This is the first study to investigate for the antioxidant efficacy and to detect selected phytochemicals in leaf extracts of Canarium odontophyllum (Miq.). The aqueous, methanol and acetone extracts at 12.5 μg/ml, 25 μg/ml and 50 μg/ml, were screened for their in vitro antioxidant activity using FRAP assay with reference to ascorbic acid. Phytoconstituent screening test was conducted using the standard reagents. All the leaf extracts from Canarium odontophyllum were found to exhibit dose-dependent antioxidant potential but acetone extract displayed the highest antioxidant capacity of 89.49  3.64μM FeSO4.7H2O, 181.46  5.54 μM FeSO4.7H2O and 355.26  16.62 μM FeSO4.7H2O at 12.5 μg/ml, 25 μg/ml and 50 μg/ml, respectively whereas aqueous extract has the lowest antioxidant power of 33.87  0.97 μM FeSO4.7H2O (12.5 μg/ml), 73.60  2.78 μM FeSO4.7H2O (25 μg/ml) and 140.29  0.28 μM FeSO4.7H2O (50 μg/ml). Methanol extract, on the other hand, exhibited moderate antioxidant activity which was significantly higher (p< 0.05) compared to aqueous extract but no significant difference to that of acetone extract. Despite its highest antioxidant potential with respect to aqueous and methanol extract, the standard agent (ascorbic acid) displayed almost twice the antioxidant power of the acetone extract. The phytoconstituents in the leaf extracts of Canarium odontophyllum were shown to be terpenoid, tannin and flavonoid.

 

Key Words: Canarium odontophyllum, Phytochemicals, Antioxidant, FRAP assay

[1]. Carlsen MH, Halvorsen BL, Holte K, Bohn SK, Dragland S, Sampson L, Wiley C, et al.The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide. Nutr J. 2010; 9(3): 1-11.

[2]. Alothman M, Bhat R, Karim AA. Antioxidant capacity and phenolic content of selected tropical fruits from Malaysia, extracted with different solvents. Food Chem.2009; 115(3): 785-788.

[3]. Rice-Evans C, Miller N, Paganga G. Antioxidant properties of phenolic compounds. Trends Plant Sci. 1997; 2(4): 152-159.

[4]. Tepe B, Sokmen A. Screening of the antioxidative properties and total phenolic contents of three endemic Tanacetum subspecies from Turkish flora. Bioresour Technol. 2007; 98(16): 3076-3079.

[5]. Liu RH. Potential synergy of phytochemicals in cancer prevention: Mechanism of action. J Nutr. 2004; 134(12): 3479S-3485S.

[6]. Lim YY, Murtijaya J. Antioxidant properties of Phyllanthus amarus extracts as affected by different drying methods. LWT-Food Sci Technol. 2007; 40(9):1664-1669.

[7]. Bariş Ö, Güllüce M, Şahin, F, Özer H, Kiliç H, Özkan H, Sokmen M, Özbek T. Biological activities of the essential oil and methanol extract of Achillea biebersteinii Afan.(Asteraceae). Turk J Biol. 2006; 30(2): 65-73.

[8]. Benzie IF, Strain JJ. The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of "antioxidant power": the FRAP assay. Anal Biochem.1996; 239(1): 70-76.

Natural products had been indispensably used by many cultures and traditions from thousands of years. Plants synthesis enormous varieties of substances called secondary metabolities (Phytocompounds) and accumulated in it. The potential bioactive phytocompounds like alkaloids, flavanoids, and phenolic compounds, steroids and coumarins etc are potential source for drug discovery. There has been considerable increase in the usage of herbal products and drugs from medicinal plants in recent years. Because of this, it is essential that the quality of plant-based drugs must be assured safe prior to their use. A study was conducted to analyse the presence of traces of essential and non essential heavy metals in the selected medicinal plant. AAS is used to investigate the presence of heavy metals in the selected medicinal plant collected from hill ranges of Palakad district, Kerala, India. (Western ghats). Results obtained in the present study showed that the medicinal herb analysed contain heavy metals chromium, copper, zinc, manganese and nickel that are considered essential elements and lead, cadmium and mercury which are nonessential. The concentration (ppm) of heavy metals in the plant extracts was found to be as follows: chromium (0.036 μg/g), manganese (0.017μg/g), copper (1.637 μg/g), zinc (0.247 μg/g), cadmium (0.053 μg/g), mercury (0.0) and lead (0.002 μg/g), arsenic (0.60 μg/g). From the comparison of the results with the defined permissible limits, it was concluded that the levels of heavy metals present in the herb fall in the permissible limits for consumed medicinal herbs.

 

Key Words: Heavy metals, Ceropegia, Soma plant, Traditional medicinal plant

[1] Abou-Arab AAK Kawther M, El Tantawy ME Badeaa Rl Khayria N 1999 Quantity estimation of some contaminants in commonly used medicinal plants in the Egyptian market Food Chem. 67 357-363
[2] Alam Muzaffer Sathavasan K Ali Usman S, Ramadas VNK and Chelladurai 1982 Analytical Values of Sarcostemma acidum and Ceropegia juncea the Soma Plants in Ayurveda BMEBR. 3 238 – 243
[3] Barbosa AC 1997 Mercury in Brazil: present or future risk Journal of the Brazilian Association for Advanced Science. 49 111–116
[4] Branter AH Males ZJ 1999 Quality assessment of paliurus spina-christi extracts Ethnopharmacology 66 175-179
[5] Baht RV and Moy GG 1997 Monitoring and assessment of dietaryexposure to chemical contaminants Rapport Trimestriel de StatistiquesSanitaires Mondiales. 50 132–148

BACKGROUND: In India, diarrheal diseases are the second leading cause of child mortality (20%) after acute respiratory infections (30%). Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) 2006 recommendations about low osmolarity ORS with zinc supplements, antimicrobials in dysentery, antiemetics in severe vomiting, lactobacillus strains as probiotic and awareness generation among care givers about the disease for the management of acute gastroenteritis in children should be followed for further improvement in management and prevention of AGE.

 

METHODOLOGY: A retrospective cross sectional study involving analysis of prescriptions of pediatric inpatients diagnosed and treated for acute gastroenteritis, using prevalence and patient profile documentation forms for a study period of 6 monthsi.e from July 2013 to December 2013.

 

RESULTS: Of the total 210 inpatients, AGE was common in males (53.6%) than compared to female (46.6%) patients. AGE was most prevalent in children less than 2 years (81.4%). 69% of the patients suffered from some dehydration, 19% from severe dehydration and 12% with no dehydration. There were 2.8% cases of dysentery, 3.8% had their stool culture proven to be protozoal and 7.14% cases of secondary lactose intolerance. The hospital shows adherence to

recommendations of IAP, 2006 i.e. P>0.005 except antimicrobials i.e. 78.1% (p < 0.001).

 

CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates that hospital shows adherence to almost all the recommendations of IAP except antimicrobials. Persistence of fever >38ºC and diarrhea for more than 3 days was the common parameter for prescribing antimicrobials empherically and prophylactically.

 

Key Words: Acute gastroenteritis, Pediatrics, Prevalence, Management, IAP 2006, Patient awareness

[1] Nelson, Essentials of pediatrics, fifth edition, section XVI, chapter :112, Acute Gastroenteritis, pages, 512-515
[2] Angela Revelas et al A review on Acute gastroenteritis among children in the developing world , South Afr J Epidemiol Infect 2012;27(4):156-162
[3] Amandeep et al. Pediatric Emergency Medicine Practice Acute Gastroenteritis, an update on emergency medicine practice. July 2010,medline.com

[4] Adam Levine et al, American Public Health Association , Pediatric gastroenteritis, 8 April 2013, medscape, article no: 801948.
[5] Report Submitted to World Health Organization (India) October 2007,AP,HIS
[6] Pathak et al. Adherence to treatment guidelines for acute diarrhoea in children up to 12 years in Ujjain, India - a cross-sectional prescription analysis, BMC Infectious Diseases 2011.
[7] IAP Guidelines 2006 on Management of Acute Diarrhea, IAPJ volume 44, May 17, 2007.
[8] Joel S. Tieder, Pediatric Hospital Adherence to standard of Care in Acute gastroenteritis ,aap, Volume 124, Number 6, December 2009

BACKGROUND: Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) is at the very heart of the profession of Pharmacy; indeed it is the very essence of the profession. Moreover, it expresses our covenant with the patient not only to 'do no harm' but also to facilitate good therapeutic outcomes with medicines. GPP is the practice of pharmacy that responds to the needs of the people who use the pharmacists' services to provide optimal, evidence-based care. The aim was to use an indicator based tool to assess and report on Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) in the community pharmacies in Anantapur and objective to assess the availability and use of a prescribing recording system, degree of computerization, and implementation of stock management and re-order system, cleanliness of the dispensing and storage area, pharmacy hygiene, storage conditions, system and practices. In the current study the results compared to the possible score and possible maximum score of standards is not satisfactory primarily in terms of system indicators, secondarily service indicator, thirdly rational drug use indicator (RDU), followed by dispensing and storage indicators respectively. In conclusion, achieving an optimal, safe, economic and effective patient care is the primary goal of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP), with a critically validated tools.

 

Key Words: Dispensing quality, dispensing practice, indicators, medicine management, pharmacy practice

[1] Good pharmacy practice Joint FIP/WHO Guidelines on GPP standards for Quality of Pharmacy services (www.fip.org/good_pharmacy_practice).

[2] Resolution WHA47.12: Role of the pharmacist in support of the WHO revised drug strategy (WHA47/1994/REC/1)

[3] FIP Guidelines for Drug Procurement

[4] The role of the pharmacist in the health care system: Report of a WHO consultative group, New Delhi, India 13-16 December 1988 and Report of a WHO Meeting, Tokyo, Japan 31 August -3 September 1993 (WHO/PHARM/94.569)

BACKGROUND: Health problems related to stress is a major global issue. The present study aims at evaluating the possible protective effect of β-carotene (βC), as a natural cyanobacterial product, against stress-induced alterations in circadian rhythms of behavioral activities and oxidative markers. Male albino rats were subjected to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) for 21 days. Rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (20 rats/group) viz.; control, CUS-exposed, βC-treated and βC-treated + CUS-exposed groups. One hour before testing, βC extracted from Oscillatoria brevis was administered (10 mg/kg) intraperitoneally (I.P.). Elevated plus maze (EPM) and forced swimming test (FST) were applied for behavioral assessment. Blood samples were collected at four circadian times (CT 3, 9, 15 and 21); 5 rats/time point, to monitor circadian profiles of nitric oxide (NO), lipid peroxidation (LPO) and glutathione (GSH). Circadian patterns were observed in all tested behavioral and antioxidant parameters. CUS induced anxiety- and depression-like behavior in rats where the immobility time in FST was significantly increased (P<0.05), whereas the time spent in open arms of EPM was decreased. Data showed that under CUS exposure the peak times (acrophase) of circadian rhythms of NO, LPO and GSH levels as well as immobility time and time spent in open arms were changed. βC improved these changes. CUS significantly increased NO, LPO, while it significantly decreased GSH levels (P<0.05). On the other hand, βC significantly decreased NO, LPO and immobilization time, meanwhile a significant increase of GSH and time spent in open arm was noticed (P<0.05). In conclusion, it can be suggested that βC has an antioxidant and neuroprotective influence in ameliorating both the anti-anxiety and anti-depression-like behavior as well as NO, LPO and GSH levels, in addition to modulating the altered circadian rhythms.

 

Key Words: β-carotene, circadian rhythm, CUS, Oscillatoria brevis, rat, stress

[1] Kendler, K.S., Karkowski, L.M. and Prescott, C.A. 1999. Causal relationship between stressful life events and the onset of major depression. American J. Psych., 156: 837-841.

[2] Buijs, R.M. and Kalsbeek, A. 2001. Hypothalamic integration of central and peripheral clocks. Nat. Rev. Neurosci., 2(7): 521-552.

[3] Schibler, U. and Sassone-Corsi, P. A. 2002. Web of circadian pacemakers. Cell, 111: 919–922. [4] Mastronardi, C.A., Yu, W.H. and Mccann, S.M. 2002. Resting and circadian release of nitric oxide is controlled by leptin in male rats. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 99: 5721–5726.

[5] Subash, S. and Subramanian, P. 2007. Influence of N-phthaloyl GABA on the circadian rhythms of lipid peroxidation and antioxidants in wistar rats under constant light. Iranian J. Pharmacol. Therapeut., 6(2): 115-118.

[6] Kronfeld-Schor, N. and Einat, H. 2012. Circadian rhythms and depression: human psychopathology and animal models. Neuropharmacol., 62: 101–114

BACKGROUND: A survey was performed from July 2012 through September 2012 on randomly selected cancer patients at three well-known hospitals in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, by the help of a structured questionnaire. A total of 60 patients, 27 male and 33 female were involved in this study with the ratio of 1:1.2.Cancer prevalence was much noticeable in middle to old age where lung and stomach cancers stood in the top level (37.04%), followed by thyroid cancer (25.93%), sarcoma (14.81%), male genital tract cancer (7.41%), eye cancer (7.41%), duodenum cancer (3.7%) and rectum cancer (3.7%) in male. In female patients, ovary cancer ranked the top (39.39%), followed by breast cancer (27.27%), rectum cancer (18.18%) and duodenum cancer (9.09%). This survey reflected that the primary and foremost means of cancer treatment in Bangladesh are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy which can be used alone or in combination. From this study we found that, 60% of cancer cases were being treated with chemotherapy alone and 20% cases with the combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Only a limited number of pharmaceutical companies manufacture anticancer drugs in Bangladesh and many of the required anticancer drugs are imported.

 

Key Words: patients, Treatment patterns, Prices of anticancer drugs, Cost of cancer treatment, Bangladesh.

[1]R. Dikshit, P. C. Gupta, C. Ramasundarahettige, V. Gajalakshmi, L. Aleksandrowicz, R. Badwe, R. Kumar, S. Roy, W. Suraweera, F. Bray, M. Mallath, P. K. Singh, D. N. Sinha, A. S. Shet, H. Gelband and P. Jha, Cancer mortality in India: a nationally representative survey, Available on www.thelancet.com Published online March 28, 2012 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60358-4.
[2] World Health Organization, Cancer Facts and Figures 2014. Available on http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/
[3] C. de Martel, J. Ferlay, S. Franceschi, J. Vignat, F. Bray, D. Forman and M. Plummer, Global burden of cancers attributable to infections in 2008: a review and synthetic analysis, Lancet Oncolology, 13(6), 2012, 607-615.
[4] G. Danaei, S. V. Hoorn, A. D. Lopez, C. J. Murray and M. Ezzati, Causes of cancer in the world: comparative risk assessment of nine behavioral and environmental risk factors, The Lancet, 366(9499), 2005, 1784-1793.
[5] Cancer Registry Report. National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital 2005-2007.Cited on 29 March. Available on http://whobangladesh.healthrepository.org/bitsrteam/123456789/282/1/Publication_Cancer_

Registry_Report.pdf.
[6] T. Ahmed, Ashrafunnessa and J. Rahman. Development of a visual inspection programme for cervical cancer prevention in Bangladesh. Reproductive Health Matters. 16(32), 2008, 78-85.

BACKGROUND: The misuse of alcohol has major public health consequences and its high prevalence calls for concern especially in the hands of adolescents. This study sought to determine the prevalence and patterns of alcohol use among Junior Secondary School Students in Benue State of Nigeria. A stratified random (multistage) sampling was applied involving 12 junior secondary schools and a total of 1200 students. Data was collected with an anonymous self administered questionnaire adapted from the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) and analysed with SPSS version 17.0.Majority of respondents are Males (57.7%), Christians (94.2%) and fall within age group 10-20 years (92%). Prevalence rate was 21%; initiation age was 10-17 yrs (62.2%) with more male drinkers (89.2%); the most preferred drink is beer (79.3%) and major source are friends (56.8%).Summarily, the prevalence of alcohol use among Junior Secondary School students in Benue State is low but most users begin at a very early age which is of concern. There is a need to intervene to curtail this trend and to further explore the contextual situations surrounding alcohol use among these adolescents.

 

Key Words: Adolescents, Alcohol, Patterns, Prevalence, Substance abuse

[1] D.H. Jernigan, Alcohol and young people. Global Status Report. Mental Health and Substances Dependence Department. Geneva: World Health Organization 2001 D.B.
[2] Clark, L. Kirisci, and R.E Tarter, Adolescent versus adult onset and the development of substance use disorders in males. Drug Alcohol Depend, 49, 1998, 115-121.
[3] D.M. Fergusson, M.T. Lynskey, and L.J. Horwood, Childhood exposure to alcohol and adolescent drinking patterns. Addiction, 89, 1994, 1007-1016.
[4] J. Friedman and J.A. Humphrey, Antecedents of collegiate drinking. J. Youth Adolesc., 14, 1985, 11-21.
[5] B.F. Grant and D.A. Dawson, Age at onset of alcohol use and its association with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence: Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. J. Subst. Abuse, 9, 1997, 103-110

BACKGROUND: Angiomyolipomas are rare, benign tumours which are composed of an intimate admixture of blood vessels, smooth muscle cells and fat in varying proportions and hence the name. They occur at many sites, more commonly in the kidney. Usually they present as an incidental finding or with retroperitoneal haemorrhage in adults. They are seen in 25-50% of the patients with tuberous sclerosis.

 

Key Words: Angiomyolipoma, kidney tumours, tuberous sclerosis.

[1] Eble J N Angiomyolipoma of kidney .Semin Diagn Pathol15 :21-40
[2] Nelson CP, Sanda MG: Contemporary diagnosis and management of renal angiomyolipoma. J Urol 2002, 168(1):1315-1325.
[3] O ΄Callaghan F J,Noakes M J,Martyns C N et al,2004-an epidemiological study of renal pathology in tuberous sclerosis complex.BJU Int 94:853-857.
[4] Muttarak M, Pattamapaspon N. Lojanapiwa B, Chaiwun B. Renal angiomyolipoma with bleeding. Biomed Imaging Interv J 2007; 3(4):e8:27-29.
[5] Filipas D,Spix C,Schulz-Lampel D et aql.2003 Screening for renal cell carcinoma using ultrasonography:a feasibility study.BJU Int 91:595-599.

BACKGROUND: A simple, economic, selective, precise, and accurate High Performance liquid Chromatographic method for the analysis of Chloramphenicol in bulk drug and pharmaceutical formulations were developed and validated in the present study. The mobile phase, employed in the present study, consists of a mixture of sodium pentanesulfonate solution, acetonitrile, and glacial acetic acid in the proportion 85:15:1 respectively, the pH of the solutions was maintained at 5.0 ± 0.05 with sodium hydroxide solution . This was found to give a sharp peak of Chloramphenicol at a retention time of 3.551 min. HPLC analysis of Chloramphenicol was carried out at a wavelength of 272 nm with a flow rate of 2.0 ml/min. The linear regression analysis data for the calibration curve showed a good linear relationship with a regression coefficient of 0.999 in the concentration range of 50 μg ml-1to 150 μg ml-1. The linear regression equation was y =38.493x-51.484. The developed method was employed with a high degree of precision and accuracy for the analysis of Chloramphenicol. The developed method was validated for accuracy, precision, robustness, detection and quantification limits as per the ICH guidelines. The wide linearity range, accuracy, sensitivity, short retention time and composition of the mobile phase indicated that this method is better for the quantification of Chloramphenicol.

 

Key Words: Chloramphenicol. HPLC. Validation

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