AU610141B2 - Pharmaceutical compositions acting on the heart and cardiovascular system and process for preparing same - Google Patents

Description

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I I- COMMONWELT OFasTAL CO0M MO0NW E AL TH OF, A U STR A L I 141 PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (Original) FOR OFFICE USE Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: 'Priority: Related Art: h1is Cume01t conins the acrre' mc ad ck1r 1.'Um l 9 f~ndt Is Correct for aa~b-m~i -cnr- II i i p- i Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant:

"PHARMACEUTIC

Actual Inventor(s): CAOLA KOZMETIKAI ES HAZTARTASVEGYIPARI

VALLALAT

90., Bocskai ut, Budapest,

HUNGARY

Gyorgy I3BAKTAY, Peter LITERATI-NAGY, Lajos Gyorgy NAGY, Gyorgy BLASKO, Miklos GROSZ, Jano& PALINKAS, Maria BOROSS, Miklos FABIAN, Erzrebet PA2O, Laszlo BOGDANY and Gabor NEMETH Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

Complete specification for the invention entitled: "PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITIONS ACTING ON THE HEART AND CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM AND PROCESS FOR PREPARING SAME" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 1

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To: TIlE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS (a member of the firm of DAVIES COLLISON for and on behalf of the Applicant).

Davies Collisrn, Melbourne and Canberra.

zi iiII •a PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITIONS ACTING ON THE HEART AND CAROIO- VASCULAR SYSTEM AND PROCESS FOR PREPARING SAME This invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions acting on the heart and cardiovascular system.

0 000. 0 According to an other aspect of the invention, there 0 00 is provided a process for the preparation of these compositions.

0 It is known that C 18 22 cu_ -3 unsaturated fatty acids 0o oo So possess advantageous biological properties, Of these compounds u °°°jlO eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (OHA) are outstanding, Oyerberg et al. /-The Lancet 15, 117 (1978)7 o oo 0o0 pointed at the importance and multifold biological effects 0 0 o 000 of both acids.

The effects connected with the important role of poly- 0 0 unsaturated fatty acids, particularly of EPA and DHA, in the hyper)ipidaemia and thrombotic diseases have been summarized o00 0 0o by Goodnight at al. _Arteriosclerosis 2, 87 (1982) Rnview7.

0 0 Pharmaceutical compositions containing EPA and OHA as active ingredients have been described e.g. in the German patent specification No. 3,438,630 for lowering the blood cholesterol level, further in the published Japanese patent applications Nos. 58.08037 and 60.49097 against cerebral sclerosis and for preventing the thrombus formation, in patients sufferIng from heart diseases.

Several papers have been devoted to the platelet- -aggregation inhibiting and thus the thrombus-formation inhiblt- -la- I .UL UI kll.. ILl ll- 1 DECLARED at.........Budapest Hun ary 28th day of i 1988 th is da y of .19 Signature. (6 To: THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS.

Edwd. Waters Sons, Melbourne, 2 ing effect of EPA and DHA /-Spencer and Caraega: Prostagl.

Leucotrienes and Med. 23, 129 (1986); Knopp et al.: New ingl. Journ of Med. 314, 937 (1986)7.

The antiviral action of EPA and DHA is described in the United States patent specification No. 4,513,008.

The active ingredients of the fish-oil, e.g. EPA and o 00 o.o. DHA, are precursors of the biosynthesis of the PG-3 series Q 0 o0 and they inhibit the formation of harmful metabolites such a o as TXA 2 and TX8 2 arising from the so-called "arachidonic 0 'l10 acid cascade" which is a chain of complicated biochemical processes starting from arachidonic acid.

0 00 °o In addition to their several favourable effects, the 0 00 o o0 polyunsaturated fatty acids have the disadvantageous pathologic 0o o property that they are subjected to a spontaneous oxidative 0 0 decomposition in the human organism and thus they give rise to the formation of active aldehydes such as malondialdehyde 0 00 0 0" which is harmful to the organism. These aldehydes are capable 00 OO o to react mainly with the connective tissues in a physiologically harmful way which may lead to the so-called "ceroidal S 20 lipofuscinosis".

It is further known that algae have from time immemorial been used by the mankind for the purpose of nutrition and feeding. Thus, algae are mainly consumed by the peoples of the Far East; recently, however, they are widely utilized in dry form or in the form of tablets in the developed countries, too.

Algae are the carriers of highly valuable nutritive materials siice their dried form contains high concentrations

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of substances which are essential for healthy life such as vitamins, proteins, complexes of proteins with microelements, saccharides, polyunsaturated fatty acids and the like.

General and detailed informations concerning algae o.p" are described e.g. by Zajic in: Properties and Products of Algae (Edition Planum, New York, 1970).

C ct Investigations on the biological effects of micro- C c c elements and trace elements have been started in the last decade. Thus, it became known that selenium is one of the most important and indispensable substances of life, The S beneficial action of selenium is mainly based on its activat- 'c ing effect directed to the glutathione-peroxidase enzyme as selenium is an indispensable constituent of the prosthetic group of the glutathione-peroxidase enzyme. This enzyme is the most important endogenic inhibitor of the harmful peroxidation processes.

Selenium in itself has hypotensive effect, improves 'the ischaemic, hypoxic and infarction states of the heart and inhibits the ceroidal lipofuscinosis of the central nervous system; furtnermore, it also exerts a beneficial effect on periodontitis. It has a significant anticancer activity and proved to diminish the probability of the development of cancer diseases; futhermore, it is considered to be a mutagenesis-inhibiting agent.

Selenium is not accumulated in the organism, thus it should continuously be supplemented. Hitherto, selenium has mainly been introduced to the organism in the form of inorganic -4compounds, e.g. selenium dioxide and sodium selenite. A number of alterations or diseases, respect ely, such as liver necrosis, myonecrosis, destruction of the erythrocyte membrane, interstitial laesions, ST-elevation in the ECG, Mulberry's heart syndrome, kwashiorkor syndrome (protein malnutrition) and multiplex sclerosis proved to be induced by selenium deficiency.

A comprehensive report on the biological effects of selenium was published by Thressa et al./-Nutrition Review 35, 7 (1977), Shamberger LJ. of Env. Path. and I ,oc Tox. 4, 305 (1980)7as well as Masukawa et al.

oo ~Experientia 39, 405 (1983).

o The aim of the present invention is to provide a novel pharmaceutical composition, mainly acting on the uo0 0 S 15 heart and cardiovascular system, which renders possible ,0oo0 D the combination of the advantageous properties of DHA, EPA, algae as well as selenium and which simultaneously eliminates the disadvantageous properties of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

o oo 20 The invention is based on the recognition that the ooo above aim can be perfectly achieved by using a seleniumcontaining alga together with polyunsaturated fatty acids.

0oro.. Thus, the present invention relates to a 25 pharmaceutical composition acting on the heart and 0 cardiovascular system, which comprises 0.5 to 50% by mass of selenium-containing alga as well as 99.5 to 50% by Smass of C 18 22 -3 fatty acids containing at least two I unsaturated bonds or the derivatives thereof, optionally in admixture with carriers and/or additives and/or antioxidants commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Preferably, the composition according to the invention contains 5 to 35% by mass of seleniumcontaining alga, more preferably 15 to 25% by mass of selenium-containing alga.

901o30,wpftdsk8,1361.res,4 Preferably, the composition according to the invention contains 95 to 65% by mass of C 1 22 fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds or the derivatives thereof, more preferably 85 to 75% by mass of C1,- 2 2 fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds or the derivatives thereof.

Furthermore the invention relates to a process for preparing the above composition, which comprises mixing to 50% by mass of selenium-containing alga as well as 99.5 to 50% by mass of 2 2 fi-3 fatty acids containing at 0 CC eleast two unsaturated bonds or the derivatives thereof optionally together with carriers and/or additives and antioxidants commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.

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Preferably, 5 to 35% by mass of selenium-containing alga and 95 to 65% by mass of C 1 2 2 fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds are admixed in the process according to the invention.

In another preferred embodiment of the process according to the invention, 15 -to 25% by mass of selenium-containing alga and 85 to 75% by massofC.

2 fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds are admixed.

The compositions according to the invention suitably comprise eicosapentaenic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenic QQ'~acid (DHA) as well as a selenium-containing alga.

The selenium-containing alga is prepared in the way as described in our co-pending patent application Ser.

No. (Hungarian patent application No. 575/88).

As raw materials of the C,, 2 W-3 unsaturated fatty acids representing one component of the composition, oils obtainable from various marine and fresh-water fishes, mainly from mackerel, cod-fish, herring, sardine, squid as well as fromi the liver of these fishes, e.g. cod-liver oil and shark-liver nil, can be used.

if In addition to EPA and DHA, the fish-oils contain a 901030,"(ptdlsk8,13261.r4s5 large amount of saturated fatty acids as well as fatty acids unsaturated to a low extent and other nonhydrolizable components. The removal of these constituents is very important since the dosis of the therapeutical compositions prepared from the fish-oils would sensitively enhance the introduced calory quantity as well as the blood triglyceride level. Besides, the nonhydrolizable constituents may contain steroids such as cholesterol, vitamin D (and its provitamin) and/or vitamin A. The vitamins D and A are accumulated in 901030,wpfldts8,13261.rcs,6 6 the human organism whereby a prolonged treatment, needed to the desired effect, would be impossible by using a composition containing these vitamins. Therefore, the components mentioned above such as the saturated and partly unsaturated fatty acids as well as the nonhydrolyzable constituents, e.g. cholesterol, vitamins A and 0, are removed from the fish-oil. In this way the total amount of FPA and OHA in the fish-oil is enriched to more than 509s.

As algae, Chlorella or Scenedesmus strains may suitably be used which are useful for -the human consumption and, owing to their very favourable biological effect, represent an indispensable raw material of the modern alimentation.

For inhibiting the oxidation of the composition according -to the invention, it is suitable to use cC-tocoferol (vitamin glutathione or the traditional antioxidants such as butylhydroxytolueno as active preservating agents.

As vehicle or carrier, the materials commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry such as lactose, starch or magn',sium stearate can be used.

Pharmacological investigations proved that -the composition is free from side effects .damaging the healt'h, as no change was observed in the microsomal enzyme system of the rat liver by using a hundred-fold quantity of the usual dose.

The amount of lipofuscine accumulated in the organism was significantly decreased as compared to the control after treatment with the composition. Based on the investigations carried out by using the composition of the invention on female Wistar rats for 6 weeks, an unambiguous platelet- 7 -aggregation inhibiting effect was observed.

The optimum effective daily dose (calculated for an average body-weight of 75 kg) of the composition consisting of fish-oil and alga powder amounts to 2 g, with a selenium S content of 240 /ug. In average the oil component consists of 22% of EPA and 43% of DHA, The main advantages of the composition according to the invention can be summarized as follows: The preferable properties of EPA and DHA as well as of the selenium and the alga are combined.

b) The harmful effects caused by the saturated lipid components of the known fish-oil containing compositions as well as the vitamin A and 0 content are eliminated.

c) The possibility of "ceroidal lipofuscinosis" occurring on the consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids is abolished.

The composition contains selenium as natural substance enriched in the alga; the selenium administered together with the alga is bettor rosorbed and exerts more preferably its favourable effects.

e) The composition develops a favourable therapeutic action in case of atopic disturbances and is useful for the preventive treatment of eczema, asthma, allergic symptoms, allergic rhinitis and/or atopic disturbances, e.g. migraine, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, otitis media, nephrotic syndrome and diabetes.

The composition of the invention is particularly useful for the treatment of disturbances of the cardiovascular system! for apoplectic manifestations, thrOmbo-embolic states such i- as stroke, infarction and Keshan's syndrome of young patients as well as for the prevention of abnormal conditions.

The invention is illustrated in detail by the following non-limiting Examples.

1 The a y-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids used in the composition of the invention can be prepared according to Examples 1 and 2 whilst the algae enriched with selenium can be prepared according to Example 3, The pharmaceutical compositions according to the invention are described in Examples 4 to 6.

Example 1 2 kg of sodium hydroxide are dissolved in 70 litres of 95% ethanol and 10 kg of cod-liver oil are added at a 1S -temperature of 50 to 60 0C. The mixture is refluxed under nitrogen for 2 hours and then cooled to 10 C0 while stirring, The sodium salt of the saturated fatty acids are precipitated.

The crystals aRe filtered and washed with a little ethanol.

The ethanolic liltrate is evaporated and 20 litres of boiled- -out water are added to the residue. The nonhydrolyzable compounds such as cholesterol are completely removed by extraction with 5 litres of hexane. The aqueous phase is acidified to pH 2 by adding sulfuric acid and again extracted with litres of hex e. The organic phase is dashed with water, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and evaporated to give 3.2 kg of a concentrated oil with a OHA content of 36,8 and EPA content of 31.8 This oil is bro\vn and smelling of fish.

Thus, it is mixed with Fuller's earth, heated under nitrogen 9at 105 °C for 10 minutes and filtered as hot. The deodorization is achieved by steam distillation under vacuum at 170 Hgmm for 3 hours to obtain 1.6 kg of a light yellow, tasteless, odourless oil with unchanged composition.

Example 2 0 kg of 40% sodium hydroxide solution are dropped at to 60 °C to 24 kg of cod-liver oil dissolved at 60 °C in 16 litres of methanol under stlrring, Then the mixture iu stlrred at 60 °C for additional 45 minutes. 20 kg of hydrochloric acid are added to the solution at about 60 OC.

After separation, the organic phase is wo4ned with 10 kg of hydrochloric acid and then with 180 iitres of hot tap water until neutral. The phseos are again soparated, 100 litres of acetone ace added to the oily phase which is then heated to about 45 °C and solution of 3,0 kg of lithium hydroxide monohydrate in 30 litres of water are added 6 After stirring for 30 minutes the mixture is left to stand overnight, then filtered and the acetone filtrate is evaporated. The residue is acidified by adding about 0 kg of 15% hydrochloric acid, extracteJ 3 times with hexane and evaporated. Ourng the whole purifying operation nitrogen atmosphere is used. Thus, 6.4 kg of purified fish-oil are obtained with an iodine number of 258 and acid number of 160, One kg of the cod-liver oil purified an described above is dropped at 60 °0 to a solution containing 3 kg of urea in 9 litres of methanol, The mixture is stirred at the same temperature for 2 hours and then cooled. It is left to stand 10 at -10 OC overnight, then filtered and the filtrate is evaporated, 2.5 litres of 1:1 hydrochloric acid are added to the residue and the mixture is stirred for 15 minutes.

After extraction with hexane, the hexane phase is washed with water until neutral, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfatP and evaporated to give 0.34 kg of Ulk-3 unsaturated fatty acid with an iodine number of 315 which containi 244 of EPA aind 42%1 of MlA.

18 Example 3 mg of sodium selonite are added to 8 litres of Knop-Pringohcim culture medium filled in an algo-cultivating glass bottle of 10 litres volumeo The thus-obtained culture mudiM is storilized at 121 Q0 under an ovorprossure of 1 bar for 30 minutes Then, the storile solution is cooled and inoculated with a pure culturte of SeonedQsmu obtlsiusculue which is capable to readily incorporate saleniumi 5terile air containing 5%1 by volume of carbon dioxide is bubbled through the culture medium at 25 0 C while the system is Illuminated by an electric discharge tube working with 4000 lux at a ?R wavelength of 440 to 700 /um. After a cultivction perir or 14 days the alga is separated from the culture medium, The thus-obtained alga mass is decomposed by supersound and carefully dried at a temperature below 65 0 C The yield is 6 g aof an alga powder with a selenium content or 1200 /ug/g I Example 4 100 g of a selenium-containing alga powder (seleniun content: 260 /ug/g) are added to 150 g of 65% enriched coo- -liver oil (containing 22% of EPA and 43% of OHA), After nomogenizing, 0,1 of vitamin E is added. The thus-obtained active ingredient is filled into rnft gelatine capsules ind packaged into blister fnilr,.

xample I The process described in Example 4 is followed, except that the following starting materials are used: 400 g of anriched cod-liver oil with an EPA content of 22* and OHA conteant atof 4i; 70,6 g of an alga powder with a selenium content oZ 1200 1 u/g; and 0,4 0 of vitamin The homogeniate is filled into capsules capable of taking up 500 mg of active ingredient.

Example 6 Tablets with the following composition are prepared by 2 using known pharmaceutical devices and procass- CGodiliver oil enriched with EFA and DNA and containing 0,1% of vitamin E (with a OHA content of 434 and EPA content of 22%) 200 mg Selenum-containing alga powder I$lenlum ontent: 1500 ug/g) 6 mg Latacse 140 mg Starch 60 mg -12- Folyvinylpyrrolidone 3.5 mg Magnesium stearate 3.5 mg If desired, the tablets may be coated with sugar in a tabletting machine.

Claims (11)

1. A pharmaceutical composition acting on the heart and cardiovascular system, which comprises 0.5 to by mass of selenium-containing alga as well as 99.5 to 50% by mass of C 1 8 2 2 0-3 fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds or the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, optionally in admixture with carriers and/or additives and antioxidants commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.

2. A composition as claimed in claim 1, which comprises 5 to 35% by mass of selenium-containing alga.

3. A composition as claimed in claim 1, which comprises 15 to 25% by mass of selenium-containing alga.

4. A composition as claimed in claim 1, which comprises 95 to 65% by mass of C 1 8 2 2 fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds or the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.

5. A composition as claimed in claim 1, which comprises 85 to 75% by mass of C18- 22 fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds or the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.

6. A pharmaceutical composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, which comprises fatty acids extracted as unsaturated ftty acids from the oil of marine fishes, from which oil the saturated fatty acids, partly unsaturated fatty acids and other non-hydrolysable constituents have been removed.

7. A pharmaceutical composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, which comprises 5,8,11,14,17- eicosapentaenoic acid and 4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid as unsaturated fatty acids, 910212,dbc.d0db13261.re,13 -OO Algae are the carriers of highly valuable nutritive materials since their dried form contains high concentrations 14

8. A process for the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition acting on the heart and cardiovascular system, which c ompr i s e s mixing 0.5 to 50% by mass of selenium- -containing alga as well as 99.5 to 50% by mass of C 18 22 -3a fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds or the derivatives thereof optionally together with carriers and/or additives and antioxidants commonly used in the pharma- ceutical industry.

9. A process as claimed in claim 8, in which 5 to by mass of selinium-containing alga and 95 to 65% by mass of C 18 22 fatty acids containing at least two unsaturated bonds are admixed.

A process as claimed in claim 8, in which 15 to by mass of selenium-containing alga and 85 to 75% by mass of C 1 8 2 2 fatty acids containing at least two Ln- saturated bonds are admixed.

11. Pharmaceutical compositions substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the Examples L-a steps-f ea-turees--eompos-i-es-nd-eemp referred to or indicated in the specifica and/or claims of this application~jndividually or collectively L and any andl ombinations of any two or more of said -steps. or- ea-ures. Dated this 18th day of March 1988 CAOLA KOZMETIKAI ES HAZTARTASVEGYIPARI VALLALAT By its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON S_ i -o1