Chromatographic evaluation of gallic acid, catechin and quer-cetin in methanolic extracts of selected formulations of spices and herbs

The main objective of this study was to quantify the probable antioxidants such as gallic acid (phe-nolic acid), catechin and quercetin (flavonoids) in the three different formulations of mixed spices and herbs, that is mixed herbs (F1), mixed spices (F2) and mixed spices & herbs (F3) predominantly formulated for general health and wellbeing. The aforementioned antioxidants could be highly beneficial for the maintenance of good health as they possess the capacity to scavenge the free radicals which sequentially prevents certain non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes mellitus, cancer and atherosclerosis for which free radicals are considered one the major causes. The formulation F2 comprising of mixed spices showed highest contents of gallic acid (86.03 μg/ml), catechin (339.40 μg/ml) and quercetin (394.59 μg/ml) thus highlighting its nutritional potential against various NCDs. The findings of this study depict that the daily supplementa-tion of spices and herbs particularly that of mixed spices could be highly beneficial for the maintenance of good health as they are a rich source of phenolic antioxidants

A narrative review of antimicrobial stewardship interventions within in-patient settings and resultant patient outcomes

The overuse of antibiotics has led to various healthcare problems such as the emergence of resistance in infectious microbes and mortality due to antibiotic resistant healthcare associated infections (HAIs). An antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) program is the set of interventions used worldwide to enhance the rational use of antibiotics especially for the hospitalized patients. This review aimed to describe the characteristics of the implemented AMS programs in various hospitals of the world mainly focusing on the interventions and patients outcomes. The literature about AMS program was searched through various databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Cochran Library, Ovid (Medline), Web of Science and Scopus. In this review the literature pertaining to the AMS programs for hospitalized patients is sorted on the basis of various interventions that are categorized as formulary restriction (pre-authorization), guideline development, clinical pathway development, educative interventions and prospective audit. Moreover a clear emphasis is laid on the patient outcomes obtained as a result of these interventions namely the infection control, drop in readmission rate, mortality control, resistance control and the control of an overall cost of antibiotic treatment obtained mainly by curbing the overuse of antibiotics within the hospital wards. AMS program is an efficient strategy of pharmacovigilance to rationalize the antimicrobial practice for hospitalized patients as it prevents the misuse of antibiotics, which ultimately retards the health threatening effects of various antibiotics

A systematic review of the hospitals’ antimicrobial stewardship programs implemented to improve antibiotics’ utilization, cost and resistance patterns

Introduction: The high reliance of the physicians and surgeons on the antibiotics since their discovery has led to an irrational antibiotic utilization which not only has raised the incidence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) but also increased the cost of treatment with antibiotics as high use of antibiotics has been found related to the occurrence of certain nosocomial infections which need extra antibiotic courses to be cured. In order to overcome these antibiotic utilization related problems an antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) program being the set of various persuasive, restrictive and structural interventions is considered an effective tool to rationalize the in-patient antimicrobial utilization worldwide. Method: The focus of this review is on the interventions that are being implemented during the in- patient AMS programs and have been described effective in controlling the antibiotic utilization, their cost of treatment and an overall infection control. The literature containing the information about various AMS interventions effecting the utilization and cost patterns along with the impact on AMR was searched in various databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Ovid (Medline) and Scopus. The categorical sorting of the published data is based on various AMS interventions such as the guideline development, formulary restriction (pre-authorization), educative interventions, clinical pathway development and prospective (post prescription) audit. Considering the objectives of the study such as the goal to curb overutilization of antibiotics, control of their cost of treatment for in-patients and infection control the sorted literature is presented in three different tables describing the AMS impact on the said outcomes. Results: The post AMS changes in utilization patterns are described as fall of antibiotics defined daily doses (DDD) and days of therapy (DOT) which resulted in the reduction of the cost of treatment with antibiotics. The reduction of the cost of treatment with antibiotics also resulted due to the AMS impact on the control of various nosocomial and multi-drug resistant (MDR) infections. Conclusion: It has been concluded that the AMS program if implemented under the supervision of an expert AMS team mainly comprising of an infectious disease (ID) physician, clinical pharmacists and microbiologists with considerable support by the hospital authorities could be a highly efficient tool of the pharmacovigilance for rationalizing the in-patient antimicrobial practice

Quantitative analysis of minerals in the selected formulations of spices and herbs using ICP-MS

The purpose of this study was to assess minerals contents of three different formulations of spices and herbs, that is mixed herbs (F1), mixed spices (F2) and mixed spices & herbs (F3) predominantly formulated for general health and wellbeing. Minerals namely K, Ca, Mg, Cr, Mn, Zn, Cu and Fe, which are considered vital for good health were studied. The samples were processed, digested and the aforementioned minerals were quantitatively analyzed in the said formulations of spices and herbs by using ICP-MS. The analysis was performed in triplicates and the post-hoc (tukey) test was applied to determine the mean difference amongst the mineral contents of the three formulations with p<0.05 was considered significant. The formulation F1 (mixed herbs) showed significantly (p<0.05) higher contents of Mg, K, Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn, whereas the F2 (mixed spices) and F3 (mixed spices and herbs) showed significantly (p<0.05) higher contents of Mn and Cr respectively. The high mineral contents in the three formulations particularly the F1 makes them nutritionally effective to control various diseases occurring due to mineral deficiencies

Determination of total phenolic, flavonoid content and free radical scavenging activities of common herbs and spices.

Antioxidants present in herbs and spices could be an effective tool to prevent the non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes and myocardial infarction as they have the capacity to stabilize the free radicals which are one of the causative factors of these diseases. This study aims to quantify the total phenolic and flavonoid content of commonly used herbs & spices and determination of their free radical scavenging activities expressed as inhibitory concentration (IC50). The results of this study depict that the tested herbs & spices have considerable amount ofphenols and flavonoids and a high scavenging power of free radicals

Determination of total phenolic, flavonoid content and free radical scavenging activities of common herbs and spices

Antioxidants present in herbs and spices could be an effective tool to prevent the non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes and myocardial infarction as they have the capacity to stabilize the free radicals which are one of the causative factors of these diseases. This study aims to quantify the total phenolic and flavonoid content of commonly used herbs & spices and determination of their free radical scavenging activities expressed as inhibitory concentration (IC50). The results of this study depict that the tested herbs & spices have considerable amount of phenols and flavonoids and a high scavenging power of free radicals