Pregnant women’s use and attitude toward herbal, vitamin, and mineral supplements in an academic tertiary care center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background: Herbal medicine has been widely utilized by pregnant women despite the limited available evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of that practice. The current available studies, from different countries, estimated that the use of herbal medicine during pregnancy range from 7% up to 96%. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence, attitude, source of information, and reasoning behind the use of herbal medicine among pregnant women in Saudia Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted using a convenience sample including pregnant women who visited the obstetric clinics at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A survey was administered in order to evaluate the prevalence and perception toward herbal medicine use among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Results: A total of 297 pregnant women completed the survey. The results showed that 56% of the respondents have used some type of herbal medicine during their pregnancy. Olive oil was utilized in 26% of the respondents followed by cumin 20% and garlic 15%. In addition, 37% of the respondents used herbal medicine by their own initiative, while 33% and 12% used herbal medicine based on recommendations from their families and friends, respectively. Furthermore, 19% of the respondents reported a positive attitude toward herbal medicine use during pregnancy. In addition, the percentage of women with positive attitude was marginally higher among respondents with lower educational level. Conclusion: The prevalence of using herbal medicine is considerably high among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, the majority of the users relied on informal sources to use herbal medicine during pregnancy. Keywords: Herbal medicine, Supplements, Pregnancy, Prevalence, Attitudes, Saudi Arabi

Compounds targeting disulfide bond forming enzyme DsbB of Gram-negative bacteria

In bacteria, disulfide bonds confer stability on many proteins exported to the cell envelope or beyond. These proteins include numerous bacterial virulence factors. Thus, bacterial enzymes that promote disulfide bond formation represent targets for compounds inhibiting bacterial virulence. Here, we describe a novel target- and cell-based screening methodology for identifying compounds that inhibit the disulfide bond-forming enzymes E. coli DsbB (EcDsbB) or M. tuberculosis VKOR (MtbVKOR). MtbVKOR can replace EcDsbB although the two are not homologues. Initial screening of 51,487 compounds yielded six specifically inhibiting EcDsbB. These compounds share a structural motif and do not inhibit MtbVKOR. A medicinal chemistry approach led us to select related compounds some of which are much more effective DsbB inhibitors than those found in the screen. These compounds inhibit purified DsbB and prevent anaerobic E. coli growth. Furthermore, these compounds inhibit all but one of the DsbBs of nine other gram-negative pathogenic bacteria tested