Autophagic cell death is induced by acetone and ethyl acetate extracts from Eupatorium odoratum in vitro: effects on MCF-7 and vero cell lines.

Eupatorium odoratum (EO) contains many biologically active compounds, the anticancer effects of which are not well documented. This study evaluates the cytotoxic effects and mechanism of action of EO extracts on MCF-7 and Vero cell lines. Evaluation of the cytotoxic activity using MTT assay, morphological alterations, and apoptosis were carried out. Autophagy was evaluated by LC3-A protein expression. Cytotoxic activity, membrane blebbing and ballooning at 24 hours, replacement by mass vacuolation, and double membrane vesicles mimicking autophagy and cell death were observed in the cancer cells. No apoptosis was observed by DNA fragmentation assay. Overexpression of LC3-A protein indicated autophagic cell death. Cell cycle analysis showed G0 and G2/M arrest. The Vero cells did not show significant cell death at concentrations <100 µg/mL. These results thus suggest that acetone and ethyl acetate extracts of EO induce cell death through induction of autophagy and hold potential for development as potential anticancer drugs.

Evaluation of the Teratogenicity of Aqueous Extract of Labisia pumila var. alata in rats.

A dose range study to assess the teratogenic potential of aqueous extract of Labisia pumila var. alata (Kacip Fatimah) was conducted in rodents. The extract at doses of 0 (control), 2, 20, 200, 400, 1000 mg/kg/day were respectively administered by gavaging to 6 groups of pregnant Sprague Dawley rats from day 6 through day 16 of pregnancy and sacrificed on day 21. No significant agent-related effects including changes in maternal body weight (MBW) nor weight gain were observed. The corrected maternal body weights (CMBW) were slightly higher in animals receiving low dose extracts (2 mg/kg/day) as compared to all groups of animals. However, body weight differences were not statistically significant. Gravid uterine weight, number of corpora lutea, number of implantation sites, percentage of foetal resorptions, number of life foetuses, foetal weight and foetal sex ratio showed no significant differences among all group animals. None of the foetuses from all dams showed evidence of external congenital malformations. These findings may suggest that aqueous extracts of Labisia pumila var. alata up to 1000 mg/kg/day statistically do not show any significant teratogenic effects in rats but do affect the maternal body weight and this is dose dependent.

Ambulance services at hospital universiti sains malaysia and hospital kota bharu: a retrospective study of calls.

This retrospective study attempted to identify the pattern of ambulance calls for the past two years at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and Hospital Kota Bharu (HKB). This study will provide a simple method of acquiring information related to ambulance response time (ART) and to test whether it met the international standards and needs of the client. Additionally, this paper takes into account the management of emergency calls. This included ambulance response time, which was part of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) episode: onset of ART, which started when details like phone number of the caller, exact location of the incident and the nature of the main complaint had been noted. ART ended when the emergency team arrived at the scene of incident. Information regarding ambulance calls from the record offices of HUSM and HKB was recorded for the year 2001 and 2002, tabulated and analyzed. There was a significant difference in the total number of calls managed by HUSM and HKB in the year 2001. It was noted that 645 calls were managed by HUSM while 1069 calls were recorded at HKB. In the year 2002, however, HUSM led with 613 extra numbers of calls as compare to HKB with 1193 numbers of calls. The pattern of ambulance calls observed is thought to possibly be influenced by social activities like local festivities, school holidays and the seasons. Further, it is observed that no studies were previously undertaken to compare the ART at both the HUSM and HKB to that of the international standards. In fact, a literature review undertaken so far showed no similar studies have been done for the whole Malaysia.