Practice of Traditional Medicine and Associated Factors Among Residents in Eastern Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Although the Practice of traditional medicine is accorded great importance worldwide, it seems to face a notable challenge. A notable challenge is the lack of a reference standard for determining the appropriate utilization of traditional medicine for patients. There is little evidence about the usual utilized traditional medicine in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to assess practice of traditional medicine and associated factors among residents in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 20, 2022 to February 20, 2022. About 818 study participants were recruited using a systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 computer software. The association between an outcome variable and independent variables was assessed using binary logistic regression and the strength of association was presented using Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR) with its 95% confidence intervals (CI). Result: A total of 803 participants were included in the final analysis with a 98.2 % response rate. From the total study participants, 563 (70.1%) [95%CI: 66.8-73.3] had used traditional medicine in the past 6 months. Factors such as being farmer [AOR = 1.06; 95%CI: (1.03-3.7)], having a diploma degree or higher [AOR = 3.2, 95% CI (1.4-7.3)] and having no history of chronic disease [AOR = 0.21; 95% CI: (0.1-0.5)] were significantly associated traditional medicine practice. Conclusion: The proportion of traditional medicine practice was high. The most commonly utilized traditional medicines were Damakase, Tenadam, Zingibil and Erate. A national health policy should give a great emphasize on rational utilization of traditional medicine.

Valorization of khat (Catha edulis) waste for the production of cellulose fibers and nanocrystals.

Cellulose fibers (C40 and C80) were extracted from khat (Catha edulis) waste (KW) with chlorine-free process using 40% formic acid/40% acetic acid (C40), and 80% formic acid/80% acetic acid (C80) at the pretreatment stage, followed by further delignification and bleaching stages. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs40 and CNCs80) were then isolated from C40 and C80 with sulfuric acid hydrolysis, respectively. Thus, the current study aims to isolate cellulose fibers and CNCs from KW as alternative source. The KW, cellulose fibers, and CNCs were investigated for yield, chemical composition, functionality, crystallinity, morphology, and thermal stability. CNCs were also evaluated for colloidal stability, particle size, and their influence on in vitro diclofenac sodium release from gel formulations preliminarily. The FTIR spectra analysis showed the removal of most hemicellulose and lignin from the cellulose fibers. The XRD results indicated that chemical pretreatments and acid hydrolysis significantly increased the crystallinity of cellulose fibers and CNCs. The cellulose fibers and CNCs exhibited Cellulose Iß crystalline lattice. TEM analysis revealed formation of needle-shaped nanoscale rods (length: 101.55-162.96 nm; aspect ratio: 12.84-22.73). The hydrodynamic size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential of the CNCS ranged from 222.8-362.8 nm; 0.297-0.461, and -45.7 to -75.3 mV, respectively. CNCs40 exhibited superior properties to CNCs80 in terms of aspect ratio, and colloidal and thermal stability. Gel formulations containing high proportion of CNCs sustained diclofenac sodium release (< 50%/cm2) over 12 h. This study suggests that cellulose fibers and nanocrystals can be successfully obtained from abundant and unexploited source, KW for value-added industrial applications.