Deodorant use and related adverse effects: A cross-sectional survey among Palestinian students.

Background: Deodorants are widely used to mask unpleasant body odors. They are reported to cause some adverse effects depending on the form and ingredients. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of deodorant use and related adverse effects among Palestinian students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at An-Najah National University from Aug 2018 to Mar 2020. A questionnaire was constructed using a Google survey form. All analyses were done using SPSS 21.0, Fisher test was used for comparative analysis and the P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 554 students participated in the study. About 93% of the participants were using deodorants and adverse effects were reported by 25% of the participants. The reported adverse effects were itching (26%), coloration (25%), sneezing (21%), and eye redness (8%). Only 4.1% of the participants visited a physician for counselling regarding various adverse effects. Conclusion: Deodorants were widely used by Palestinian students with reported adverse effects, but these side effects rarely prompted the participants to seek medical advice.

Chromatographic analysis of the chemical composition and anticancer activities of Curcuma longa extract cultivated in Palestine.

Curcuma longa (turmeric) is a plant that has been extensively utilized in traditional medicine for centuries. Turmeric has a long history of use in both food and traditional medicine for the treatment of ailments such as diarrhea, cancer, flatulence, and dyspepsia. In Palestine, this plant was cultivated for the first time. The objective of this study was to characterize the extract of C. longa and assess its antimutagenic activity against a variety of cancer cells. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods were employed to identify the constituents of turmeric. The cytotoxic effects of C. longa were evaluated on cancer and normal cell lines using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay. The results revealed the presence of 10 components in turmeric extract as identified by GC-MS. The major constituents comprising 78% of the total constituents were α-zingiberene (27.51%), tumeron (19.44%), ß-sesquiphellandrene (19.40%), and aromatic-tumeron (11.63%). HPLC analysis successfully separated the main constituent, curcumin (1.78%), along with two other curcumin derivatives. The cytotoxicity results demonstrated potent anticancer activity of the C. longa extract against HeLa and LX2 cell lines, with IC50 values of 46.84 ± 2.12 and 29.77 ± 1 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the plant extract at a concentration of 250 µg/mL exhibited over 95% inhibition against all tested cancer cell lines. These findings highlight the promising potential of turmeric as a natural source with powerful anticancer activities. Moreover, the extract may possess other biological activities such as antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, which could be explored in future studies.

Assessment of anticancer, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-obesity and antioxidant activity of Ocimum Basilicum seeds essential oil from Palestine.

BACKGROUND: Many modern pharmaceutical researchers continue to focus on the discovery and evaluation of natural compounds for possible therapies for obesity, diabetes, infections, cancer, and oxidative stress. Extraction of Ocimum basilicum seed essential oil and evaluation of its antioxidant, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, antibacterial, and cytotoxic activities were the goals of the current study. METHOD: O. basilicum seed essential oil was extracted and evaluated for its anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-obesity, and anti-diabetic properties utilizing standard biomedical assays. RESULTS: O. basilicum seed essential oil showed good anticancer activity against Hep3B (IC50 56.23 ± 1.32 µg/ml) and MCF-7 (80.35 ± 1.17 µg/ml) when compared with the positive control, Doxorubicin. In addition, the essential oil showed potent antibacterial (against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and antifungal (against Candida albicans) activities. Moreover, as for the anti-amylase test, IC50 was 74.13 ± 1.1 µg/ml, a potent effect compared with the IC50 of acarbose, which was 28.10 ± 0.7 µg/ml. On the other hand, for the anti-lipase test, the IC50 was 112.20 ± 0.7 µg/ml a moderate effect compared with the IC50 of orlistat, which was 12.30 ± 0.8 µg/ml. Finally, the oil had a potent antioxidant effect with an IC50 of 23.44 ± 0.9 µg/ml compared with trolox (IC50 was 2.7 ± 0.5 µg/ml). CONCLUSION: This study has provided initial data that supports the importance of O. basilcum essential oil in traditional medicine. The extracted oil not only exhibited significant anticancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties but also antidiabetic and anti-obesity effects, which provided a foundation for future research.

Knowledge and compliance towards alendronate therapy among postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in Palestine.

BACKGROUND: Postmenopausal women compliance to alendronate therapy is suboptimal due to the complex dosing requirements. The poor compliance may increase their potential of fractures and the prevalence of side effects. In this study, the compliance of osteoporotic women on bisphosphonate therapy to the complex dosing instructions and their knowledge of alendronate-interactions were assessed. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, using self-administered questionnaire involving 224 osteoporotic women on alendronate therapy, who visited the orthopedic clinics and community pharmacies in the West Bank. Data was collected using a validated questionnaire consisting of 4 sections and analyzed by descriptive statistics. Moreover, associations between patient's socio-demographic characteristics and the extent of compliance and knowledge of alendronate interactions are established in this study. RESULTS: A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed and 224 were completed. The median compliance score to alendronate dosing instructions was 5 out of a possible maximum 7, and the median knowledge score about alendronate interactions was 7 out of a possible maximum 14. Factors found to affect either or both the knowledge and compliance to alendronate dosing instructions were, residency, and the source of instructions. CONCLUSION: This study identified the importance of compliance and knowledge gaps among postmenopausal women treated with alendronate. Therefore, appropriate knowledge about the importance of proper compliance to dosing instructions and avoidance of interactions is of a great benefit for maximizing clinical effectiveness, lowering fracture risk and prevention of adverse effects of alendronate among patients treated with alendronate in Palestine.

Views, knowledge, and practices of hospital pharmacists about using clinical pharmacokinetics to optimize pharmaceutical care services: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacokinetics (PK) is often used to optimize individualized dosing regimens of some drugs. This study was conducted to determine views, knowledge, and practices of hospital pharmacists in Palestine about using clinical PK to optimize pharmaceutical care services. METHOD: This study was conducted in a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire. The questionnaire collected information about the nature of PK courses taught to hospital pharmacists, importance, relevance, effectiveness, adequacy, and depth of these courses, adequacy of PK skills, implementing PK knowledge/skills in current practice, and barriers limiting the implementation of PK to optimize pharmaceutical care services for hospitalized patients. The hospital pharmacists were visited in their places of work and were asked to complete the questionnaire in privacy. Categorical data were compared using Kruskal-Wallis test or Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 145 hospital pharmacists. Of the pharmacists, 84 (57.9%) received basic PK courses, 79 (54.5%) were taught integrated PK courses, and 94 (64.8%) agreed that the PK courses were important to their current practice. Similarly, 85 (57.9%) of the pharmacists were not satisfied with the teaching methods and contents of the PK courses. Pharmacists who obtained their degrees from Palestine were less satisfied with the methods of teaching compared to those who obtained their degrees from foreign countries (p-value = 0.006). Only 25 (17.2%) pharmacists reported frequent use of PK knowledge in their current practice. Lack of practical knowledge and continuing education, poor understanding of PK by pharmacists and other healthcare professionals were identified as barriers limiting the implementation of PK in optimizing pharmaceutical care services to hospitalized patients. CONCLUSION: The hospital pharmacists were generally not satisfied with the way PK courses were taught and expressed difficulty in implementing PK knowledge and skills to improve pharmaceutical care services to hospitalized patients. Integrating PK topics within other relevant courses and adopting more clinically oriented learning methods could improve understanding and implementing PK knowledge and skills in optimizing pharmaceutical services to hospitalized patients. Further studies are still needed to determine the optimal teaching/learning methods that can improve knowledge and skill acquisitions of pharmacists in the area of PK.

Extemporaneous Compounding and Physiological Modeling of Amlodipine/Valsartan Suspension.

METHOD: Amlodipine/valsartan extemporaneous suspension was prepared from available commercial tablets such as Valzadepine®. The dissolution profiles for the extemporaneous preparation and the commercial tablet were determined in different pH media. The physical, chemical, and microbial stability of the compounded formulation was evaluated over one-month period at room temperature. Moreover, in silico modeling using GastroPlus™ software was used to build absorption models for both drugs based on the in vitro dissolution data. The simulated plasma profiles for both active ingredients were compared with the in vivo plasma profiles to examine the similarity of the extemporaneous suspension and the commercial tablets. RESULTS: The amlodipine/valsartan extemporaneous suspension was successfully prepared with acceptable organoleptic properties. The suspension was stable for four-week period preserving its physical and chemical features. The release profiles of valsartan and amlodipine from the suspension were similar to those from source tablet Valzadepine®. In silico modeling predicted the similarity of the extemporaneous suspension and the commercial tablets. CONCLUSION: Amlodipine/valsartan extemporaneous suspension could be prepared from available commercial tablets. Moreover, GastroPlus™ can be applied along with the in vitro dissolution in order to affirm similarity in extemporaneous compounding situations.

Screening of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia Volatile Oils: A Comparative Study of Plants Collected from Different Regions of West Bank, Palestine.

BACKGROUND: The investigation of volatile oils used in traditional medicine is vital to enhance the quality of healthcare. This study is aimed at screening the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia volatile oils from three different regions in Palestine (north, middle, and south). METHODS: Volatile oils of three samples of M. fruticosa serpyllifolia were extracted using the microwave-ultrasonic apparatus. The antioxidant activity of the volatile oils was assessed by inhibition of DPPH free radical. The antimicrobial activity was examined using the broth microdilution method. Assessment of antifungal activity was achieved using the agar dilution method. RESULTS: Screening the biological activity of plant extracts revealed that the sample from Ramallah (middle region) possessed the most potent antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 0.45 µg/mL. The three samples exhibited broad antimicrobial activity and showed potential antifungal activity. The sample from the southern region showed the highest potency against Shigella sonnei with the lowest reported MIC; the sample from the northern region demonstrated the least potency against clinical isolate of Staphylococcus aureus and "methicillin"-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia volatile oil samples from different regions in Palestine possess different potential antioxidant and antimicrobial activities that were in line with traditional uses of the plant extracts.

Antibacterial, Anticandidal, Phytochemical, and Biological Evaluations of Pellitory Plant.

Pellitory plant (Parietaria judaica (PJ)) is one of the most widely used Arabian traditional medicinal plants due to its ability to cure several infectious diseases and other illnesses. The current study is aimed at assessing the phytoconstituents, antilipase, antiamylase, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic characters of the Pellitory plant (Parietaria judaica (PJ)). Phytochemical screening and procyanidin detection were conducted according to the standard phytochemical procedures. Porcine pancreatic lipase and α-amylase inhibitory activities were carried out using p-nitrophenyl butyrate and dinitrosalicylic acid assays, respectively. In addition, antimicrobial activity was determined utilizing a microdilution assay against several bacterial and fungal strains. Besides, the cytotoxic effect against HeLa cell line was tested employing 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay. The quantitative test results revealed that the methanol fraction of PJ contains 18.55 ± 0.55 mg of procyanidin and has a potential α-amylase inhibitory activity compared with the antidiabetic drug Acarbose with IC50 values of 15.84 ± 2.25 and 28.18 ± 1.22 µg/ml, respectively. Also, it has a potential antilipase activity compared to the commercial antiobesity drug, Orlistat, with IC50 values of 38.9 ± 0.29 and 12.3 ± 0.35 µg/ml, respectively. The acetone, hexane, and methanol fractions have broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against the screened bacterial strains, while the acetone fraction has shown anticandidal activity with a MIC value of 0.195 mg/ml. The PJ hexane and acetone fractions decreased HeLa cell viability significantly (p value < 0.0001) by approximately 90% at the concentration of 0.625 mg/ml. The revealed outcomes showed that the methanol fraction has strong α-amylase and lipase inhibitory characters. Besides, acetone, hexane, and methanol fractions have broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, while the acetone fraction revealed potent antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Moreover, at low concentrations, hexane and acetone fractions have potent cytotoxic and antiproliferative activity against HeLa cancer cells. Nevertheless, PJ acetone, hexane, and methanol fractions can serve as an effective source of natural products to develop new antiobesity, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and anticancer agents.

Chemical Composition and Enzymatic Screening of Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia Volatile Oils Collected from Three Different Regions of West Bank, Palestine.

INTRODUCTION: Volatile oils (VOs) have been commonly used in cosmetics and food as fragrances, flavoring, and preservative agents or in alternative medicine for their therapeutic effects. This necessitates investigating those plants and their VOs. This study was conducted to investigate the chemical compositions of the VOs of Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia growing widely in three regions in Palestine (i.e., Hebron, Ramallah, and Nablus districts representing south, middle, and north of West Bank). Afterwards, VOs were subjected to in vitro screening and their enzymatic properties were compared. METHODS: The analysis of chemical components of VOs was performed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antilipase activity was evaluated using porcine pancreatic lipase and p-nitrophenyl butyrate. The antiamylase activity was assessed using porcine pancreatic α-amylase, starch, and 3,5-dinitrosalicylic. RESULTS: Plant extracts yield range was 0.67 to 0.99 w/w%. GC-MS analysis showed the high percentages of oxygenated components in the range of 86.1-89.88% and nonoxygenated components in the range of 4.38-4.71%. Seven components were observed, pulegone was the most abundant component in the three samples in the range of 74.43-86.04%, and isomenthone was the second most abundant component with the range of 3.16-14.41%. The sample collected from Nablus showed the most potent antilipase and antiamylase activity with IC50 values of 39.81 µg/mL and 3.31 µg/mL, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia volatile oils samples from different regions in Palestine contained different proportions of phytochemicals which provided different potential biological activities such as antiobesity and antidiabetes activities that were in line with traditional uses of the plant extracts. The plant extracts showed higher antilipase and antiamylase potency than that of the relative references and there were significant differences in these activities compared to each other.

Does GastroPlus Support Similarity and Dissimilarity Factors of in vitro-in vivo Prediction in Biowaiver Studies? A Lower Strength Amlodipine As a Model Drug.

BACKGROUND: Many generic pharmaceutical products are currently available on the market place worldwide. Recently, there is a growing concern on the quality and efficacy of generic products. However, health care professionals such as physicians and pharmacists are in difficult situations to choose among alternatives. PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the in silico technique (Gastro Plus®) in the biowaiver study and whether similarity and dissimilarity factors (f 2 and f 1 respectively) are effective in this regard. METHOD: The concentration of amlodipine in the sample was calculated by comparing the absorbance of the sample with that of a previously prepared amlodipine standard solution using validated HPLC method. The dissolution profile for each product (brand and generics) was constructed. The similarity (f2) and dissimilarity (f 1) factors were calculated for the generic product according to equation 1 and 2. GastroPlus™ software (version 9.0, Simulations Plus Inc., Lancaster, CA, USA) was used to predict the absorption profiles of amlodipine from the generic product Amlovasc® and the reference Norvasc®. CONCLUSION: These results may provide a rationale for the interchangeability between the RLD and generic version based on in vitro release profiles in silico technique especially in a lower strength dose drug.

Evaluation of community pharmacists' knowledge and awareness of food-drug interactions in Palestine.

Background Food-drug interactions can produce undesirable outcomes during the therapy process. The pharmacist is responsible for providing patients counseling about common food-drug interactions. Knowledge of such interactions is important to avoid their occurrence. Objective This study aimed to assess the knowledge and awareness of community pharmacists about common food-drug interactions. Setting Pharmacists working in community pharmacies across Northern Palestine. Method This is a cross-sectional study, which involved a convenience sample of 259 pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Palestine. A self-administered questionnaire consisted of 29 questions (mainly yes/no questions) was used to assess pharmacists' knowledge towards the most common and clinically significant interactions between food and medicines. Main outcome measure Pharmacists' issues related to the knowledge of food drug interactions were evaluated. Results A total of 320 questionnaires were distributed of which 259 were completed providing a response rate 80.9%. One pharmacist from each community pharmacy was asked to complete the questionnaire. The overall knowledge score of food-drug interactions for the pharmacists was 17.9 (61.7%) out of a possible maximum of 29. The pharmacists surveyed in this study have demonstrated good knowledge of some interactions; but poor knowledge of others. Conclusion Pharmacists' knowledge about common food-drug interactions is inadequate. These findings support the need for training and educational courses for pharmacists regarding food-drug interactions.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of community pharmacists on generic medicines in Palestine: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Generic substitution in several countries has become a common practice. Besides, it is considered as a major cost minimizing strategy meant to contain pharmaceutical expenditure without compromising healthcare quality. However, the safety and quality issues of generic products are of top concerns of general practitioners and health work professionals. This study aimed to investigate community pharmacist's knowledge, attitudes and practices toward generic medicines in Palestine. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional observational study employing a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was of four main sections: demographic and practice details of the participants, knowledge, attitudes and the influencing factors related to selection and dispensing of generic medicines. A convenience sampling technique was implemented in this study in which the data collection form was distributed in West Bank- Palestine among a set of practicing pharmacists. Mann-Whitney-U or Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to comparison of different issues as appropriate. P-values of <0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 302 community pharmacists were interviewed, slightly more than half were males (52.3%). The mean knowledge score of participants regarding generic medicines was (5.91 ± 1.27) where the highest score was 8 of 10. Knowledge score was not significantly influenced by any of the socio-demographic characteristics. Our data showed that most of included pharmacists in the study (95.4%) agreed that health authorities should implement bioequivalence policies prior to marketing approval of generics, while 87.4% of participants agreed that they should be given the right to substitute generics and the majority (62.3%) support generic substitution for brand name drugs in all cases when a generic is available The main two factors affect pharmacists' selection and dispensing of generic medicines are personal faith in the product (86.1%) and cost effectiveness of generic medicines (84.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Generic medicines substitution among pharmacists is widespread and prevalent. Our data found that participant pharmacists in Palestine had basic knowledge with regards to generic medicine. However, their knowledge score pertaining the technical and regulatory aspects of bioequivalence and pharmacokinetic parameters in particular was insufficient.

Variability of Chemical Compositions and Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Ruta chalepensis Leaf Essential Oils from Three Palestinian Regions.

INTRODUCTION: Interest in essential oils was recently revived with their popularity increasing in medicine, pharmacy, and aromatherapy. This study was performed to identify the chemical compositions of the essential oil of Ruta chalepensis growing wildly in three regions in Palestine and to assess and compare their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. METHODS: Identification of the essential oil was performed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antimicrobial activity was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans by using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay, while antioxidant activity was analyzed by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. RESULTS: The essential oils of R. chalepensis from Jerusalem and Hebron regions have almost identical components; the major compounds identified were linalyl acetate and ß-linalool; these essential oils exerted potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities. On the other hand, the major components of the plant essential oil from Jenin region were 2-undecanone and 2-nonanone, which exhibited potential antifungal activity. CONCLUSIONS: The phytoconstituents and antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the essential oil of R. chalepensis from different regions in Palestine were established in this study. The obtained results indicate possible applications for R. chalepensis in the treatment of various infectious and noninfectious diseases.

Community pharmacists' knowledge, practices and beliefs about complementary and alternative medicine in Palestine: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) utilization is dramatically increasing among patients. As community pharmacies are a major provider of CAM products, community pharmacists need to have the sufficient knowledge and information to advice their patients, answer their inquiries and to be proactive in the healthcare process to ensure optimal therapy outputs and minimize both drug-drug and drug-herb interactions. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, beliefs, and practices of community pharmacists in Palestine about CAM. METHODS: The study was conducted in a cross-sectional design in which a questionnaire was administered on a sample of licensed community pharmacists from Palestine. The questionnaire was of 5 sections: demographic and practice details of the participants, practice, beliefs, and knowledge about CAM. Mann-Whitney-U or Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to comparison of different issues as appropriate. P-values of <0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 284 community pharmacists were surveyed, however, 281 were included in the analysis as they met inclusion criteria. Out of the 281, 149 (53.0%) of the participants were males and the rest were females. About 40% of the participants were between 20 to 29 years old. Pharmacists frequently recommended CAM modalities. Exercises (84.0%) and food supplements (82.6%) were the most commonly recommended modalities. In the last year, vitamin B12 was the most frequently prescribed supplement. The median knowledge score was 5 out of 8 and the median beliefs about CAM score was 4.0 out of 7.0. CONCLUSIONS: CAM recommendations by pharmacists appear to be commonplace. Although their knowledge scores were fair to average, pharmacists still need more education and training about CAM in order to be more qualified to provide better pharmaceutical care and improve their patient's outcome.

A bibliometric analysis of literature on malaria vector resistance: (1996 - 2015).

BACKGROUND: Emergence of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors is a real threat to future goals of elimination and control of malaria. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess research trend on insecticide resistance of Anopheles mosquito. In specific, number of publications, countries, institutions, and authors' research profile, citation analysis, international collaborations, and impact of journals publishing documents on insecticide resistance will be presented. It was conducted via Scopus search engine which was used to retrieve relevant data. Keywords used were based on literature available on this topic. The duration of study was set from 1996-2015. RESULTS: A total of 616 documents, mainly as original research articles (n = 569; 92.37%) were retrieved. The average number of citations per article was 26.36. Poisson log-linear regression analysis indicated that there was a 6.00% increase in the number of publications for each extra article on pyrethroid resistance. A total of 82 different countries and 1922 authors participated in publishing retrieved articles. The United Kingdom (UK) ranked first in number of publications followed by the United States of America (USA) and France. The top ten productive countries included seven African countries. The UK had collaborations mostly with Benin (relative link strength = 46). A total of 1817 institution/ organizations participated in the publication of retrieved articles. The most active institution/ organization was Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Retrieved articles were published in 134 different scientific peer reviewed journals. The journal that published most on this topic was Malaria Journal (n = 101; 16.4%). Four of the top active authors were from South Africa and two were from the UK. Three of the top ten cited articles were published in Insect Molecular Biology journal. Six articles were about pyrethroid resistance and at least two were about DDT resistance. CONCLUSION: Publications on insecticide resistance in malaria vector has gained momentum in the past decade. International collaborations enhanced the knowledge about the situation of vector resistance in countries with endemic malaria. Molecular biology of insecticide resistance is the key issue in understanding and overcoming this emerging problems.

Chemical composition, anthelmintic, antibacterial and antioxidant effects of Thymus bovei essential oil.

BACKGROUND: It has been recently recognized that oxidative stress, helminth and microbial infections are the cause of much illness found in the underdeveloped, developing and developed countries. The present study was undertaken to identify the chemical composition, and to assess anthelmintic, antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of Thymus bovei essential oil. METHODS: The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antimicrobial activity was tested against the selected strains from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and clinical isolates such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans using MIC assay. The anthelmintic assay was carried out on adult earthworm (Pheretima posthuma), while antioxidant activity was analyzed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. RESULTS: Trans-geraniol (35.38 %), α-citral (20.37 %) and ß-citral (14.76 %) were the major compounds comprising 70.51 % of the essential oil. Our results showed that T. bovei essential oil exhibited strong anthelmintic activity, even higher than piperazine citrate, the used reference standard, with potential antioxidant activity almost equal to the Trolox standard. Furthermore, T. bovei essential oil had powerful antibacterial and antifungal activities against the studied pathogens. CONCLUSION: Essential oil of T. bovei exerted excellent antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anthelmintic activities. Moreover, this study found that T. bovei volatile oil contains active substances that could potentially be used as natural preservatives in food and pharmaceutical industries, these substances could also be employed for developing new anthelmintic, antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.

Bibliometric analysis of global scientific research on carbapenem resistance (1986-2015).

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health challenge and carbapenem resistance, in particular, is considered an urgent global health threat. This study was carried out to give a bibliometric overview of literature on carbapenem resistance. In specific, number of publications, top productive countries and institutes, highly cited articles, citation analysis, co-authorships, international collaboration, top active authors, and journals publishing articles on carbapenem resistance were analyzed and discussed. METHODS: Specific keywords pertaining to carbapenem resistance were used in Scopus database. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of retrieved data were presented using appropriate bibliometric indicators and visualization maps. RESULTS: A total of 2617 journal articles were retrieved. The average number of citations per article was of 21.47. The growth of publications showed a dramatic increase from 2008 to 2015. Approximately 9 % of retrieved articles on carbapenem resistance were published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy journal. Retrieved articles were published by 102 different countries. The United States of America (USA) contributed most with 437 (16.70 %) articles followed by China with 257 (9.82 %) articles. When productivity was stratified by population size, Greece ranked first followed by France. Greece also ranked first when data were stratified by gross domestic product (GDP). Asian countries have lesser international collaboration compared with other countries in the top ten list. Five of top ten productive institutes were Europeans (France, the UK, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland) and two were Asians (China and South Korea). Other active institutes included an Israeli and a Brazilian institute. Four of the top ten cited articles were published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy journal and two were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. CONCLUSION: There was a dramatic increase in number of publications on carbapenem resistance in the past few years. These publications were produced from different world regions including Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America. International collaboration needs to be encouraged particularly for researchers in Asia. Molecular biology and epidemiology dominated the theme of the top ten cited articles on carbapenem resistance. This bibliometric study will hopefully help health policy makers in planning future research and allocating funds pertaining to carbapenem resistance.

Drinking and recreational water-related diseases: a bibliometric analysis (1980-2015).

BACKGROUND: Water - related diseases are worldwide health concern. Microbial contamination and contaminant products in water are a source of disease outbreaks and development of cumulative toxic effects. Ensuring safe water is one of the goals to be achieved at the global level. The aim of this study was to assess publications on drinking and recreational water from a health point of view to understand current problems and future research trends in this field. METHODS: Scopus, the largest scientific electronic database, was used to retrieve related articles and present the results as bibliometric tables and maps. Search query was modified manually using related terms to maximize accuracy. RESULTS: A total of 2267 publications were retrieved with an average of 16.82 citations per article. The h-index of retrieved articles was 88. Visual mapping showed that E. coli, diarrhea, cryptosporidiosis, fluoride, arsenic, cancer, chlorine, trihalomethane, and H. pylori were most frequently encountered terms in title and abstract of retrieved articles. The number of articles on water microbiology was a significant (P < 0.01) predictor of worldwide productivity of water - related disease publications. Journal of Water and Health ranked first in number of publications with 136 (6.00 %) articles. The United States of America ranked first in productivity with a total of 623 (27.48 %) articles. Germany (15.44 %), India (16.00 %) and China (20.66 %) had the least international collaboration in water-related disease research. Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Prevention and Control were among top ten productive institutions. In the top ten cited articles, there were three articles about arsenic, one about aluminum, one about trihalomethane, one about nitrate, one about toxoplasmosis, one about gastroenteritis, and the remaining two articles were general ones. CONCLUSIONS: There was a linear increase in the number of publications on water - related diseases in the last decade. Arsenic, in drinking water is a serious concern. Cryptosporidiosis and other infectious gastroenteritis remain a major health risk of exposure to contaminated water. Increased number of publications from Asian countries was not associated with a high percentage of international collaboration.

Assessing worldwide research activity on probiotics in pediatrics using Scopus database: 1994-2014.

BACKGROUND: A wide variety of probiotic products has been introduced into the market in the past decade. Research trends and activity on probiotics help understand how these products were evolved and their potential future role in medicine. The objective of this study was to assess the research activity on probiotics in pediatrics using bibliometric indicators and network visualization. METHODS: Original and review articles on probiotics in pediatrics published worldwide were retrieved from SciVerse, Scopus (1994-2014) and analyzed. VOSviewer was used for network visualization. RESULTS: The total number of documents published on probiotics in pediatrics was 2817. Research activity on probiotics in pediatrics showed approximately 90- fold increase during the study period. Approximately 22 % of published articles originated from USA and has the greatest share, however, Finland ranked first when data were stratified by population or income. The most productive institution in this field was Turku University in Finland with 82 (2.91 %) articles. Half of the prolific authors were also from Finland. Most of the published research activity appeared in Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. Most frequently encountered title terms include nutrition, infant formula, necrotizing enetrocolitis, allergy, and diarrhea. The total number of citations for the retreived documents documents was 70991, and the average citation per article was 25.20. CONCLUSIONS: Interest in probiotic research and its potential benefits in pediatric ailments is relatively recent but significantly increasing. Bibliometric analysis can be used as an indicator of the importance and growth of probiotic use in pediatrics.