Antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of Cordia macleodii leaves

AbstractThis investigation was undertaken to evaluate ethanolic extract of Cordia macleodii leaves for possible antioxidant and hepatoprotective potential. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by four established, in vitro methods viz. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method, nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging method, iron chelation method and reducing power method. The extract demonstrated a significant dose dependent antioxidant activity comparable with ascorbic acid. The extract was also evaluated for hepatoprotective activity by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver damage model in rats. CCl4 produced a significant increase in levels of serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin. Pretreatment of the rats with ethanolic extract of C. macleodii (100, 200 and 400mg/kg po) inhibited the increase in levels of GPT, GOT, ALP and total bilirubin and the inhibition was comparable with Silymarin (100mg/kg po). The present study revealed that C. macleodii leaves have significant radical scavenging and hepatoprotective activities

Medical students' perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine therapies: A pre- and post-exposure survey in Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

Background: Evidently, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is increasingly a recognized medical practice that efficiently uses multiple treatment therapies and techniques in promoting the health  and wellbeing of people as well as preventing and managing a variety of human disorders. Research in CAM, which courses exposure to diverse healthcare professionals, is important from many perspectives including improvement in teaching skills of faculty, enhancing capacity building, and  innovative curriculum development. This pre- and post-design crosssectional study aimed to assess perceptions, training needs, personal usage, use in office practice, and knowledge of two batches of medical students toward CAM therapies in Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods: The second year medical students of the first (year 2012-13) and second (year 2013-2014) batch [n=26 & 39, respectively] were selected for this study. A reliable 16-item  self-administered questionnaire was distributed among all students for answering before and after the 48-hour specific 19 CAM therapies course, in terms of CAM therapies are clearly conventional or  alternative, training needs, effectiveness, personal use, use in practice, management of two clinical cases by CAM or conventional therapies, and views about which evidence based approach strongly support individual CAM modalities.Results: Medical students' knowledge and perceptions of CAM therapies significantly improved across some sub-items of CAM questionnaire with a positive trend in the rest of its items including their views about CAM therapies, need for further training, personal use of therapies and advising patients regarding CAM practices strongly supported by randomized clinical controlled trials and published case studies.Conclusion: CAM course tends to have positive impact on the knowledge and perceptions of medical students, in addition to need for further training, and personal use and use of CAM therapies in practice in line with strong evidence-based data regarding therapeutic efficacy. The preliminary results of this study call for further research in specific CAM modalities with a larger sample in academic settings across the nation. Key words: Medical students; Complementary and Alternative Medicine; CAM course; CAM therapies; pre-post design study; Saudi Arabia

MEDICAL STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE THERAPIES: A PRE- AND POST-EXPOSURE SURVEY IN MAJMAAH UNIVERSITY, SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Evidently, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is increasingly a recognized medical practice that efficiently uses multiple treatment therapies and techniques in promoting the health and wellbeing of people as well as preventing and managing a variety of human disorders. Research in CAM, which courses exposure to diverse healthcare professionals, is important from many perspectives including improvement in teaching skills of faculty, enhancing capacity building, and innovative curriculum development. This pre- and post-design crosssectional study aimed to assess perceptions, training needs, personal usage, use in office practice, and knowledge of two batches of medical students toward CAM therapies in Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The second year medical students of the first (year 2012-13) and second (year 2013-2014) batch [n=26 & 39, respectively] were selected for this study. A reliable 16-item self-administered questionnaire was distributed among all students for answering before and after the 48-hour specific 19 CAM therapies course, in terms of CAM therapies are clearly conventional or alternative, training needs, effectiveness, personal use, use in practice, management of two clinical cases by CAM or conventional therapies, and views about which evidence based approach strongly support individual CAM modalities. Results: Medical students' knowledge and perceptions of CAM therapies significantly improved across some sub-items of CAM questionnaire with a positive trend in the rest of its items including their views about CAM therapies, need for further training, personal use of therapies and advising patients regarding CAM practices strongly supported by randomized clinical controlled trials and published case studies. Conclusion: CAM course tends to have positive impact on the knowledge and perceptions of medical students, in addition to need for further training, and personal use and use of CAM therapies in practice in line with strong evidence-based data regarding therapeutic efficacy. The preliminary results of this study call for further research in specific CAM modalities with a larger sample in academic settings across the nation

General practitioners pre and post training knowledge and attitude towards psychiatry

Objectives: General practitioners (GPs) often lack sufficient knowledge of psychiatric diagnoses and have unfavorable attitudes towards mental illness. The first aim of this intervention study is to assess the pre-and post-psychiatric training knowledge and attitudes of GPs. The second aim is to explore certain factors, which predict gain in knowledge and changes in attitude. Methods: This study was executed at Buraidah Mental Health Hospital in the year 2003. The research design consisted of a pre- and post-test comparison of GPs responses. The instruments were a Knowledge Test and an Attitude Questionnaire. Results: The psychiatric training had a discernible impact on GPs' knowledge. Though most of their pre-training attitudes were well-known either as positive or negative, certain attitudes were significantly changed post-intervention. Gain in knowledge was significantly predicted by the type of psychiatric help offered by the GPs. Gender and duration of GPs' practice significantly predicted the attitudinal changes. Conclusion: Psychiatric training courses significantly enhance GPs' knowledge together with significant changes in certain attitudes that have vast psychiatric implications including destigmatization, early diagnosis and better treatment of primary care patients with mental disorders.</p

Comparative Evaluation of Physiochemical and GC-MS Analysis of Sour Oranges and Sweet Oranges Peels Oil

Abstract: The studied were carried out for the comparative evaluation of physiochemical and GCMS analysis of sour and sweet oranges peel oil of Pakistan. The physiochemical analysis of sour oranges were shown that moisture (%), density, iodine value (g/100g), saponification value (mg/g), peroxide value (mg eq/kg), free fatty acid value (%) 0.34 ±0.22, 0.92 ± 0.16, 100 ± 0.44 , 171 ± 0.32 , 35.2 ± 0.12 and 5.8 ± 0.31 respectively, while similarly the sweet oranges peels physiochemical analysis value were 0.42 ± 0.15 moisture (%), 0.94 ± 0.13 density, 103 ± 0.54 iodine value (g/100g), saponification value (mg/g), peroxide value (mg eq/kg) and free fatty acid value (%) were 183 ± 0.11 , 13.5 ± 0.17 and 2.3 ± 0.16 respectively. GC-MS analysis of sour orange and sweet orange peels oil were also calculated. The results of the present study demonstrated that the seeds of citrus species investigated are a potential source of valuable oil which might be utilized for edible and other industrial applications

Polar protic solvent-trapping polymorphism of the Hg-II-hydrazone coordination polymer : experimental and theoretical findings

A novel series of Hg-II coordination polymers with a general formula [HgL(N)(3)](n)center dot n(solv) (HL = 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde isonicotinoylhydrazone; n(solv) = 0.5H(2)O (1), 2MeOH (2), EtOH (3), PrOH (4) and 0.5BuOH (5)) was prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal structure of HL, elucidated by X-ray diffraction, comprises two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit cell, each of which is stabilized by an intramolecular hydrogen bond formed between the carbohydrazide hydrogen atom and the 2-pyridyl nitrogen atom. Crystal structures of 1-5 each reveal a similar 1D zigzag metal-organic chain [HgL(N)(3)] n, where the organic ligands bridge metal centers. These chains are extended into distinct 2D supramolecular nets by strong hydrogen bonds with the solvent molecules and/or short Hg center dot center dot center dot N supramolecular contacts. These networks were topologically classified as the hcb in 1 and fes in 2-5 underlying nets. On comparing the H-bonding patterns, it can be concluded that the lattice water molecules in 1 and methanol molecules in 2 form H-bonding interactions with the O and amide N atoms of L in the former structure and the O atom of L in the latter structure. In the remaining coordination compounds, the lattice solvent prefers the azide N atom for H-bonding. Furthermore, the existence of Hg center dot center dot center dot N interactions in 2-5 and their absence in 1 clearly highlights the importance of the size and polarity of the solvents on the self-assembly generation of Hg-II coordination polymers. A broad network of intermolecular pi center dot center dot center dot pi stacking interactions, formed between the pyridyl fragments, provide further reinforcement of crystal packing patterns in the structures of HL and 2-5. DFT based charge and energy decomposition scheme (ETS-NOCV) was applied to characterize the obtained polymers