developed world.
In 2003, the Bush administration also changed its position, concluding that generic treatments might in fact be a component of an effective strategy to combat HIV. Bush created the PEPFAR program, which received $15 billion from 2003-2007, and was reauthorized in 2007 for $30 billion over the next five years. Despite wavering on the issue of compulsory licensing, PEPFAR began to distribute generic drugs in 2004-5.


Software and business method patents
Main article: Software patents under TRIPs Agreement
Another controversy has been over the TRIPS Article 27 requirements for patentability "in all fields of technology", and whether or not this necessitates the granting of software and business method patents.
Implementation in developing countries
The obligations under TRIPS apply equally to all member states, however developing countries were allowed extra time to implement the applicable changes to their national laws, in two tiers of transition according to their level of development. The transition period for developing countries expired in 2005. The transition period for least developed countries was extended to 2016, and could be extended beyond that.
Developed countries are massive net-exporters of copyright-, patent- and trademark-related royalties. It has therefore been argued that the TRIPS standard of requiring all countries to create strict intellectual property systems will be detrimental to poorer countries' development.[4] Many argue[who?] that it is, prima facie, in the strategic interest of most if not all underdeveloped nations to use any flexibility available in TRIPS to write the weakest IP laws possible.[who?]
This has not happened in most cases. A 2005 report by the WHO found that many developing countries have not incorporated TRIPS flexibilities (compulsory licensing, parallel importation, limits on data protection, use of broad research and other exceptions to patentability, etc) into their legislation to the extent authorized under Doha. [5]
This is likely caused by the lack of legal and technical expertise needed to draft legislation that implements flexibilities, which has often led to developing countries directly copying developed country IP legislation [6], or relying on technical assistance from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which, some say[who?], encourages them to implement stronger intellectual property monopolies.

Post-TRIPS expansionism
The requirements of TRIPS are, from a policy perspective, extremely stringent. Despite this, lobbyists for the industries that benefit from various intellectual property laws have continued since 1994 to campaign to strengthen existing forms of intellectual property and to create new kinds:
• The creation of anti-circumvention laws to protect Digital Rights Management systems. This was achieved through the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO Treaty) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
• The desire to further restrict the possibility of compulsory licenses for patents has led to provisions in recent bilateral US trade agreements.
• It is one thing for states to have intellectual property laws on their statutes, and another for governments to enforce them aggressively. This distinction has led to provisions in bilateral agreements, as well as proposals for WIPO and European Union rules on intellectual property enforcement. The 2001 EU Copyright Directive was to implement the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty.
• The wording of Trips 27 of non-discrimination is used to justify an extension of the patent system.
• The campaign for the creation of a WIPO Broadcasting Treaty that would give broadcasters (and possibly webcasters) exclusive rights over the copies of works they have distributed.

Friday, February 13, 2009

pharmacy books weblink

http://www.pharmatext.org/search/label/Clinical%20Pharmacy

Saturday, February 7, 2009

SHATAVARI

SHATAVARI

Shatavari,
Asparagus racemosus
, is a climbing plant which grows in low jungles areas throughout India. This sweet and bitter herb is particularly balancing to Pitta Dosha.
In India, Shatavari is considered the women's equivalent to Ashwagandha. The name translates to "she who possesses 100 husbands", referring to the herbs rejuvanitive effect upon the female reproductive organs. In Australia the herb is more often used to treat gastrointestinal disorders and as an external wash for wounds.
The healing qualities of Shatavari are useful to a wide array of ailments. It is well known for it effects on the female reproductive system. It is also effective in a number of other systems of the body and is therefore of use to both men and women.
Botanical Name : Asparagus racemosus
Sanskrit -- Shatavari
Hindi -- Shatavari
English -- Indian Asparagus, Hundred Roots , Asparagus roots
Chinese - Tian men dong
Family : Asparagaceae
Effect on the Doshas: Vata: - Pitta: - Kapha: +
Rasa (Taste) : Madhura (sweet) ,Tikta (bitter)
Virya (Energy): shita (cold)
Vipak (Post-Digestive Action): madhura
Parts Used : Roots (Rhizomes) and leaves.


Properties :
o Nutritive tonic, rejuvenative,
o aphrodisiac,
o galactogogue
o laxative
o antispasmodic,
o Antacid
o diuretic
o antitumor
o demulcent
Indications:
Shatavari is perhaps best known as a female rejuvanitive. It is useful for infertility, decreased libido, threatened miscarriage, menopause, leucorrhea and has the ability to balance pH in the cervical area. Dry membranes, such as those on the vaginal wall, are also brought into balance through the herbs demulcent action.
Men may benefit from the herb as well in the treatment of impotence and general sexual debility. In addition to it's applications for reproductive organs, Shatavari is also quite effective for stomach ulcers, hyperacidity and diarrhea. Dry and irritated membranes in the upper respiratory tract are soothed by this herb making it useful in cases of bronchitis and chronic fevers. It is believed to bring into balance all of the body's fluids.
Medicinal Uses:
The most important herb in Ayurvedic medicine for women
Used internally for infertility, loss of libido, threatened miscarriage, menopausal problems. It both nourishes and cleanses the blood and the female reproductive organs. It is a good food for menopause or for those who have had hysterectomies, as it supplies many female hormones. It nourishes the ovum and increases fertility. This herb is known to increase Sattva, or positivity and healing power. It also enhances the feelings of spiritual love, and increases Ojas.
The male reproductive system will also benefit from Shatavari. It may be used in cases of sexual debility, impotence, spermatorrhea, and inflammation of sexual organs.
Useful for hyperacidity, stomach ulcers, dysentery, and bronchial infections.
Contraindications (Cautions): massive fibrocystic breasts, estrogen induced problems, estrogen induced fibrocystic changes or other problems
Chemical constituents :
Shatavari is rich in active constituents such as galactose, arabinose, steroidal glycosides and saponins.

arabinose

Photochemical Screening of Crude Drugs

Photochemical Screening of Crude Drugs

S.NO TEST NAME TEST OBSERVATION
1. ALKOLOIDS
A .Mayer’s Test Sample + Pot. Mercuric Iodide sol Cream colour ppt
B . Dragondorff’s Sampl + Pot. Bismuth Iodide sol Reddish brown ppt
C . Wagner’s Sample + I2 in KI “
D. Hager’s Sample + saturated picric acid Yellow colour ppt
2. CARBOHYDRATES
A . Molisch’s Test Sample + α- napthol + conc. H2SO4 Purple colour
B. Fehling’s test Sample + [Fehling A+ B] , heat Brick red colour
3. GLYCOSUDES
A . Legal’s Test Extract + pyridine + sod.nitro preside + alkali Pink or red colour
B. Bortranger’s Drug is powered and further extracted with ether or any solvent. The filtered ethereal extract is made alkaline either with caustic soda or ammonia by which aq. Layer shows after shaking Pink or red or violet colour occurs
C. libermann’s CHCL3sol of sample + conc. H2SO4 Green colour
4. PHYTO STEROLS
A . libermann Chloroform sol of sterol + conc. H2SO4 +
Acetic anhydride Green colour
5. PROTEINS & A.A
A . MIllon’s Test MIllon’s Reagent (mercuric nitrate in HNO3)
Millon’s reagent + protein sol White ppt which turns red on heating
B. Biuret Test Alk. Sol of protein + dil. Sol of CuSO4. On heating Red or violet colour
C. Ninhydrin Test Protein sol + aq . ninhydrin. On heating Purple colour
6. GUMS & MUCILAGE
A . Molisch’s Test Sample + α- napthol + conc. H2SO4 Purple colour
B. Precipitation Test 1- lead acetate + sample Ppt is formed
2- sample + CaCl2 Copious ppt

Tylophora Indica

Tylophora Indica ( T. Asthmatica)
• Botanical Name : Tylophora Indica ( T. Asthmatica)
• Family Name : Asclepiadaceae
• Common Name : Emetic Swallow-wory, Indian Ipecac
• Part Used : Leaves, Roots
• Habitat : Throughout india, found in the plains, forests, hilly slopes and outskirts of the forest upto 900m.
• Product offered : Roots
Uses : The leaves and roots have emetic, cathartic, laxative, expectorant, diaphoretic and purgative properties. It has also been used for the treatment of allergies, cold, dysentery, hay fever and arthritis. It has reputation as an alterative and as a blood purifier, often used in rheumatism and syphilitic rheumatism. Root or leaf powder is used in diarrhoea, dysentery and intermittent fever. Dried leaves are emetic diaphoretic and expectorant. It is regarded as one of the best indigenous substitute for ipecacuanha. The roots are suggested to be a good natural preservative of food.

It is traditionally used as a folk remedy in certain regions of India for the treatment of bronchial asthma , inflammation , bronchitis, allergies, rheumatism and dermatitis. It also seems to be a good remedy in traditional medicine as anti-psoriasis, seborrheic, anaphylactic, leucopenia and as an inhibitor of the Schultz-Dale reaction. The roots are suggested to be a good natural preservative of food.

Active constituents
The major constituent in Tylophora is the alkaloid tylophorine. Laboratory research has shown this isolated plant extract exerts a strong anti-inflammatory action. Test tube studies suggest that tylophorine is able to interfere with the action of mast cells, which are key components in the process of inflammation. These actions seem to support Tylophoras traditional use as an anti - asthmatic and anti -allergenic medication by Ayurvedic

Kali musli

Kali musli

Botanical name: Curculigo orchioides
Family: Liliaceae (Lily family) (Hypoxidaceae)

Common name: Orchid palm grass • Hindi: Kali musli • Oriya: Tala-muli • Kannada: Nela tengu • M General Description: Kali Musli grows as Forest herb. Since generations, it is in use as folk medicine. In many parts of India, due to its over exploitation, Kali Musli is becoming rare in occurrence.

Botanical Description: Kali Musli is a herbaceous tuberous perennial with a short or elongate root stock bearing several fleshy lateral roots; Leaves sessile or petiolate 15-45x1.3-2.5 cm, linear or linear lanceolate, tips sometimes rooting, scape very short, clavate; Flowers in racemes, distichious, yellow, lowest in the racemes 2 sexual, perianth segments elliptic, oblong, hairy on the back; Fruits capsules, derived from inferior tricarpellary syncarpous ovary, 1-4 seeded; Seeds black, oblong, deeply grooved in wavy lines.
Useful Parts: All parts.

Habitat
It is found in places that are up to 6000 feet above sea level. It is more commonly seen in temperate zonal climate. It is seen in countries like Africa, Middle East, Arabia, Pakistan and southern Asian Island. In India it is found every where but predominantly found in Deccan plateau area of Chota Nagpur. It is also commonly seen in south India.

Morphology

It is a perennial shrub having short or elongated fleshy roots. Leaves are 6 to 18 inch in length and ½ to 1 ½ inch broad. It is speared shaped and bears stripes on it. The apex of the leaves is rooting. Flowers present the racemes presentation that is 1 inch in length. Flowers are ½ to 2/3 inch in diameter, shiny and are just above the ground. . Fruit is ½ inch in length, capsulated, ovate in shape, sharp at the apex and contains 1 to 4 seeds in it. Seeds are shiny, oblong in shape, 1/8 inch long, striped and sharp at the apex and base. Rhizome is 1 feet in length and is pulpy. The plant flowers in summers

Chemical Constituents

It contains starch 43.48 %, tannins 4.15 %, enzymes 14.18 % and ash 8.6 %. Besides these it also contains glycoside, orcinol-1-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, curculigoside, syringic acid, curculigoside and curculigoside C



Medicinal uses:
The rhizomes of the plants are used for the treatment of decline in strength, jaundice and asthma. According to Ayurveda, root is heating, aphrodisiac, alternative, appetizer, fattening and useful in treatment of piles, biliousness, fatigue, blood related disorders etc. According to Unani system of medicine, root is carminative, tonic, aphrodisiac, antipyretic and useful in bronchitis, ophthalmia, indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea, lumbago, gonorrhea, gleet, hydrophobia, joint pains etc
Indication

1. Itching , Skin disorders , Jaundice , Piles , Decreased sperms count , Frigidity , Dysurea
2. Gonorrhea , General body weakness



Uses

1. Paste – it is used in applying on the skin disorders and where ever there is itching on the skin. . It is used in applying on the pile mass to give instant relief from the pain and burning sensation.
1. Medical smoke – there is a good result of inhaling the smoke of kali musli in respiratory disease like cough, cold and asthma.
1. Powder – its powder is recommended in various ailments like decreased sperm count, impotence general body weakness, loss of stamina and vigor. Besides this it is also used in digestive disorders like indigestion, constipation and loss of appetite. It is very much effective in liver ailments especially in jaundice.

Kantakari

Kantakari


Kantakari is a prickly, branches perennial herb with yellow, shining prickles of about 1.5 cm in size. It has very prickly, sparsely hairy, egg shaped leaves; purple flowers, round fruits, yellow in color with green veins and numerous smooth seeds. The branches are densely covered with minute star shaped hairs.

Kantakari is also known as Indian solanum. The fruit of the plant constitutes the drug. The drug is bitter in taste and a mild purgative. Experiments have shown that the fruits and shoots of the plant possess antibacterial properties.


Botanical Name: Solanum xanthocarpum
Family : Solanaceae
Indian Name: Kateli
Chemical constituents

The fruit of the plant yield carpersteral, glucoside-alkaloids and solanocarpine. It also yields glucoside-alkaloids, solamine-S. On hydrolysis it yield alkaloid solanidine-S.

Health Benefits of Kantakari

- Kantakari is beneficial in clearing catarrh and phlegm from the bronchial tubes. It is therefore used in the treatment of respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis and cough.

- Kantakari is a valuable remedy in the treatment of dropsy, a disease marked by an excessive collection of fluids in the tissues and cavities or natural hollows of the body. The drug helps increase the secretion and discharge of urine.

- It is also effective in throat disorders like sore throat and tonsillitis. An extract of the plant should be used as a gargle in such cases. This is prepared by continuously boiling the plant in about 2 liters of water after washing it thoroughly, till it reduces to half its volume and it should be filtered.

- It is useful in the treatment of constipation and flatulence. It strengthens the stomach and promotes its action. It corrects disordered processes of nutrition by which the organization ingests, digests, absorbs, utilizes and excretes food substances and restores normal function of the system. The drug also possesses anthelminitic (worm destroying) property and is useful in eliminating intestinal worms.

- The extract of kantakari, prepared as for throat disorders, is also very beneficial in gum diseases. For better results, black mustard should be boiled along with the plant.

- The drug is also effective in treating several other diseases like heart disease, chest pain, certain types of fever, gonorrhea, dysuria, enlargement of the liver, muscular pains and spleen and stone in the urinary bladder. The fruit of the plant is also considered useful in treating sore throat, bronchitis, muscular pains and fevers.

- Kantakari root has been traditionally used in snake and scorpion bites. A paste of the root can be prepared by grinding it on a stone with lemon juice and applying to the affected part. The patient should be taken to the doctor immediately.
Medicinal uses:
It is bitter, pungent, hot, digestant, carminative, diuretic, expectorant and used in cough, asthma, dyspnoea, fever, pleurisy, heart diseases, hoarseness of voice, calculus. Its seeds are analgesic in property..
Uses of Kantakari

Tender leaves and fruits of kantakari are eaten as a v