Résumé
Berberis aristata, generally known as Daruharidra because of yellow coloured wood, belongs to the family Berberidaceae. Approximately 500 species of genus Berberis are found Worldwide. 77 species of Berberis reported in India, 21 species are present in Himachal Pradesh in which Berberis aristata, Berberis asiatica and Berberis lycium are more common. B. aristata has been accepted as an official source for classical drug Daruharidra. It is deciduous, thorny shrub attaining a height of about 6-12 feet, found at the altitude of 6000 to 10,000 feet in Himalayan range, also found in Neelgiri hills, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Afganistan, Iran. Therapeutically used part of the plant is root bark. The major chemical constituents of B. aristata are alkaloids and Berberine is one of the important alkaloids in it. Berberine-containing plants are used as food supplements subject to certain restrictive conditions of use. It is a red listed endemic medicinal plant species of conservational concern and has become dominantly important in current years due to its scarcity and increased demand. Species, such as B. lycium Royle. and B. chitria Lindl. are also generally used in Ayurveda formulations for therapeutic purposes and for the preparation of Rasanjana, crude concentrated extract prepared from the roots and stem bark. It is use to cure several ailments, including conjunctivitis, bleeding piles, ulcers, jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly. However, many other plants belonging to different genera like Cosinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Coleb and Morinda umbellate have been recommended as substitutes for Daruharidra and traded in the market in its name. Present paper is an effort towards establishment of therapeutic potential of Daruharidra through reverse pharmacology and measures for its in-situ conservation.
Résumé
Animal experiments have been reduced to mere demonstrations and/or withdrawn from the undergraduate curriculum. A new clinical pharmacology experiment has been introduced which is simple, safe and has the ability to quantify the drug effect in an objective manner. The objective was to demonstrate the stimulant effect of coffee on psychomotor performance using Paper and pencil tests. And Digit Letter Substitution Test and Six Letter Cancellation Test were administered during the pharmacology practical hour in different batches of MBBS and Pharmacy program after obtaining the written informed consent. The experiment involved practice, Pre-coffee session, Coffee intake [2g/200ml], post-coffee session followed by student's feedback using a questionnaire. There was no significant difference between the scores during practice session and pre- coffee session. However, there was a 15-20% increase in the post-coffee scores which was statistically significant [p < 0.05; Student t- test] as compared to pre-coffee scores. The students gave a good feedback about the experiment as reflected by a mean score of 4.6 +/- 0.3 on a scale of 5. The stimulant effect of coffee was observed by majority of the students as reflected by their increased score in the psychomotor tests. They found the experiment interesting and appreciated the approach to understand the drug effect
Résumé
This is a case report of an uncommon extraocular sebaceous cell carcinoma with intracranial extension and review of pertinent literature. A 42 year old, female presented us with an extensive mass involving almost the whole of her face. The histopathological evaluation of the biopsy obtained from the mass revealed it to be a sebaceous cell carcinoma. The radiological evaluation of the tumour revealed an intracranial extension. The patient died within 6 weeks of her initial presentation to us. We concluded it as an extremely rare case of an extraocular sebaceous cell carcinoma with intracranial extension