Posted by admin on Jun 1, 2014 in |
Traditional medicine plays a very important role in Bangladesh, particularly at the primary health care level. The modern types of traditional medicine, namely, the Ayurvedic and Unani medicines are now officially recognized in Bangladesh .The objective of the present study was to evaluate antioxidant potential and cytotoxicity of ethanolic extract of root bark of Phyllanthus acidus L. The phytochemical screening demonstrated the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, and tannins. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) free radical assay. In DPPH assay, free radical scavenging activity of the extracts was evaluated comparing with ascorbic acid at the wavelength of 517 nm and the IC50 value of Phyllanthus acidus extracts was found to be 26 µg/ml, whereas ascorbic acid showed the value of 17.49 µg/ml. In case of brine shrimp cytotoxicity assay, LC50 value was obtainedto be 35.48 μg/ml. This is the first research report regarding in vitro evaluation of DPPH scavenging activity of ethanolic extracts of the root barks of Phyllanthus acidus L. The present study might be...
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Posted by admin on Jun 1, 2014 in |
Inappropriate prescription and use of drugs is a major public health concern worldwide especially in developing countries and account for huge national health budgets. The objective of this study was to evaluate prescribing pattern of drugs under the national health insurance scheme in a rural and peri-urban setting using the World Health Organization prescribing indicators and to establish determinants of irrational drug prescribing patterns. A retrospective cross sectional study carried out for the whole of 2012 in the Kintampo North Municipality of the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Vetted outpatient department claim forms submitted by all facilities to the Kintampo Municipal Mutual Health Insurance Scheme were used. A total of 4238 claim forms were reviewed resulting in 12415 drugs prescribed. The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.9. Percentage of drugs: prescribed under their generic names, which contained an antibiotic, in injection form and from the essential drugs formulary were 99.8%, 36.6%, 3.8% and 100% respectively. Significant determinants of antibiotic prescription were all age groups (5-11 years p<0.0001; 12-59...
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Posted by admin on Jun 1, 2014 in |
Drug-induced hepatotoxicity represents a major clinical problem and an impediment to new medicine development. In vitro evaluation of hepatotoxicity is an essential stage in the research and development of new pharmaceuticals as the liver is one of the most commonly impacted organs during preclinical toxicity studies. The effect of an aqueous leaf extract of Tridax procumbens was evaluated against acetaminophen-induced free radical reaction and liver cell necrosis in mouse primary hepatocyte culture. The liver was excised from the male albino mouse and cells were isolated and cultured. After monolayer developed, cells were treated with acetaminophen and different concentrations of Tridax procumbens aqueous extract. After the treatment for 3 to 24 h, free radical reaction, mitochondrial and extramitochondrial dehydrogenase activity, lactate dehydrogenase release, glutathione level, trypan blue uptake and haptocyte morphology were determined. Increased free radical reactions, LDH release, trypan blue uptake, liver cell necrosis and decreased levels of cellular glutathione, mitochondrial and extramitochondrial dehydrogenase activity were detected in acetaminophen-treated groups. Pretreatment of hepatocytes with Tridax procumbens extract caused attenuation...
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Posted by admin on Jun 1, 2014 in |
Schistosomiasis is a major communicable disease with a great impact on both public health and socioeconomic status of the developing world.It is highly prevalent in tropics and causes morbidity and mortality in developing countries including Sudan. Because of its chronicity and robust immunomodulatory activity, the effects of Schistosomiasis on other diseases such as allergies, autoimmunity and infectious diseases have been studied extensively in both epidemiological and experimental settings. Salmonella spp. is a common water- and food-borne cause of gastrointestinal and systemic diseases worldwide.Approximately, 2 million individuals die each year of diarrhea and Salmonella is a leading cause of this illness. A relationship between persistent as well as recurrent Salmonella bacteremia and schistosomiasis has been described both in adults and children. The present cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the relationship between schistosomiasis and salmonellosis in Helat Mahajoub in AL-Gezira Agricultural Scheme. Urine and faecal samples were collected from 288 individuals and investigated for Schistosoma ova using the modified Kato thick smear technique and the concentration technique. 207 subjects were...
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Posted by admin on Jun 1, 2014 in |
Ocimum basilicum L. and Ocimum gratissimum L. (Lamiaceae) are widely distributed aromatic herbs used in ethnomedicinal management of a range of inflammatory disorders. In the present work we evaluated the topical anti-inflammatory effects of the volatile constituents extracted from the fresh leaves of these plant species. Fresh leaves of the plants were subjected to hydro distillation to obtain the volatile oils OBV and OGV from O. basilicum and O. gratissimum respectively. The fresh leaves were also extracted with n-hexane to obtain OBHE and OGHE respectively. OBV, OGV, OBHE and OGHE were screened for anti-inflammatory effect using xylene-induced ear edema as a model of inflammation. Their chemical constituents were also analysed using GC/MS apparatus. At 50 µg/ear OBV, OGV, OBHE and OGHE exhibited significant (P<0.05) topical anti-inflammatory effect with edema inhibitions of 50.0, 63.3, 62.7 and 80 % respectively. The effects were comparable (P<0.05) with that of 100 µg/ear hydrocortisone (% edema inhibition of 54.8). 11 of the compounds from OGV are monoterpenes while 4 are sesquiterpenes. 8 of the...
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