ABSTRACT
Background:A good number of medicinal and dietary plants are used for diabetes treatment in Burkina Faso. Aim of the Study:The present study aimed to investigate the antidiabetic activity of Guiera senegalensisgalls extracts and its potential mechanisms in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Methodology:The methanol extract was administered by gavage to healthy Wistar rats for the determination of toxicity, to normal and diabetic Wistar rats forthe determination of glucose reduction level, lipid profile, insulin level and glycaemic parameters in serum. The histology and immunohistochemistry of thepancreas were also determined.Results:The acute toxicity results showed that the medium lethal dose (LD50) of the methanol galls extract of Guiera senegalensisis greater than 2000 mg/kg body weight in rats. Guiera senegalensismethanolic extract (250 mg/kg) and the tolbutamide (100 mg/kg) recorded a significantly (p < 0.05)lower level of triglyceride compared to the diabetic group. The methanol extract (250 and 500 mg/kg pc) significantly (p < 0.05)decreased the blood glucose level and increased the serum insulin level in diabetic rats. Interestingly, improved ß-cell function and antioxidant status were also observed in G. senegalensis-treated diabetic rats when compared to tolbutamide-treated diabetic rats.Conclusion:These data showed direct evidence that G. senegalensishas antidiabetic activity by decreasing blood glucose level, improving insulin secretion and β-cell functions and modulating antioxidant status
ABSTRACT
Background: Finding scientific data from the Holy Qur'an is an old trend, which emerge newly with rise of modern science. In the literature, we have found that total number of medicinal plants cited in the Holy Qur'an varies author to author
Objective: The aim of this study was to indentify the plants mentioned in the Holy Qur'an and to confirm the botanical name with other relevant information and Islamic history of medicine
Methods: The Holy Qur'an has been studied thoroughly to identify the medicinal plants, and Surah and verses were only chosen if they stated specific name of plants which are found in the earth. The identity of the selected plants was confirmed and claim of ethnomedicinal uses of Qur'anic medicinal plants was vindicated using scientific evidence available in the journals and books
Results: Our present findings revealed a total of 27 plants cited in 47 verses of 28 Surah in the Holy Qur'an, those belongs to 22 genera of 18 families of plant kingdom. Among these plants, eight fruits, five vegetables, two crops, six aromatics, five trees and one forage species. Out of 27, 15 plants have been consumed in raw form or in cuisine which directly contribute nutrition to our body as well as medicinal benefits
Conclusion: It is concluded that identified medicinal plants extensively used in the traditional healing system due to their availability, acceptability, compatibility and affordability and studied in modern science for identifying theory of their potential role in improving the quality of life
ABSTRACT
The health system of a country needs to be adjusted to patterns of morbidity and mortality to mitigate the income-erosion consequences of prolonged ill-health and premature death of adults. Population-based data on mortality by cause are a key to modifying the health system. However, these data are scarce, particularly for rural populations in developing countries. The objectives of this study were to determine the burdens of health due to major causes of death obtained from verbal autopsy of adults and the elderly and their healthcare-seeking patterns before death in a welldefined rural population. There were 2,397 deaths—613 were among adults aged 15-59 years and 1,784 among the elderly aged 60+ years—during 2003-2004 in the health and demographic surveillance area in Matlab, a rural area of Bangladesh. Trained interviewers interviewed close relatives of the deceased using a structured verbal-autopsy questionnaire to record signs and symptoms of diseases/ conditions that led to death and medical consultations before death. Two physicians independently assigned the underlying causes of deaths with disagreements resolved by a third physician. The physicians were able to assign a specific cause in 91% of the cases. Rates and proportions were used for estimating the burden of diseases by cause. Of all deaths of adults and the elderly, communicable diseases accounted for 18% and non-communicable diseases for 66%, with the proportion of non-communicable diseases increasing with age. Leading non-communicable diseases were diseases of the circulatory system (35%), neoplasms (11%), diseases of the respiratory system (10%), diseases of the digestive system (6%), and endocrine and metabolic disorders (6%), all of which accounted for 68% of deaths. Injury and other external causes accounted for another 5% of the deaths. During terminal illness, 31% of the adults and 25% of the elderly sought treatment from medical doctors, and 14% of the adults and 4% of the elderly died in healthcare facilities. The findings suggest that the health managers and policy-makers of Bangladesh should recognize the importance of prevention and management of chronic diseases and place it on the health agenda for rural people.
ABSTRACT
The study assessed the timing and causes of neonatal deaths in a rural area of Bangladesh. A populationbased demographic surveillance system, run by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, recorded livebirths and neonatal deaths during 2003-2004 among a population of 224,000 living in Matlab, a rural subdistrict of eastern Bangladesh. Deaths were investigated using the INDEPTH/ World Health Organization verbal autopsy. Three physicians independently reviewed data from verbal autopsy interview to assign the cause of death. There were 11,291 livebirths and 365 neonatal deaths during the two-year period. The neonatal mortality rate was 32.3 per 1,000 livebirths. Thirty-seven percent of the neonatal deaths occurred within 24 hours, 76% within 0-3 days, 84% within 0-7 days, and the remaining 16% within 8-28 days. Birth asphyxia (45%), prematurity/low birthweight (15%), sepsis/meningitis (12%), respiratory distress syndrome (7%), and pneumonia (6%) were the major direct causes of death. Birth asphyxia (52.8%) was the single largest category of cause of death in the early neonatal period while meningitis/ sepsis (48.3%) was the single largest category in the late neonatal period. The high proportion of deaths during the early neonatal period and the far-higher proportion of neonatal deaths caused by birth asphyxia compared to the global average (45% vs 23-29%) indicate the lack of skilled birth attendance and newborn care for the large majority of births that occur in the home in rural Bangladesh. Resuscitation of newborns and management of low-birthweight/premature babies need to be at the core of neonatal interventional packages in rural Bangladesh.
ABSTRACT
The research was carried out to study the rate of population-based hospital admissions due to acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) and bacterial aetiology of ALRIs in children aged less than five years in Bangladesh. A cohort of children aged less than five years in a rural surveillance population in Matlab, Bangladesh, was studied for two years. Cases were children admitted to the Matlab Hospital of ICDDR,B with a diagnosis of severe ALRIs. Bacterial aetiology was determined by blood culture. Antimicrobial resistance patterns of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) isolates were determined using the disc-diffusion method. In total, 18,983 children aged less than five years contributed to 24,902 child-years of observation (CYO). The incidence of ALRI-related hospital admissions was 50.2 per 1,000 CYO. The incidences of ALRI were 67% higher in males than in females and were higher in children aged less than two years than in older children. About 34% of the cases received antibiotics prior to hospitalization. Of 840 blood samples cultured, 39.4% grew a bacterial isolate; 11.3% were potential respiratory pathogens, and the rest were considered contaminants. The predominant isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (4.5%). Hib (0.4%) and Spn (0.8%) were rarely isolated; however, resistance of both these pathogens to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole was common. The rate of ALRI-related hospitalizations was high. The high rate of contamination, coupled with high background antibiotic use, might have contributed to an underestimation of the burden of Hib and Spn. Future studies should use more sensitive methods and more systematically look for resistance patterns of other pathogens in addition to Hib and Spn.