Geographic Coverage and Verification of Trauma Centers in a Rural State: Highlighting the Utility of Location Allocation for Trauma System Planning

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Antioxidant and anti–glycation activities correlates with phenolic composition of tropical medicinal herbs

ObjectiveTo determine the contribution of total phenolic content (TPC) in glycation inhibitory activity of common tropical medicinal food and spices with potential antioxidative properties.MethodsIn vitro glucose-bovine serum albumin (BSA) assay was used. Ethanolic extracts of ten common household condiments/herbs (Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale, Thymus vulgaris, Petroselinum crispum, Murraya koenigii Spreng, Mentha piperita L., Curcuma longa L., Allium cepa L., Allium fistulosum and Coriandrum sativum L.) were evaluated for antioxidative activity by 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the TPC, flavonoid and tannins content were determined.ResultsFindings showed good correlation between TPC/DPPH (r = 0.8), TPC/FRAP (r = 0.8), TPC/anti–glycation (r = 0.9), DPPH/anti–glycation (r = 0.6), FRAP/anti–glycation (r = 0.9), Flavonoid/anti–glycation (r = 0.7) and Tannins/anti–glycation (r = 0.8) and relatively fair correlation for TPC/Flavonoids (r = 0.5) and TPC/Tannins (r = 0.5). Results imply that these plants are potential sources of natural antioxidants which have free radical scavenging activity and might be used for reducing oxidative stress.ConclusionsThe positive glycation inhibitory and antioxidative activities of these tropical herbs suggest a possible role in targeting ageing, diabetic complications and oxidative stress related diseases.     

Sub–acute oral toxicity study of methanol leaves extract of Catharanthus roseus in rats

ObjectiveTo examine the sub-acute (14 d) oral toxic effects of methanol leaves extract of Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus) (Family: Apocynaceae) on liver and kidney functions in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.MethodsTwenty four female SD rats were used throughout the experiment. The first group was orally treated with distilled water and served as control, whereas the remaining three groups were orally treated with single dose daily of 0.1 g/kg, 0.5 g/kg, 1 g/kg of C. roseus extract, respectively for 14 d. Cage-side observations were done daily. Any animal died during the experiment was dissected for gross organ examination. Body weight changed, food consumption and water intake were recorded weekly. Blood was collected via cardiac puncture on day-15 and used for determination of serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, creatinine and urea. The relative organ weights were also measured. All results were expressed as mean ± S.E.M and analysed using Dunnett's test. The level of significance was set at P<0.05 when compared to the control group.ResultsRepeated oral administration of 0.5 g/kg and 1 g/kg of methanol leaves extract of C. roseus caused mortality and diarrhoea in rats after few days of treatment. There were no significant changes observed in serum biochemical markers, body weight changed, water and food intake and relative organ weight in rats treated with a single dose daily of 0.1 g/kg of C. roseus extract treatment for 14 d when compared to control group.ConclusiondsFourteen days repeated oral administration of 0.1 g/kg of methanol leaves extract of C. roseus was safe in female SD rats without causing any significant damages to liver and kidney.     

Successful treatment of refractory Hodgkin's disease by high-dose combination chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation

Forty-four patients with refractory Hodgkin's disease were treated with high-dose combination chemotherapy followed by autologous bone marrow rescue. Twenty-two patients (50%) entered complete remission within 6 months of the procedure and four other patients are free of disease progression. Only two patients have subsequently relapsed from complete remission (CR). Bone marrow suppression was the predictable major toxicity of this procedure, and two patients (4.5%) died of sepsis during the aplastic phase. High-dose therapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) appears to be an effective salvage regimen for patients with refractory Hodgkin's disease.