Medicinal Uses of Poisonous Plant - A Brief Review

A poisonous plant is defined as a plant that when touched or ingested in sufficient quantity can be harmful or fatal. Many plants are harmful to people when consumed or through skin contact with plant chemicals. Poisonous medicinal herbs are used to treat a variety of illnesses, including diabetes, cancer, infection, and fungal growth. According to the review, numerous phytochemical components that have diuretic, purgative, laxative, anti-allergic, and other significant therapeutic effects have been identified from a variety of medicinal plants. If utilized appropriately, poison can be life-giving, calming to the three Doshas, encouraging, and regenerating. The poisonous plants categorized in Visha and Upvisha in Ayurveda texts. Agadtantra is an important branch of Astanga Ayurveda. Importance of this branch has been described in our Vedas, Epics, and Samhita. Proper description, classification, clinical features, and management of any kind of Visha has been described in this branch. Name of some poisonous plants are Dhatura, Vatsanabha, Bhallataka, Bhanga, Kuchala, Vacha and Gunja etc. Shodhana process is the only bridge between Visha and Aushadhi. Shodhana is the process by which physical, chemical and natural impurities are removed. It will intensify the potency, effectiveness of drug, nullify the toxicity. The aim of this review article is to provide a brief overview of the numerous medicinal uses of some poisonous plant.

A Study on Prevalence of Selected Mental Disorders (Anxiety, Depression, Dementia) Among Residents of Old Age Home in Jabalpur City, Madhya Pradesh, India

Introduction: Ageing is a normal phenomenon and an inescapable process. According to WHO. World-wide over 20% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental or neurological disorder and according to the National Mental Health Survey of India (2015-16) the prevalence of mental disorders in geriatric population in our country is 10.90%. Thus, this study aims to assess anxiety, depression and cognitive disorders among persons living in OAH and to explore the various factors associated with it. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in OAH Jabalpur. All residents of OAH were included in the study so no need for sampling. The sample size was 73. A Predesigned semi-structured Questionnaire was used which comprised of the socio-demographic profile with using GAD-7, GDS-15 & MMSE-30 for screening of psychiatric morbidity. Data analysis was done by using IBM SPSS-23. Results: The result shows the mean age of the study subject was 72.14 ±7.48. The prevalence of Anxiety was 19.2%, prevalence of depression was 41.1% and prevalence of cognitive impairment was 23.3%. Conclusion: In this study it was found out that substantial proportion of older adults were suffering from anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment, most of older adults were widowed and there is a need to provide psychological support, a positive environment and proper care to improve mental health.

Visual Impairment and its causes among elderly women of rural area of Maharashtra

Introduction: Visual impairment (VI) is a public health challenge affecting over 285 million people worldwide, including 39 million blinds. The research both from India and other parts of the world has revealed that VI increases with increasing age. It is also estimated that people aged 50?years and older comprise 65% and 82% of the total visually impaired and blind, respectively. The study is conducted to estimate the prevalence of visual impairment and its causes among elderly women of rural areas. Material and Methods: This study is a Community Based Cross-sectional study carried out in the field practice area of the rural health training center of the Department of Community Medicine. All women (n=260) aged 60 years and above in the study area formed the study population were interviewed by the house-to-house survey. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS .17. Results: Total out of 260 women, 212(81.53%) women had visual impairment. Out of 212 visual impairment participants, causes of low vision were 80.18% cataract, 35.37% operated cataract, 10.37% pterygium, and 2.35% any eye injury or infection. Conclusion: Cataract is the main cause of low vision. Pterygium, eye injury, and infection also cause visual impairment.

Prevalence of Non-communicable Diseases among Elderly Women

Introduction: NCDs are one of the major challenges for public health in the 21st century, not only in terms of human suffering but also the harm to the socio-economic development of the country. As the elderly population is likely to increase in the future, and there is a definite shift in the disease pattern i.e., from communicable to non-communicable, it is high time that the health care system gears itself to growing health needs of the elderly in an optimal and comprehensive manner. To provide aid for effective implementation of NCD program by measuring the prevalence of NCD among elderly women with an objective to assess the prevalence of Non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes) among elderly women has been conducted. Material and Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in the RHTC, Seloo All women (n=260) aged 60 years and above of six Anganwadi areas were interviewed by the house-to-house survey. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS.17. Results: 33.46% of elderly women belonged to the age group of 60-64 years, 78.85% of the elderly were illiterate. Among all elderly women, 30.38% had hypertension, 7.30% had diabetes, and Ischemic heart disease 1.15% and cancer 0.38% were found in study participants. Conclusion: Our study shows that diabetes and hypertension are more common among elderly women. The occupation had a significant association with diabetes.

Utilization of Antenatal services and concerning factors: A community based study

Background: Antenatal and post natal care are important component of maternal mortality rate. Antenatal facilities provided to mothers form the base of their future outcome. The services provided to mothers are still poor in India. A proper and effective program implementation is depending on understanding of basic factors that affect maternal and child health services utilization. Considering all these facts, it is important to study the maternal health service utilization pattern among the beneficiaries living in urban area of Jabalpur and factors responsible for their under utilization. Material & Methods: A prospective study was carried out in urban area of Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Cluster sampling technique was used to select 396 Antenatal females in the 36 different clusters. Information about socio demographic factors and ANC services utilization was recorded. Results: This study showed that 50.50% of women were registered within 12 weeks of pregnancy, 58.80% women received four or more antenatal visits, 23.99% women consumed hundred and more Iron Folic Acid (IFA) tablets and 96.21% received 2 doses of Tetanus Toxoid (TT) injections. Only 22.72% women had complete ANC service utilization. Conclusion: Utilization of Antenatal Care (ANC) services was poor in the urban areas of Jabalpur district even though the physical accessibility was adequate. ANC services utilization is significantly associated with level of education of mother, education of husband, occupation of mother, type of family and time of registration of pregnancy.

Mental/ psychological disorders in children and their therapy as per Ayurveda.

Mental disease has been recognized throughout history in every civilization of the world though its significance is understood and its treatment has evolved in significantly different directions. Psychological and mental disorders involve physiological and/or genetic components in children but the etiology of some psychological disorders in children is unknown. Mental retardation, learning disorders, communication skills disorders and pervasive developmental disorders (such as autistic disorder) etc. comes under these category. The treatment of psychological and mental disorders requires special attention. Ayurveda involve various treatment component as part of kaumarabhria for such conditions like; herbs, yoga, panchkarma and use of various traditional formulation like; Medhya Rasayanas. Ayurveda enhances mental ability, learning disorders, behavioral therapy through natural techniques etc. This article shares some traditional approaches of treating mental disorders in children.

A review on some common diseases in children and their treatment with traditional system of medicine.

There are so many diseases specially classified for children come under Kaumarabhria treatment as per Ayurveda. Recently many researchers’ works to explore development of treatment of diseases related with childhood. The utilization of traditional system of treatment is well known but now it has been well proved and established also on the basis of scientific study and evidences. Further more research investigation need to be required for the establishment and modernizing of traditional therapy for children disease. This review article summarizes advanced research work of this area. Article involve discussion of traditional Ayurveda text related to the childhood disorders like; Rickets, asthma, constipation, Jwara and krimi etc. Further research and new concepts are utilizing for exploring Kaumarabhria.

Brevundimonas vesicularis bacteremia in a neonate: a rare case report.

There are very few cases of Brevundimonas vesicularis reported worldwide. We present a case of bacteremia in a neonate who had aspirated meconium . A blood culture showed growth of a non hemolytic yellow colored colony at 37°C. It was identified as Brevundimonas vesicularis by Vitek 2 automated system (BioMeriuex). There are only a couple of reported cases of bacteremia caused by Brevundimonas vesicularis . To our best of knowledge this is the third case report of Brevundimonas vesicularis bacteremia from India.

Obesity among adolescents of affluent public schools in Meerut.

The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide in all segments of the population due to increased industrialization, urbanization, mechanization, and associated changes in diet and lifestyles. Change in diet habit of consuming more high energy fast foods and shifting to sedentary lifestyle has affected our children and also increased the risk of chronic diseases among adolescents. Childhood obesity has association with increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer in later life. Therefore, its control and prevention is one of the major concerns for all developing nations. The present school-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 2785 affluent adolescents of six public schools in Meerut during the period October 2003 to March 2004. The objective is to assess the magnitude of overweight and obesity in adolescents and associated risk factors, with the help of the ELIZ health pathway based on body mass index criteria. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 19.7% and 5.3% in girls and 18.36% and 10.82% in boys. Obesity was found to be significantly associated with high intake of junk foods (P < 0.05), binge eating, high calorie intake (P < 0.05), lower physical activity (P < 0.05), and prolonged TV watching (P < 0.05).

Investigations on DNA damage and frequency of micronuclei in occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted from video display terminals (VDTs)

The potential effect of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted from video display terminals (VDTs) to elicit biological response is a major concern for the public. The software professionals are subjected to cumulative EMFs in their occupational environments. This study was undertaken to evaluate DNA damage and incidences of micronuclei in such professionals. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first attempt to carry out cytogenetic investigations on assessing bioeffects in personal computer users. The study subjects (n = 138) included software professionals using VDTs for more than 2 years with age, gender, socioeconomic status matched controls (n = 151). DNA damage and frequency of micronuclei were evaluated using alkaline comet assay and cytochalasin blocked micronucleus assay respectively. Overall DNA damage and incidence of micronuclei showed no significant differences between the exposed and control subjects. With exposure characteristics, such as total duration (years) and frequency of use (minutes/day) sub-groups were assessed for such parameters. Although cumulative frequency of use showed no significant changes in the DNA integrity of the classified sub-groups, the long-term users (> 10 years) showed higher induction of DNA damage and increased frequency of micronuclei and micro nucleated cells.

A study on human risk factors in non-fatal road traffic accidents at Nagpur.

A cross sectional study was conducted among 423 victims of road traffic accidents reporting to Indira Gandhi Medical College, Nagpur for treatment during 1999-2000. Data was collected on pre-designed proforma by interview technique. Majority of the victims were male (85.8%) and of 18-37 years (74%); 64.5% of the subjects were consuming alcohol regularly and 5.9% were drug abusers; 43.7% and 10.2% had visual and hearing impairment respectively; 43.5% were not having any driving experience and 74.4% of the victims with two wheelers were not using any helmets at the time of accidents. Findings highlight the need for sustained health education and enforcement of traffic laws.

Nutritional assessment of patients under hemodialysis in nepal medical college teaching hospital.

Malnutrition is very common in hemodialysis patients and is predisposed by many factors. Malnutrition is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Total of 26 patients (16 males and 10 females) who were under hemodialysis in our center were included in the study. With the help of Malnutrition Score (MS) developed by Kalanter-Zadeh, nutritional status of the patients was assessed. Patients also underwent different anthropometric measurements such as Body Mass Index (BMI), Triceps skin fold thickness (TSF), Mid Arm Circumlference (MAC) and Mid Arm Muscle Circumference (MAMC) and laboratory investigations. Mean age of the study population was 42.58 +/- 16.32 years (range 19 to 74 years). Females were older than males. MS of the study population was 15.82 +/- 3.76 (range 9-24). Female patients were having higher MS than males (16.5 +/- 4.11 vs. 15.06 +/- 3.55). Based on MS, 22 patients (84.6%) had mild to moderate malnutrition, 2 (7.7%) patients were having severe malnutrition and remaining 2 (7.7%) had normal nutrition score. Females were having lower BMI, MAC and MAMC but higher value of TSF. Significant negative correlation was present between MS and weight, BMI, MAC and MAMC. Calculated Urea Reduction Ratio (URR) of study population was 57.27 +/- 10.89. URR was higher in females than in males (61.77 +/- 12.74 vs. 54.45 +/- 8.85). Only 23.0% of the study population had URR of >65.0%. Protein Catabolic Rate (nPCR) in our study was 0.77 +/- 0.28 g/kg/day. Malnutrition is very common in our center which is >90% when MS was considered. In our study it negatively correlated with weight, BMI, MAC and MAMC. Dialysis inadequacy was present in around 75.0% of our study population.

A study on clinico-social factors for sexually transmitted diseases among urban males.

This health center based study was conducted to find out the proportion and distribution of clinico-social factors for sexually transmitted diseases among male OPD attanders of urban health centre, Subharti Medical College, Meerut. Out of the total 150 male cases of genital diseases from January to June 2005, 42 were found to be symptomatic for STDs according to syndromic approach. The most common symptom was urethral discharge (35.7%). Illiteracy, trucker's occupation, multiple sex partners, extra marital relationship and non-usage of condom were found to be important socio-clinical factors for STDs.

Evaluation of pollution susceptibility of Karst aquifers of Rewa Town (Madhya Pradesh) using "DRASTIC" approach.

Pollution susceptibility of groundwater of Rewa town situated on karstified Bhander limestones of the Bhander group is discussed in this paper. Pollution potential of selected localities in the town has been determined using the DRASTIC INDEX methodology. Pollution potential for these localities varied between 162 to 217. Shallow aquifers in karstified limestones having direct access to surface water were found more susceptible to pollution. Accordingly, remedial measures were suggested for minimising pollution.

A risk scoring system for prediction of haemorrhagic stroke.

The present pair-matched case control study was carried out at Government Medical College Hospital, Nagpur, India, a tertiary care hospital with the objective to devise and validate a risk scoring system for prediction of hemorrhagic stroke. The study consisted of 166 hospitalized CT scan proved cases of hemorrhagic stroke (ICD 9, 431-432), and a age and sex matched control per case. The controls were selected from patients who attended the study hospital for conditions other than stroke. On conditional multiple logistic regression five risk factors- hypertension (OR = 1.9. 95% Cl = 1.5-2.5). raised scrum total cholesterol (OR = 2.3, 95% Cl = 1.1-4.9). use of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents (OR = 3.4, 95% Cl =1.1-10.4). past history of transient ischaemic attack (OR = 8.4, 95% Cl = 2.1- 33.6) and alcohol intake (OR = 2.1, 95% Cl = 1.3-3.6) were significant. These factors were ascribed statistical weights (based on regression coefficients) of 6, 8, 12, 21 and 8 respectively. The nonsignificant factors (diabetes mellitus, physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, type A personality, history of claudication, family history of stroke, history of cardiac diseases and oral contraceptive use in females) were not included in the development of scoring system. ROC curve suggested a total score of 21 to be the best cut-off for predicting haemorrhag stroke. At this cut-off the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictivity and Cohen's kappa were 0.74, 0.74, 0.74 and 0.48 respectively. The overall predictive accuracy of this additive risk scoring system (area under ROC curve by Wilcoxon statistic) was 0.79 (95% Cl = 0.73-0.84). Thus to conclude, if substantiated by further validation, this scorincy system can be used to predict haemorrhagic stroke, thereby helping to devise effective risk factor intervention strategy.

Prevalence of extended spectrum -lactamase producing klebsiella pneumoniae in a tertiary care hospital.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to know prevalence of extended spectrum -lactamase (ESBL) in multi drug resistant (MDR) strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from different clinical samples. METHODS: A total of 120 MDR strain of K. pneumoniae were selected for the study, 106 of which were resistant to atleast one of the third generation cephalosporins (3GC). They were studied for ESBL production by phenotypic confirmatory disc diffusion test (PCDDT) and by double disc synergy test (DDST). RESULTS: 88.3% (106) of the isolates were found to be resistant to atleast one of the 3GC tested (cefotaxime, ceftazidime and ceftriaxone) and 72% of the isolates were resistant to all the 3GC tested. ESBL was detected in 30.18% (32) of the K. pneumoniae by PCDDT and in 27.3% (29) by DDST. Among the ESBL producers 6 (18.75%) were sensitive to cefotaxime, 2 (6.25%) to ceftazidime and 3 (9.37%) to ceftriaxone by disc diffusion test. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 3GC for these strains ranged from 2-8 microg/mL while for non ESBL producer sensitive counterparts it ranged from 0.03-1 microg/mL. Resistance to cefotaxime was transferred to recipient E. coli K12 strains J62-1. All the K. pneumoniae isolates were sensitive to imipenem. Resistance against amoxicillin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and amikacin was found in 93.28, 70, 10.37 and 26.14% of the isolates respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows presence of ESBL producer K. pneumoniae in clinical isolates. The routine antimicrobial sensitivity test may fail to detect ESBL mediated resistance against 3GC and detection of ESBL production should be carried out as a routine in diagnostic laboratories by PCDDT as it is a simple and cost effective test.

Effects of repeated haemolymph withdrawals on haemocyte counts and moulting in lemon-butterfly, Papilio demoleus L.

Total and differential haemocyte counts following repeated haemolymph withdrawals were made in V instar larvae of P. demoleus. While total count showed a steady reduction reaching its lowest in prepupal stage, much variation was observed in the relative percentage of various cell types. Further, the repeated removals of haemolymph from V instar larvae and pupae affected imaginal moulting and lengths of body and wings in adult butterflies.

Knowledge and practices regarding injury care among stone quartz workers.

The present study designed as cross sectional study was carried out to study the knowledge and practice regarding injury care among stone quartz workers of Chhotaudepur. A total of 137 stone quartz workers were included in the study, which consisted of 54.7% males and 45.3% females. 85.4% of the workers were illiterate and almost all the workers belonged to lower socio-economic strata according to the Modified Kuppuswamy's socio-economic scale. Majority of the subjects (56.2%) responded that they would consult doctor if they get injured while 32.2% responded that they would neglect the wound, as it will heal spontaneously. Thus the present study suggests that the knowledge regarding injury care among stone quartz workers was poor. Even the attitude and practice regarding injury care was also inappropriate.

Haemopoietic organs and effect of their ablation on total haemocyte count in lemon-butterfly, Papilio demoleus L.

The haemopoietic organs in Vth instar larvae of P. demoleus are in the form of thin transparent cellular sheets, closely wrapped around the base of each wing-pad. Three cell types viz; prohaemocytes, plasmatocytes and oenocytoids appear to be derived from these organs and their ablation caused a reduction in cell number which, in turn, revealed that the haemocytes in general are derived both from the haemopoietic organs as well as from the circulating blood cells.