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Context: The perception of generic drugs may vary significantly between government and private doctors because physicians in the private sector have more prescribing choices and flexibility. Hence, this study was undertaken to analyse the knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) of government and private physicians on generic drugs. Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted among physicians working in public and private health sectors. The questionnaire had 25 closed-ended questions related to the KAP of generic medicine. The overall scores were categorised using Bloom's cut-off point. The Chi-square or Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the differences between the two groups. Results: About 80% of the participants in both groups agreed that generic medicines contain the same active ingredients as brand-name drugs, are less expensive and are available in the Indian market. Nearly 84% of government physicians and only 64% of private physicians believed that generic medicines are just as effective and secure as branded medicines (P - 0.003). The majority of physicians from both groups concurred that there is a lack of quality check in generic drug manufacturing, and they require more information about bioequivalence studies. In both categories, about 75% of participants preferred generic medications for their patients. However, in both groups, more than 50% of physicians were concerned about therapeutic failure and expressed reluctance to prescribe generic medications in life-threatening situations. Conclusions: Knowledge and acceptance of generic drugs regarding efficacy, safety, bioequivalence and therapeutic failure are low among both government and private physicians.
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OBJECTIVES: To study the antidiabetic activity of Pleurotus ostreatus in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethanolic extract of fruiting bodies of P. ostreatus was tested for their antidiabetic activity. BALB/C mice (25-30 g) were divided into four groups of six animals each normal control mice, diabetic control mice, diabetic mice posttreated with standard drug glibenclamide and diabetic mice treated with P. ostreatus ethanolic extract. Blood glucose level, biochemical parameters such as serum total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, VLDL, triglyceride creatinine, urea, and Serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and Serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase were studied in alloxan-induced diabetic mice after 15 days of treatment. RESULTS: Animals treated with the ethanolic extract of P. ostreatus showed a significant decrease in serum glucose level (p < 0.01). The posttreatment with P. ostreatus extract reduced serum cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol. The serum HDL cholesterol was significantly increased in posttreated groups. The serum creatinine, urea levels were significantly reduced in posttreated group, whereas the decrease in the body weight was arrested by administration of P. ostreatus extract to the animals. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The consumption of P. ostreatus produced a significant hypoglycemic effect in diabetic mice and it is capable of improving hyperlipidemia and the impaired kidney functions in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Thus, indicating that the ethanolic extract of P. ostreatus could be added in the list of medicinal preparations beneficial in diabetes mellitus.
