Attitudes and approaches towards COVID-19 management among the public and pharmacists in Northern Cyprus

Purpose: To study the attitudes and approaches towards COVID-19 management among the public and pharmacists in Northern Cyprus.Method: Questionnaire were administered face-to-face and online to volunteer pharmacists and othermembers of the public, after receiving approval from the Near East University Ethics Boards. Responses to the questionnaire were evaluated statistically.Results: The pharmacists who quickly learned and adopted the necessary protection measures againstCOVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic were young professionals under the age of 30 years who had less than 5 years of professional experience (p < 0.05). Most pharmacists who prepared magistral disinfectants/antiseptic solutions and lotions for irritation caused by excessive hand washing were agedabove 60 years, with more than 30 years of professional experience (p < 0.05). The people who responded in the questionnaires asked for products derived from Echinacea, Sambucus nigra, propolis, ginger and Pelargonium sidoides to boost their immune system. Approximately 22.6 % of the respondents received COVID-19-related information from doctors, while 33.4 % got theirs from pharmacists. However, 6.7 % of the respondents got information from social media groups which they created (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Cooperation between pharmacists and health care organizations is increasingly crucial forpublic health, since there are still gaps in the successful control of COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it would be beneficial and even necessary to add a course on "management and solidarity in pandemics and other disasters" to the undergraduate education programs in pharmacy and all other healthcare disciplines.&nbsp

<em>Colchicum pusillum</em> Extract Induced Apoptosis in Colo-741 Metastatic Colon Cancer Cells via Extrinsic Pathway

Colchicum pusillum Sieber is a plant from Colchicaceae family that particularly rich in tropolonic alkaloids, colchicine. The aim of the study is to determine the apoptosis induction effect of Colchicum pusillum extract in Colo-741, metastatic colon cancer cells and if so, to determine by which apoptotic pathway. Colchicum pusillum was collected and extracted with ethanol. Apoptotic activities of Colchicum pusillum were investigated by immunocytochemistry using antibodies directed against to caspase-3, cytochrome-c and FasLigand (FasL) in Colo-741 cells. Immunocytochemical staining results stated that Colchicum pusillum extract at 20 µg/mL dose, increased caspase-3 and FasL activity significantly but was not able to activate cytochrome-c activity. The results suggested that Colchicum pusillum extract induced apoptosis in metastatic colon cancer cells via extrinsic apoptotic pathway