Three known bromophenols, 2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzylaldehyde (1), 2,2',3-tribromo-3',4,4',5-tetrahydroxy-6'-hydroxymethyldiphenylmethane (2) and bis(2, 3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxylbenzyl) ether (3), and one new one, 5,5″-oxybis(methylene)bis (3-bromo-4-(2',3'-dibromo-4',5'-dihydroxylbenzyl)benzene-1,2-diol) (4), were isolated from an extract of the red alga, Vertebrata lanosa. The antioxidant ...

Sophorolipids (SLs) are glycolipids produced fermentatively by yeast such as Candida bombicola, Candida apicola and Wickerhamiella domercqiae and composed of a dimeric sugar linked with a glycosidic bond to a hydroxyl fatty acid. SLs have gained interest in pharmaceutical arena because of its wide array of therapeutic benefits. Shah et al. 1 first reported that natural SLs and its first generat...

BACKGROUND The lack of biomarkers that are predictive of safety is a critical gap in the development of microbicides. The present experiments were designed to evaluate the predictive value of in vitro models of microbicide safety. METHODS Changes in the epithelial barrier were evaluated by measuring transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) after exposure of human epithelial cells to candid...

There is an urgent need to develop safe, effective, dual-purpose contraceptive agents that combine the prevention of pregnancy with protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Here we report the identification of a group of compounds that on contact with human spermatozoa induce a state of "spermostasis," characterized by the extremely rapid inhibition of sperm movement without compromisi...

Topical microbicides designed to prevent acquisition of sexually transmitted infections are urgently needed. Nonoxynol-9, the only commercially available spermicide, damages epithelium and may enhance human immunodeficiency virus transmission. The observation that herpes simplex virus (HSV) and human immunodeficiency virus bind heparan sulfate provided the rationale for the development of sulfa...

A study was performed to investigate the effect of an intravaginally administered antimycotic, an antibiotic, and a spermicide plus the co-usage of tampons on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of levonorgestrel (LNG) and anastrozole (ATZ) administered as an intravaginal ring (IVR) releasing 1050 μg ATZ per day and 40 μg LNG per day. In this parallel-group, randomized, open-label study, healthy premenop...

There is an urgent need to develop safe, effective dual-purpose contraceptive agents that combine the prevention of pregnancy with protection against sexually transmitted disease. Here we report the identification of a group of compounds that on contact with human spermatozoa induce a state of ‘spermostasis’, characterized by the extremely rapid inhibition of sperm movement without compromising...

The effect on normal vaginal flora of three intravaginal microbicides potentially active against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 was examined. Volunteers received dextrin sulfate (D2S), nonoxynol-9 (N-9), or docusate sodium in separate placebo-controlled studies. High vaginal swabs were obtained for bacterial culture before and after microbicide application. D2S did not affect the vaginal f...