Knowledge, Practice and Attitude towards Foot Ulcers and Foot Care among Adults Living with Diabetes in Tobago: A Qualitative Study

Globally, the prevalence of diabetes has risen significantly by 62% over the last ten years. A complication of unmanaged diabetes is diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), which adversely affects the quality of life of individuals with diabetes and inflicts a huge economic burden on the family, government, and health care services. However, this complication is preventable with adequate patient knowledge and practice regarding DFU and foot care. The present study was aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice of adults with diabetes on foot ulcers and foot care in Tobago using a qualitative exploratory design. Purposeful sampling technique was used to recruit 20 participants from the lifestyle and diabetes foot clinics of Scarborough Health Centre, Tobago. Telephone interviews were conducted with the use of a semi-structured interview guide. The data obtained from participants were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Four major themes, namely foot ulcer problems, participants’ knowledge on DFU, knowledge on foot care, and practice and attitude of foot care, emerged from the study. The findings from the study revealed that the majority of participants had poor knowledge regarding DFU but exhibited awareness about foot care, especially on foot cleaning and inspection, preventing irritation after washing, appropriate footwear, and not walking barefooted. The participants had good attitudes and practices of foot care despite their poor knowledge of DFU. However, participants reported inadequate health education on DFU and foot care from healthcare personnel. There should be improved health education, information, and communication on DFU and foot care centred and tailored to the understanding of people living with diabetes. This will prevent DFU and reduce the mortality arising from this complication, which is a major target of the sustainable development goals (SDG) in mitigating the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as diabetes

Comparative Quantitative Study on Phytochemical Contents and Antioxidant Activities of Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum frutescens L.

The variabilities in the phytochemical contents and antioxidant activities of four varieties of two closely related cultivated Capsicum species, C. annuum and C. frutescens, were examined as an additional tool for establishing their phylogenetic relatedness and for breeding purposes. The methodology involved the use of ethanolic and aqueous extractions for the determination of the phytochemical and antioxidant properties. The phytochemical contents including total flavonoid, total phenol, and proanthocyanidins were evaluated spectrophotometrically while the antioxidant activities were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), nitric oxide (NO), and phosphomolybdenum assays. To point out the relationship among the varieties, a dendrogram based on the antioxidative phytochemical contents was constructed using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPMGA) cluster analysis. In all, aqueous extracts gave higher yield while ethanolic extracts showed higher phytochemical content across the varieties. Significant variations were observed among the varieties in relation to their phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activities. Dendrogram obtained from multivariate analysis distinguished the two Capsicum species. The first cluster contained only C. frutescens var. baccatum while the second cluster contained the three varieties of C. annuum species in subclusters, signifying the close genetic affinity among the three varieties. It also revealed that the four varieties are of a common progenitor. Information from this study gives additional evidence of chemotaxonomic significance and baseline data for effective selection of suitable parental genotypes in breeding for nutritional and pharmacological purposes

The suitability of chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) for alleviating human micronutrient dietary deficiencies: A review

Human micronutrient dietary deficiency remains an enormous global problem and probably accounts for the cause of many chronic health conditions and diseases. Above two (2) billion individuals on the planet today have been estimated to be deficient in major minerals and vitamins, predominantly zinc, iodine, vitamin A, and iron primarily due to inadequate dietary intake. The eradication of deficiencies in micronutrient on a sustainable basis will be conceivable only when diets of vulnerable populace provide all required nutrients in adequate amounts. Among the numerous approaches toward eradicating human dietary deficiency, feeding on a wide range of foods, especially vegetables that have an array of micronutrients, is still perceived as the best sustainable solution. The universal consumption of chili peppers (Capsicum annuum ), known for their high nutritional content (which includes a good range of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and dietary fiber), may play a role in decreasing human micronutrient deficiencies. Significant portions of recommended daily nutrients could be supplied by the incorporation of nutrient‐rich chili pepper into human diets which could help in combating nutrient deficiencies. This present review, therefore, gives an overview of the universal occurrence of micronutrient deficiency. It also discusses approaches that have been used to tackle the situation while stressing the potentials of chili pepper as a promising vegetable which could be utilized in alleviating human micronutrient dietary deficiencies. For all available information provided, research databases (Science direct, Academic journals, PubMed, and Google Scholar) were searched independently using keyword search strategy. Titles and abstracts were examined initially, and full papers were retrieved if studies met the inclusion criteria

Pollen Grain and Hybridization Studies in the Genus <i>Capsicum</i>

The current study aimed to evaluate the pollen viability of the commonly cultivated varieties of Capsicum species and assessed the potentials for gene exchange among the genotypes through hybridization studies. Capsicum annuum var. abbreviatum, C. annuum var. acuminatum, C. annuum var. grossum and C. frutescens var. baccatum were the species and varieties used in this study. The present findings indicated that the percentage of pollen viability varied in the studied Capsicum genotypes. The highest pollen viability was obtained in C. annuum var. abbreviatum (96.3%), followed by C. annuum var. grossum (95%), and C. annuum var. acuminatum (91.1%). The lowest pollen viability was recorded in C. frutescens var. baccatum (86.2%). The pollen viability was high in most varieties indicating that meiosis is normal, resulting in viable pollen grains. Several intraspecific and interspecific crosses were performed among the Capsicum genotypes and three putative hybrid fruits were produced. Percentage successes obtained in the crosses were low and comparable in both intra and inter-specific crosses. In the entire crosses pattern, pollination success of 10% was recorded for C. frutescens var. baccatum and C. annuum var. acuminatum. Knowing the nature and viability of pollen grains may help in predicting the success rate of hybridization and the successful crosses between C. frutescens var. baccatum and C. annuum var. acuminatum suggest that these two varieties are the closest genetically