Impact of media: self-medication and the rising problem of antimicrobial resistance.

Antimicrobial agents (AMAs) are one of the most commonly used as well as misused drugs. Antimicrobial resistance is an important growing global health issue which needs urgent addressal. Self-medication involves the use of medicinal products by the patient to treat self-recognized disorders, symptoms, recurrent diseases, or minor health problems. Medicines for self-medication are often called over the counter (OTC) drugs, which are available without a doctor’s prescription through pharmacies, mostly in the developing countries. Self-medication particularly with antibiotics has been widely reported, leading the World Health Organization to call attention to its dangers as a cause of antimicrobial resistance.

Evaluation of anti-depressant effect of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) in albino mice.

Background: Depression is a common serious psychiatric disorder and the available anti-depressant treatments are associated with many unwanted side-effects. Thus, various herbal products have been tried. The advantages of herbal treatments would include its complementary nature to the conventional treatment, thus making the latter a safer and cheaper option for depressive disorders. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the anti-depressant activity of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) in albino mice and compare it with Imipramine. Methods: A total of 60 Swiss albino mice weighing around 20-40 g of either sex were divided into 10 groups (n=6). They were orally administered with tween 80, as a control, 20 mg/kg imipramine (standard), 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg C. citratus (test drugs), and combination of imipramine (10 mg/kg) and C. citratus (10 mg/kg). Duration of immobility was observed for last 4 mins of total 6 mins period in groups 1-5 for forced swimming test (porsolt test) and groups 6-10 for tail suspension test each on 1st, 8th and 15th day and recorded as mean±standard error of the mean. Results were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test. Results: Lemon grass at the above doses significantly reduced the immobility time in both the tests compared with the control (<0.05). The reduction in the duration of immobility at the dose of 10 mg/kg was comparable to imipramine. Conclusions: The essential oil of lemon grass (C. citratus) has significant anti-depressant activity comparable to imipramine.