Asian Pacific Journal of Health Sciences
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An Overview of the Health Benefits of Drumstick Pods
Get PDFThe “Moringa” (MO) (drumstick) is native to India and grows in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Due to its high nutritional value, each part of the tree is suitable for nutritional or commercial use. The seed of Moringa oleifera is a natural coagulant, widely used in water treatment. The scientific results of this research provide information on the use of M. oleifera as a treatment for diabetes and cancer and the strengthening of M. oleifera pods, leaves, and flowers in commercial products. This review explores the interdisciplinary medicinal value of MO and discusses the cultivation, nutrition, and commercial and exceptional pharmacological properties of this “miracle tree”. MO is nature’s first aid kit, widely used in the Indian Ayurvedic medical system, as a nutrient, natural energy stimulant and to increase defense against disease. It is a multi-purpose vegetable sources of trees, spices, cooking oils, and cosmetic oils and as medicinal plants
Awareness, Perception, and Practice of Obese Patients toward COVID-19: A Study from Tertiary Care Center, India
Get PDFIntroduction: COVID-19 has emerged as a global health crisis. It has been established that people with obesity are prone to develop severe manifestations of COVID-19. Since there is no established treatment of the disease, yet, it is essential to increase public awareness toward prevention of infection. This study was aimed to assess the awareness, perception, and practices of obese subjects toward COVID-19 infection. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 260 obese patients between August 2020 and November 2020 who were enrolled in obesity and metabolic disorders clinic at our institute. A structured questionnaire consisting of 23 questions (15 of knowledge, four of perception, and four of practices) was administered by telephonic interview with the patients. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with poor knowledge and practice toward COVID-19. Results: The mean age of the participants was 41.7 ± 10.2 years, with 166 (64%) females. Mean awareness score obtained by subjects was 9.1 ± 2.2 out of 15. The scores were categorized into good, moderate, and poor. Subjects with poor awareness constituted 36% of study population. Mean perception score of participants was 14.0 ± 2 out of 20. Majority of patients (69.2%) had moderate perception score. Mean score obtained in practices was 18.5 ± 2.1 out of 20 and 92% of subjects reported good practices. Age was negatively associated with awareness score. Gender and educational qualification had a significant impact on awareness score with males having better awareness then females. Graduates and above had higher awareness score. Increase in awareness score was found to be associated with improved practices but not with perception. Conclusion: The prevalence of good practices toward COVID-19 among obese patients was high (92%) although poor awareness was also highly prevalent (36%). Increasing the awareness through various means should be considered
Awareness Assessment of Treatment Target Goals for Persons Living with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Accessing Care in a Tertiary Health Facility, Southeast Nigeria
Get PDFBackground: Diabetes clinic visits by persons living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (PLWDM) afford the healthcare professionals (HCPs) opportunities to assess their achievements of the recommended treatment targets for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), lipid profile, blood pressure (BP), and body mass index (BMI). Meeting these targets significantly affect treatment outcome in diabetes mellitus (DM). Awareness of the treatment targets by PLWDM attending the diabetes clinic of Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Aba, Southeast Nigeria, is not known. This study, therefore, set out to bridge this gap in knowledge. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study in which consenting PLWDM attending the diabetes clinic of ABSUTH, Aba, were consecutively recruited. Interviewer-administered questionnaire was filled for each subject to assess their knowledge and awareness of the treatment target goals for HbA1C, BP, lipid profile, and BMI. Data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23.0 software. Results: A total of 165 persons living with DM, 60 (36.4%) males and 105 (63.6%) females, participated in the study. Majority of them (89.1%) were ignorant of HbA1C and its implications while awareness of their treatment target goals for HbA1C, BP, lipid profile, and BMI was very low at 1.8%, 16.4%, 1.8%, and 0%, respectively, despite their formal educational levels. Conclusion/Recommendation: Awareness of treatment target goals for HBA1C, BP, lipid profile, and BMI was very low among PLWDM in Aba, southeast Nigeria. It is strongly recommended that the HCPs step up their games in diabetes education programs
Phytochemical and Anti-bacterial Activity of Toddalia asiatica: A Wild Nutraceutical
Get PDFToddalia asiatica (Rutaceae) a woody liana is used traditionally in the treatment of malaria, sprains, cough, fever, neuralgia, epilepsy, dyspepsia, and other disease conditions. A wide range of chemical constituents are found in leaf extracts such as tannin, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids and phenolic compounds and in fruit extract, phytoconstituents such as tannin, saponin, phenolic compounds, and reducing sugar are reportedly present. In recent years, drug resistance to human pathogenic bacteria has been commonly reported from all over the world. In the present scenario of emergence of multiple drug resistance to human pathogenic organisms, this has necessitated a search for new antimicrobial substances from other sources including plants. It was investigated that the leaf and fruit extract of T. asiatica showed potential antibacterial activity against human pathogens such as Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus pyogenes, Vibrio cholera, and Shigella flexneri. This study could be helpful to develop antibacterial agent against the tested strains which will help to formulate a new drug effective against these pathogens
Optimization of Support Vector Machine Classifier Using Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm for Chronic Kidney Disease Prediction
Get PDFThe massive generation of medical data from smart health-care applications in recent years necessitates the development of big data classification strategies. Medical data classification can be used to visualize patterns in the data and detect the presence of the disease in medical data. We present an efficient support vector machine (SVM) hybridized with a grey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm for chronic kidney disease (CKD) data classification in this work. Initially, infinite feature selection (IFS) algorithm is used to select the best features from a set of available features. The dataset’s selected features are processed and fed into the GWO optimized SVM algorithm. The proposed CKD classification strategy has been simulated in MATLAB. CKD dataset from UCI machine learning repository is utilized for testing the developed strategy. The performance of the proposed CKD classification strategy is examined by accuracy and root mean square error (RMSE) values. According to the investigational findings, the proposed CKD classification system achieved accuracy and RMSE value of 97.58% and 0.1581, respectively, for classifying subjects into the CKD and non-CKD categories. The performance of GWO optimized SVM algorithm is outstanding, according to the experimental observations
Antioxidant Activity in the Leaves and Petals of Calendula Officinalis Linn
Get PDFAqueous extract of Calendula officinalis Linn. leaves and flowers has antioxidant action. The antioxidant activity was determined using the ferric thiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid techniques. The antioxidant activity of the aqueous extracts of petals was greater than that of leaves. According to the findings of this study, C. officinalis leaves and petals are a possible source of natural antioxidants
Work to Life Balance Concern among Employees Working in a Medical College and Hospital
Get PDFWork to life balance (WLB) is a much discussed topic in the health-care business right now. Employees strive to achieve success and advancement at work while also making time for family and enjoyment. Employee burnout is caused by not balancing these two extremes, thus employers have recognized this as a pressing issue and seek to implement work to life balance strategies, programs, and policies to boost employee morale, motivation, and productivity are all factors to consider. WLB does not imply sacrificing corporate productivity to meet personal obligations. In reality, it is to work productively while also improving one’s personal life. Employee retention is achieved through WLB practices. This article explains the various alternatives available to organizations and employees when it comes to tying WLB policies to organizational and personal success. With IQ City Medical College and Hospital, Durgapur as a case study, this study aims to uncover WLB difficulties in the health sector and the effort the organization has made to maintain the WLB of its personnel
Role of TMS in Improving the Nerve Functions in Radial, Median, and Ulnar Neuritis Among Patients with Leprosy: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
Get PDFObjectives: The overall aim of this RCT is to evaluate the role of Trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) as a new treatment approach in physiotherapy-based rehabilitation in leprosy patients. More specifically, the primary objective of this study is to study the effect of TMS in leprosy patients with median, radial, and/or ulnar neuritis from <6 months. The secondary objective is to establish TMS as a therapeutic tool to treat leprosy patients effectively. Methods: Study Population - 98 diagnosed leprosy patients with ulnar, median, and or radial nerve function impartment for <6 months duration attending the out-patient department in CSSH Subharti Hospital, Meerut. We will include clinically diagnosed leprosy patients with median, radial, and/or ulnar neuritis from <6 months. Intervention - For Group A, TMS mapping of four hand target muscles will be performed In this group, each participant will receive ten treatment sessions of 30 min with high frequency 5-Hz TMS for 2 weeks. Along with TMS, home exercise program including standard exercises will be given. For group B, only home exercise program including standard will be given. Outcome Measures - To measure the outcomes of the study, the tools used will be electromyography, nerve conduction velocity, brain derived neurotrophic factor, manual muscle testing, monofilament sensory testing, and hand dynamometry. Statistical Analysis - F test and repeated-measures ANOVA between the factors will be used for the testing of this randomized control trial study. Discussion: It was believed that the leprosy only affects the peripheral nerves without affecting the brain but recent studies showed that brain plasticity can also occur following amputation, nerve damage, or injury. It is proved in various studies stated that the damage caused by leprosy is not limited to peripheral nerve only and is the evidence for brain plasticity. It is stated in many studies that, TMS can also be used as a neuro-modulatory tool and the application of TMS leads to improved motor performance and it also induces evident changes in connectivity in the interconnected regions of the brain but no literature evidence is available on the role of TMS in leprosy. Conclusion: In our study, we will try to fill this knowledge gap on the role of TMS as a therapeutic tool in patients with leprosy
Medicinal Plant Species: Pistacia integerrima galls – A Comprehensive Review
Get PDFKarkatasringi, whose botanical name is Pistacia integerrima and belongs to the Anacardiaceae family, is a well-known medicinal plant. This plant is native to India and is distributed along the Northwest Himalayan region at about 500–2500 m above the sea level. Various parts of the plant including roots, bark galls, and leaves contain a number of secondary metabolites. Galls are most commonly used in unconventional medicines. There are various Ayurvedic formulations which include Chyavanaprasha, Shringyadi cuma, and Dasamularista and these formulations are used in the treatment of various diseases including ajeema (indigestion), jwara (fever), and yakrit roga (liver disorders) and also in the treatment of swasa (asthma), yakshma (tuberculosis), and hridyaroga (heart diseases). Furthermore, the galls contain secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids. The bark of this plant contains flavonoids and terpenoids. The roots and leaves contain terpenoids and tannins. The presence of tannins as major constituents is responsible for the astringent action. The plant species P. integerrima which belongs to the family Anacardiaceae is known for its many uses globally and thus represents the whole family for its high therapeutic value. It is used in the treatment of various diseases including some common conditions such as vomiting, fever, asthma, diarrhea, and cough and also used in modern medicine. Commonly known as crab’s claw, P. integerrima is a tree anciently found in Asia and is a botanically important tree. The galls of this plant have been used in treating dysentery, asthma, liver disorders, and cough and also used to cure snakebites. Using the extracts of P. integerrima, various secondary metabolites including sterols, phenolic compounds, and terpenoids have been isolated. In this review, we highlight the description of plant in classical literature of Ayurveda, and also in this review, we try to discuss about the therapeutic properties and chemical constituents of this plant. An attempt is made to assess the therapeutic potential of this plant in both conventional and modern systems of medicine. This review includes the traditional medicinal uses along with the phytochemical and biological evaluation of this plant species. Furthermore, after considering this review, one can build a foundation for further exploration on this topic and utilization of these resources for further research as well
An Overview of Selinum vaginatum – A Medicinal Plant Species: Broad Features, Phytochemical Constituents, and Pharmacological Action
Get PDFIn this review, we have studied about Selinum vaginatum. We studied about the essential oil which was extracted from the roots of this plant and also we know about the medicinal uses of S. vaginatum. This plant is found in Northwest Himalayan region including the Kashmir, also in Kailash Parvat and in Himachal. This plant particularly found in specific region of Himachal including the Parvati Valley and also in Lahaul district. We performed the extraction of essential oil using gas chromatography technique, which was also examined through flame ionization detector and a capillary column. We also performed the mass spectroscopy technique using which the molecular weight is obtained. In macroscopic study, we studied about the organoleptic properties, which include color, taste, and odor. In microscopy, we performed T.S of a part of the drug in which we observed that its bark contains 4–8 layers. It contains terpene, coumarin, volatile, and other compounds included valerenic acid. The pharmacological actions of S. vaginatum are antibacterial, antioxidants, antifungal, anticonvulsant, anticarcinogenic, antiviral, and vasodilator action. This herb was used traditionally in the treatment of various neurological disorders including mental weakness, epilepsy, convulsions, and hysteria. It is used to treat painful toothache, and according to tribal people, the entire plants were kept in houses to get rid of any evil spirit