Antibacterial Effects of Cinnamon Extract, Clove Oil and Antibiotics against Helicobacter pylori Isolated from Stomach Biopsies

Abstract Helicobacter pylori is a pathogenic bacterium causing gastric problems such as, peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. H. pylori were isolated from the stomach biopsy specimens (n = 100) of gastric patients by performing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) against cagA (cytotoxin associated gene A) and ureC (Urease subunit alpha) genes. Furthermore, antibiogram studies of the H. pylori isolates were evaluated against the common antibiotics. The overall detection rate of H. pylori was 71% in biopsy specimens of gastric patients. The antimicrobial susceptibility test revealed the resistance rate of H. pylori isolates against metronidazole (50%), clarithromycin (28.33%), tetracycline (21.66%), amoxicillin (18.33%), and ciprofloxacin (11.66%). However, the H. pylori isolates were completely resistant to vancomycin, erythromycin and nalidixic acid antibiotics. Clove oil showed a remarkable antimicrobial effect against H. pylori whereas, mild inhibition (10 mm) was observed in case of curcumin extract. Due to increase incident of resistance and high prevalence of H. pylori in gastric patients, natural antimicrobial like clove oil can be explored as an alternative treatment.

Quality of life at six months after primary percutaneous coronary intervention performed at a predominantly rural population

Background: HRQL is important in improving the quality of patient care. However, there is a paucity of data from low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC). Differences in socio-demographics and socio-cultural contexts may influence HRQOL. Therefore, this research was designed with the aim to explore the HRQOL in patients after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI).Objective: The goal of the study was to evaluate the quality of life after six months of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention using HeartQol questionnaire at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.Method: This was a Cross-sectional, descriptive study. Patients between the ages of 20-60 years who underwent primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention at least 6 months ago were inducted in the study. Coronary angiography was performed mostly through radial as preferred route. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, predisposing risk factors, procedural details, and quality of life. Heart related Quality of life was assessed using HeartQol questionnaire. Collected data was analyzed using SPSS v.21.Results: A total of 241 patients participated in the study. Mean age of the patients was 53.37±11.07 years. On analysis of quality of life at six months, the median (IQR) HeartQol score was 31 (37-23) with majority of the patients, 84.22% (203) fall under the excellent score (>20).Conclusion: It is of enormous prognostic importance that the quality of life of patient is assessed on a regular basis after PCI. Our study shows that the majority of patients had improved quality of life at six months of PCI. Majority of patients were not bothered by mild symptoms. Further investigation needs to be done to validate these results.

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria reduce aphid population and enhance the productivity of bread wheat

Abstract Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria increase plant growth and give protection against insect pests and pathogens. Due to the negative impact of chemical pesticides on environment, alternatives to these chemicals are needed. In this scenario, the biological methods of pest control offer an eco-friendly and an attractive option. In this study, the effect of two plant growth promoting rhizobacterial strains (Bacillus sp. strain 6 and Pseudomonas sp. strain 6K) on aphid population and wheat productivity was evaluated in an aphid susceptible (Pasban-90) and resistant (Inqlab-91) wheat cultivar. The seeds were inoculated with each PGPR strain, separately or the combination of both. The lowest aphid population (2.1 tiller−1), and highest plant height (85.8 cm), number of spikelets per spike (18), grains per spike (44), productive tillers (320 m−2), straw yield (8.6 Mg ha−1), and grain yield (4.8 Mg ha−1) were achieved when seeds were inoculated with Bacillus sp. strain 6 + Pseudomonas sp. strain 6K. The grain yield of both varieties was enhanced by 35.5-38.9% with seed inoculation with both bacterial strains. Thus, the combine use of both PGPR strains viz. Bacillus sp. strain 6 + Pseudomonas sp. strain 6K offers an attractive option to reduce aphid population tied with better wheat productivity.

Combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (Bacillus strain MWT 14) improve the performance of bread wheat with low fertilizer input under an arid climate

Abstract This study was aimed to investigate the effect of bio-organic phosphate either alone or in combination with phosphorus solubilizing bacteria strain (Bacillus MWT-14) on the growth and productivity of two wheat cultivars (Galaxy-2013 and Punjab-2011) along with recommended (150-100 NP kg ha−1) and half dose (75-50 NP kg ha−1) of fertilizers. The combined application of bio-organic phosphate and the phosphorous solubilizing bacteria strain at either fertilizer level significantly improved the growth, yield parameters and productivity of both wheat cultivars compared to non-inoculated control treatments. The cultivar Punjab-2011 produced the higher chlorophyll contents, crop growth rate, and the straw yield at half dose of NP fertilizer; while Galaxy-2013, with the combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria under recommended NP fertilizer dose. Combined over both NP fertilizer levels, the combined use of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria enhanced the grain yield of cultivar Galaxy-2013 by 54.3% and that of cultivar Punjab-2011 by 83.3%. The combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria also increased the population of phosphorous solubilizing bacteria, the soil organic matter and phosphorous contents in the soil. In conclusion, the combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria offers an eco-friendly option to harvest the better wheat yield with low fertilizer input under arid climate.

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria reduce aphid population and enhance the productivity of bread wheat

Abstract Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria increase plant growth and give protection against insect pests and pathogens. Due to the negative impact of chemical pesticides on environment, alternatives to these chemicals are needed. In this scenario, the biological methods of pest control offer an eco-friendly and an attractive option. In this study, the effect of two plant growth promoting rhizobacterial strains (Bacillus sp. strain 6 and Pseudomonas sp. strain 6K) on aphid population and wheat productivity was evaluated in an aphid susceptible (Pasban-90) and resistant (Inqlab-91) wheat cultivar. The seeds were inoculated with each PGPR strain, separately or the combination of both. The lowest aphid population (2.1 tiller1), and highest plant height (85.8 cm), number of spikelets per spike (18), grains per spike (44), productive tillers (320 m2), straw yield (8.6 Mg ha1), and grain yield (4.8 Mg ha1) were achieved when seeds were inoculated with Bacillus sp. strain 6 + Pseudomonas sp. strain 6K. The grain yield of both varieties was enhanced by 35.538.9% with seed inoculation with both bacterial strains. Thus, the combine use of both PGPR strains viz. Bacillus sp. strain 6 + Pseudomonas sp. strain 6K offers an attractive option to reduce aphid population tied with better wheat productivity.

Combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (Bacillus strain MWT 14) improve the performance of bread wheat with low fertilizer input under an arid climate

Abstract This study was aimed to investigate the effect of bio-organic phosphate either alone or in combination with phosphorus solubilizing bacteria strain (Bacillus MWT-14) on the growth and productivity of two wheat cultivars (Galaxy-2013 and Punjab-2011) along with recommended (150100 NP kg ha1) and half dose (7550 NP kg ha1) of fertilizers. The combined application of bio-organic phosphate and the phosphorous solubilizing bacteria strain at either fertilizer level significantly improved the growth, yield parameters and productivity of both wheat cultivars compared to non-inoculated control treatments. The cultivar Punjab-2011 produced the higher chlorophyll contents, crop growth rate, and the straw yield at half dose of NP fertilizer; while Galaxy-2013, with the combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria under recommended NP fertilizer dose. Combined over both NP fertilizer levels, the combined use of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria enhanced the grain yield of cultivar Galaxy-2013 by 54.3% and that of cultivar Punjab-2011 by 83.3%. The combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria also increased the population of phosphorous solubilizing bacteria, the soil organic matter and phosphorous contents in the soil. In conclusion, the combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria offers an eco-friendly option to harvest the better wheat yield with low fertilizer input under arid climate.

Determination of cefadroxil in tablet/capsule formulations by a validated reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method

An innovative, selective and rapid reversed phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic [RP-HPLC] method for the analysis of cefadroxil in bulk material and oral solid dosage forms has been developed and validated. The Chromatographic system consisted of Sil-20A auto sampler, LC-20A pump and SPD-20A Uv/visible detector. The separation was achieved by C[18] column at ambient temperature with a mobile phase consisting of methanol: Phosphate buffer [10: 90] at a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min. The method is reproducible, repeatable [%RSD for intra-day and inter-day ranged between 1.75-5.33% and 0.58-2.69%] and linear [R[2]=0.9935]. The LOD and LOq of the method were 0.5 and 1.0 microg/ml, respectively. The present RP-HPLC method was found to be sensitive, accurate, precise, rapid and cost effective that can be efficiently used in QC/QA laboratories for routine analysis of the raw materials as well as oral dosage formulations of cefadroxil

Formulation development of intermediate release Nimesulide tablets by CCRD for IVIVC studies

Simple and cost effective study consisting of three steps, comparison of micromeritic properties of different blends i.e. placebo without API and Nimesulide containing, Use of central composite design [CCRD] for intermediate release Nimesulide tablets and stability results of three selected Nimesulide tablet formulations which were calculated by using R Gui. Different concentrations of Avicel, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose [HPMC] and magnesium stearate were used as variables in central composite design and two types blend i.e., with or without Nimesulide were selected for bulk density, tap density, percentage compressibility; angle of repose and Hausner's ratio. Blending rate constant was performed after applying the different mixing times like 3, 6, 9 and 12 minutes. Twenty intermediate release formulations were designed and three formulations were chosen for compression by direct compression method on the basis of compressibility index. Physicochemical properties and best release pattern in four hours in different dissolution medium were successfully measured. Relative densities, porosity of tablets were compared with tensile strength of tablet and weight variation, hardness, friability and dissolution was performed by simple experiments. Presence of Nimesulide in the bulk increased all micromeratic tests while 9 minutes was best mixing time. The hardness of NM containing tablets increased with the increase of relative density. The release pattern was further analyzed by model dependent i.e. zero order, first order and Higuchi, Korse-meyer and Pappas, Hixson Crowell and model independent kinetic model i.e., f2 value respectively. R Gui explained the F16 formulation shows the best result in stability studies with shelf life 72 months

Incidence of medication error associated with the use of beta-blockers in Pakistan

Medication errors [ME] are human errors, which are very frequent in cardiovascular patients and result in patient morbidity and mortality. This study was focused to evaluate the quality of prescriptions and to emphasize the placement of clinical pharmacist in health care team. This study was carried out in different outpatient settings of [in] Karachi, Pakistan. The study period was June'2011 till June'2012. Retrospective data was analyzed for the outpatients' prescription of beta blocker drugs. During the study, prescriptions [n=450] were collected from different outpatient settings of [in] Karachi, Pakistan. Prescription containing beta-blockers were analyzed for the essential elements to be mentioned in prescription. Drug-drug interactions were identified by the Micromedex.2.0 Drug-Reax database and severity of medication error was determined by NCCMERP Index. A total of 1627 medication errors were identified in 450 prescriptions. The most frequent error was not mentioning the patient's weight [95%], followed by missing diagnosis [79.4%] and drug-drug interactions [69.5%]. Twenty-two prescriptions were placed in the most severe category I [4.88%]. Average number of drugs per prescription was 4.76. Significant difference was observed [x[2]=52.418, p<0.05] using SPSS 19 for those prescription orders having more than 5 drugs with Beta-blockers. This indicates that the errors in prescription such as drug-drug interactions, wrong dose etc. was significantly increased with the number of drugs per prescription. Results showed that medication errors are very frequent in prescription written in outpatient setting of various hospitals and clinics in Karachi. This shows that the irrational prescribing is a common practice in developing countries. Placement of skilled pharmacist in the health care system is the only solution for avoidance of these medication related problems.

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of newer quinolones against gram positive and gram negative clinical isolates

Antibiotic resistance development is an ongoing process associated with irrational antibiotic use. WHO recommends regular surveillance programs for monitoring of antibiotic resistance. The present study is a step in this direction. A total of 124 clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from different hospitals in Karachi. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility studies were carried out by agar dilution method using newer quinolones that included Gatifloxacin and Levofloxacin. It was observed that 50% [n=30] isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were resistant to gatifloxacin. Gatifloxacin was more active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa [n=23] and showing complete susceptibility with MIC 1mg/L except for three very resistant strains that shown resistance at even higher concentrations. Escherichia coli [n=45] has shown 15.5% and Klebsiella pneumoniae [n=26] 34.61% resistance to gatifloxacin. Levofloxacin was more active against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli showing complete susceptibility at 0.5 mg /L concentration. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae were found to be resistant to Levofloxacin showing 36.36% and 23.08% resistance respectively. The study strongly recommends the adherence to the antibiotic policy and regular susceptibility testing to overcome the problem associated with antimicrobial resistance

Development and validation of a HPLC method for determination of pefloxacin in tablet and human plasma

Developing and validating a simple, efficient, reproducible and economic reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic [RP-HPLC] method for the quantitative determination of pefloxacin in bulk material, tablets and in human plasma. A shim-pack CLC-ODS column and a mobile phase constituting acetonitrile: 0.025 M phosphoric acid solution [13:87 v/v, pH 2.9 adjusted with KOH] was used. The flow rate was 1 ml/min and the analyses performed using ultraviolet [UV] detector at a wavelength of 275 nm using acetaminophen as an internal standard. The developed method showed good resolution between pefloxacin and acetaminophen. It was selective to pefloxacin and able to resolve the drug peak from internal standard and from formulation excipients. The percentage of coefficient variation [CV] of the retention times and peak areas of pefloxacin from the six consecutive injections were 0.566% and 0.989%, respectively. The results showed that the peak area responses are linear within the concentration range of 0.125 mg/ml-12 mg/ml [R2=0.9987]. The limits of detection [LOD] and limits of quantitation [LOQ] for pefloxacin were 0.03125 mg/ml and 0.125 mg/ml. The intra-day and inter-day variation, RSD were 0.376-0.9056 and 0.739-0.853 respectively; also, inter-day variation with relative standard deviation [RSD] were 0.1465-0.821 in plasma. The accuracy results of 70%, 100%, and 130% drugs were 100.72%, 100.34%, and 100.09%, respectively. The method is linear, quantitative, reproducible and could be used as a more convenient, efficient and economical method for the trace analysis of drug in biological fluids, in raw material and tablets