Formulation and Evaluation of Quality Parameters of Effervescent Granules from the Potent Antioxidant between Two Variants of the Adaptogenic Herb Ocimum tenuiflorum L.

Ocimum tenuiflorum L. is found throughout semitropical and tropical parts of Southeast Asia. In Nepal, O. tenuiflorum L. is popular with two variants: Krishna Tulsi consisting of purple-colored leaves and Sri Tulsi consisting of green-colored leaves. O. tenuiflorum L. is considered the queen of herbs and is a traditionally and clinically proven medicinal herb for its application and efficacy. However, no commercial pharmaceutical preparations of O. tenuiflorum L. are available using effervescent vehicles. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the antioxidant activity of leaves from the two varieties of O. tenuiflorum L. and formulate and evaluate the quality parameters of effervescent granules of the potent extract. The antioxidant activity of O. tenuiflorum L. ethanolic extracts was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging assay at 1, 10, and 100 µg/mL concentrations, where ascorbic acid was used as the positive control. The antioxidant activity of purple-leafed O. tenuiflorum L. was found to be higher than that of green-leafed O. tenuiflorum L. Therefore, effervescent granules of the ethanolic extract of purple-leafed O. tenuiflorum L. were formulated using the pharmaceutical excipients tartaric acid, citric acid, and sodium bicarbonate and the quality parameters of the granules were evaluated. The formulated granules met the quality parameters assessed from the angle of repose, bulk density, tapped density, Carr’s Index, Hausner’s ratio, effervescent cessation time, and stability studies. Thus, the formulated effervescent granules of O. tenuiflorum L. can be used for therapeutic purposes or as a functional food

Antioxidant activity of selected natural medicine used in Nepal

Diminished antioxidant defence or increased production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in the biological system can result into oxidative stress which can cause damage to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), proteins, lipids and as a result different disease states arise like cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, rheumatoid arthritis. Antioxidants from different plant resources can significantly delay or prevent oxidation of the substrate and hence prevents from various diseases. Therefore, present research was focused in search of potent natural antioxidants. For the study, methanolic extracts of twenty-five common natural medicines, mostly spices were screened using 1,1–diphenyl2–picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical for their antioxidative activities. Among them, extracts of Chebulae Fructus, Terminalia Billericae Fructus, Phyllanthi Fructus, Cinnamomi Cortex, Arecae Semen, Pericarpium Punicae Granati, Syzygiae Fructus, Rhei Rhizoma, Pterocarpi Lignum and Santali Lignum Albi showed potent antioxidative activity with EC50 values being 1.5, 2.1, 1.4, 2, 1.5, 1.45, 2.7, 2.9, 3, 3.8 μg/mL, respectively. Ascorbic acid (EC50: 2.6 μg/mL) was used as positive control. Therefore, consumers can increase their intake of foods rich in antioxidant compounds that can lower the risk of chronic health problems

Evaluation of the Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activity of Mimosa rubicaulis and Reinwardtia indica

Many plants have the property of wound healing, but most of the people are using costly allopathic medicine for the wound. This might be due to lack of awareness about the traditional uses and lack of scientific study of ethnomedicinal plants. So, this study aimed to carry out the antibacterial and antioxidant activity of two medicinal plants which are used traditionally for wound healing activity, i.e.,Mimosa rubicaulis and Reinwardtia indica. Different parts of Mimosa rubicaulis (root, stem, and leaves) and Reinwardtia indica (flower and leaves) were used for the study. Extractions were done by maceration using ethanol as solvent. Antibacterial activity was carried out by the well diffusion method, and antioxidant activities were screened by DPPH radical scavenging and NO scavenging assays. Extract of M. rubicaulis has shown a weak zone of inhibition towards S. aureus and P. vulgaris whereas R. indica has shown no zone of inhibition towards selected bacterial strains. Leaf, root, and stem extracts of M. rubicaulis have shown potent antioxidant activity, i.e., IC50 value of 9.8 µg/ml, 10.19 µg/ml, and, 13.64 µg/ml, respectively. Similarly, leaf extract of R. indica exhibited antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 19.73 μg/ml. The percentage inhibition of NO radicals of root and stem of M. rubicaulis and leaves of R. indica was 31%, 21%, and 22%, respectively. Out of these two plant species, M. rubicaulis had shown antibacterial activity towards selected microorganism, but antioxidant activity was shown by both plant species. These properties on above mentioned two plant species might help for the development of a marketed formulation for antibacterial and wound-healing agent since wound healing is promoted by antibacterial and antioxidant activities

Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Analgesic Activities of Aqueous Extract of Diploknema butyracea (Roxb.) H.J. Lam Bark

Diploknema butyracea (Roxb.) H.J. Lam is a multipurpose tree used by the Nepalese indigenous people for medicinal purposes such as rheumatism, asthma, and ulcer and other purposes such as cooking and lighting. However, there is no scientific evidence for the medicinal uses of this plant. The present study aimed to explore the phytochemical constituents, estimate the total phenolic content, evaluate antioxidant activity, and investigate the in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of aqueous extract of Diploknema butyracea (Roxb.) H.J. Lam bark (ADBB). Phytochemical screening was performed using standard methods. The total phenolic content was determined using the Folin–Ciocalteu method. The in vitro antioxidant activity was determined using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay and nitric oxide radical scavenging assay. For the in vivo studies, the plant extract was given in three different doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight) to male albino Wistar rats. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic studies were carried out using the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and the hot plate method, respectively. Results revealed the presence of different phytoconstituents such as flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, terpenoids, and carbohydrates together with a considerable amount of phenolic compounds. Antioxidant assays indicated the potent antioxidant activity of the plant extracts. The higher dose of D. butyracea (200 mg/kg) exhibited a maximum and significant inhibition (53.20%) of rat hind paw edema volume at 4 h and showed a greater increment in latency time (12.15 ± 1.81 sec) in the hot plate test at 120 min. The present study demonstrated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic potential of ADBB, which supports its traditional medicinal use

Knowledge, attitude and practice outcomes: An effect of pharmacist provided counseling in hypertensive patients in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Western Nepal

Objective: To evaluate the effect of counseling in hypertensive patients in terms of their Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) outcomes. Methods: A prospective interventional study was conducted in hypertensive patients. Suitably designed and validated KAP questionnaire consisting of 28 questions related to knowledge, attitude and practice about management of hypertension was used to evaluate the baseline KAP score of patients. Patients were then counseled at their two follow ups during their two months intervention period. After the completion of intervention KAP score of patients were measured using the same KAP questionnaire. Results: A total of 82 patients were enrolled and randomized into test and control groups, each consisting of 41 patients. The effectiveness of counseling on test group patients was evaluated by comparing the mean KAP scores before and after counseling by applying paired sampled T- test. Before intervention, the mean ± SD of knowledge score of test group patients was 24.42 ± 5.25; attitude 21.52 ± 2.21 and practice 5.89 ± 1.79, with the maximum possible score for each being 36, 25 and 10 respectively. These scores were changed to 31.79 ± 2.85, 21.84 ±1.96 and 7.07 ±1.73 respectively after the intervention (p 0.05). Conclusion: Pharmacist provided counseling is effective in improving KAP of patients towards the disease management