Volatile Compounds in the Skin Essential Oil of Moroccan Feijoa sellowiana

The oil of Feijoa skin (Feijoa sellowiana, family Myrtaceae) was isolated by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus and analyzed by GC-MS analysis. As a result, 76 components were isolated. Among 19 peaks identified which three were reported for the first time in this plant (Elixene, Linalylanthranilate and Farnesol). The sesquiterpene group was predominant, accounting for 97.8% of the total oil. Of which Caryophyllene was the most abundant 17.7%, followed by Germacrene D14.4%, Humulene 10.5%, Ledene 14%, Spathulenol 8.5%, Cadina-3,9-diene 8.3%, Farnesol 8%, Linalylanthranite 5.6%, β-elemene 4.8%, α-Cubebene 2.7%. Other constituents were also present in oil such as Octanone 5.3%, D limoneme 0.17%, Ocimene 1.6%, Benzoicacidmethylester 1.1%.

An assessment of Pakistani pharmacy and medical students’ knowledge of black box warnings / Una evaluación del conocimiento de estudiantes de medicina y de farmacia en Pakistán sobre alertas de medicamentos / Uma avaliação sobre o acesso de estudantes paquistaneses de medicina e farmácia ao conhecimento das advertências das caixas de tarja preta

Food and Drug Administration delivers the black box warnings (BBW) which should appear on the leaflets of medicines for patient awareness and the prescription of drugs indicating its highly fatal adverse effects to human body. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of Pakistani pharmacy and medical students about BBW. A questionnaire containing contents about BBW was given to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd professional year pharmacy and medical students from different pharmacy and medical institutes. A 76 percent survey response rate was observed. It was observed that student’s knowledge about BBW improves in association with the promotion in professional years of pharmacy and medical education. The results indicate that student’s knowledge about black box increases with the study level. Training in black box warnings should be implemented in pharmacy and medical institutions influencing the meaningful ways to educate and train pharmacy and medical students, and help these students to get recent knowledge about black box warnings so that, in future, they may perform an ethical practice in their respective fields.

La Agencia Reguladora de Alimentos y Medicamentos comunica alertas sobre medicamentos (AM), que debieran aparecer en los prospectos de medicinas, para el conocimiento de los pacientes y la prescripción de medicamentos, indicando sus efectos adversos fatales para el cuerpo humano. El objetivo de este estudio es averiguar el conocimiento de estudiantes de medicina y de farmacia sobre AM. Se entregó un cuestionario con contenidos sobre AM a estudiantes de farmacia y de medicina de primero a tercer año de diferentes institutos médicos y farmacéuticos. Se obtuvo un 76 por ciento de respuesta. Se observó que el conocimiento de los estudiantes sobre AM mejora asociado a la promoción en años profesionales de medicina y farmacia. Los resultados indican que el conocimiento de los estudiantes sobre alerta de medicamentos aumenta con el nivel de estudio. Debería implementarse la formación sobre alerta de medicamentos en farmacia y medicina y ayudar a los estudiantes a tener conocimiento actual sobre alerta de medicamentos de forma que, en el futuro, puedan realizar prácticas éticas en sus campos respectivos.

A Food and Drug Administration disponibiliza as advertências das caixas de tarja preta (BBW) que devem aparecer em bulas de medicamentos para conscientização de pacientes e a prescrição de drogas, indicando seus efeitos adversos altamente fatais para o corpo humano. O propósito deste estudo foi o de de inteirar a cerca do conhecimento de estudantes de medicina e farmácia sobre BBW. Um questionário com conteúdos sobre BBW foi dado a estudantes de farmácia e medicina, do 1º, 2º e 3º ano de diferentes instituições de ensino em farmácia e medicina. Foi observada uma taxa de 76 por cento de resposta dos pesquisados. Observou-se que o conhecimento de estudantes sobre BBW melhora quando se associa à promoção para anos seguintes da educação nas faculdades de farmácia e medicina. Os resultados indicam que o conhecimento dos estudantes sobre as caixas de tarja preta aumenta com o nível de estudo. Treinamento com caixas de tarja preta pode ser implementado em instituições de ensino de farmácia e medicina, influenciando de modo significativo as formas de educação e treinamento de estudantes de farmácia e medicina, e,assim, ajudar estes estudantes a obter conhecimentos recentes sobre medicamentos de tarja preta de modo que, no futuro, elas possam exercer uma prática ética em seus respectivos campos de atuação profissional.

Preliminary Phytochemical, Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties of Alafia barteri Stem Grown in Nigeria.

The preliminary phytochemical studies of Alafia barteri stem extracts revealed the presence of reducing sugar, steroids, glycosides, flavonoids and anthraquinones. Hexane, ethylacetate and methanol successive extracts of A. barteri stem showed inhibition on the six test bacteria. Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were sensitive to methanol extract at concentrations ranging from 25 to 200mg/ml using agar disk diffusion procedure, while hexane and ethylacetate extracts of the plant inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at concentrations between 50 and 200mg/ml. Hexane and ethylacetate extracts showed lower inhibition on Staphyloccocus aureus and Bacillus subtilis (gram positive), and Klebsiellae pneumonae (gram negative). Meanwhile, methanol extract exhibited antibacterial properties on Staphyloccocus aureus at concentrations between 50 and 200mg/ml, and Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiellae pneumonae and Salmonellae typhii at concentrations between 100 and 200mg/ml. The three extracts exhibited higher antifungal properties on Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolon, Penicillum notatum, Tricophyton rubrum and Epidermophyton floccosum with activity comparable to that of the reference drug tioconazole trosyd.

Epidemiological study and comparison of pyrantel and levamisole in the treatment of roundworm and hookworm infestations.

Stool examined for presence of nematodes from 467 school students in Dacca city showed 48% ova positive cases with 22% among them cases of mixed nematode infection. Highest prevalence of 58% was observed with roundworm and 5% was hookworm infestations. Among hookworm cases, Necator americana (68%) appears to be the predominant species. Two anthelmintics-pyrantel and levamisole achieved similar high cure rate (around 97%) and Egg reduction rate of 99% in roundworm infection. However, pyrantel was observed to be more effective in hookworm infestation (87% against 60%) particularly in Necator americana cases.