Diversity, Distribution Pattern and Conservation Status of the Plants Used in Liver Diseases/Ailments in Indian Himalayan Region

In the Indian Himalayan Region, th studies focused on diversity of the plants used fo treating liver diseases/ailments have not been carried out so far. Therefore, the present attempt has been made to study the diversity, distribution pattern and conservation status of the plant species used fo treating liver diseases/ailments in that region. A tota of 138 species (35 species of trees, 22 shrubs and 8 herbs) belonging to 98 genera in 60 families hav been recorded. Amongst the families, Euphorbiacea (9 species), and altitudinal zone <1,800 m, (i.e., 11 species) are rich in species. Traditionally, variou plant parts, such as roots/rhizomes/tubers (46 species), leaves (31), whole plants (30), barks (15) fruits (13), seeds and unspecified parts (8 each), and inflorescence (1) are used for the treatment of live diseases/ailments. 34 species are native, 3 ar endemic and 15 near endemic. 7 species ar categorized as Critically Endangered (Betula utilis) Endangered (Podophyllum hexandrum, Ephedra gerardiana, and Nardostachys grandiflora) and Vulnerable (Bergenia ligulata, B. stracheyi, and Hedychium spicatum) using new IUCN criteria Available chemical composition of plant parts used fo the treatment of liver diseases/ailments have beengiven. Assessment of the populations of threatened species, development of an appropriate strategy, action plan for the conservation and sustainable utilization of such components of plant diversity are suggested.

Ethnopharmacological Assessment of Medicinal Plants Used in the Management of Livestock Ailments by Resource-Limited Farmers in the Eastern Cape Province

Medicinal plants play a major role in meeting people’s medical and health needs, especially in developing countries. However, due to a lack of access to modern veterinary facilities, poor visibility of animal health personnel, and high prices of orthodox medicines, most farmers rely on traditional healers and the administration of medicinal plants to treat livestock ailments. The present study was conducted to document Ethnopharmacological knowledge of medicinal plants used to manage livestock ailments in three rural communities of the Eastern Cape. This study was carried out in three rural communities between July 2009 and February 2010. Data were collected by administering pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires and participative field observations. For the interviews, a sample of 48 knowledgeable respondents was purposively selected. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, determination of information consensus factor, and fidelity level. A total of 12 medicinal plants belonging to 9 families were used by local people to cure different ailments. A high number of medicinal plants were claimed by males compared to females. Roots and barks were the major plant parts used, and the least were leaves (27.3%). Six plants were used to treat diarrhea and fertility, five plants to treat wounds, and two plants to treat scabs. This study has shown that Eastern Cape flora is rich with various plants which could be used to replace orthodox drugs. Further studies are needed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations, biological activities, and toxicities and characterize the plant’s chemical compounds.

Survey of Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of “Ailments of Utmost Native Importance” in Cross River State, Nigeria

Regardless of the high value of medicinal plants to residents of Cross River State in health maintenance especially for the treatment of “ailments of utmost native importance”, the major constraint is the uncertainty of the availability of the herbs and knowledge of traditional medicine still being passed by word of mouth. For better reliance on the plant species as medicine, this research seeks to identify and infer on the population and distribution of the species used in their treatment and documents them. Data were collected using field work and oral interviews. The survey team comprised of Taxonomists, survey assistants, five trado-medical herbal practitioners and the Authors. The status and geographical distribution of the identified medicinal plant species was appalling, 59 percent of the medicinal plant species were distributed in 3 out of 15 sampled plots. Causal factors included over misuse of therapeutic plant species, habitats destruction and absence of proper conservation education of the masses. Recommendations are that Communities should set up therapeutic plants farms, enrichment planting be made in agricultural fields and sustainable harvesting methods used.

Ethnoveterinary medicines used against various livestock disorders in the flora of Shamozai Valley, Swat,KP Pakistan

Background:The Shamozai Valley of Swat District is remarkable with various plant treasures.Ethnoveterinary information offers folk remedies for livestock,which are cheaper than standard treatment methods and are readily available.Methods:Different trips were organized for gathering(harvesting)and recording medicinal plants in the area during 2018.A total of 140 local residents were interviewed.Then,the obtained data were evaluated using used value,relative frequency citations,fidelity level,consensus index,and informant consensus factor.Results:In this study,41 plants were presented,and these plants were used commonly as medication for treating various livestock ailments.The therapeutic plants with most used value were Artemisia scoparia(0.607),Berberis lyceum Royle(0.610),Bromus japonicus(0.491),Avena sativa(0.482),Cannabis sativa L.(0.473),Capsicum annum L.(0.471),Cedrus deodara(0.462),and Chenopodium murale(0.453).On the basis of relative frequency citations values,the most quoted plant species by the indigenous people are Artemisia scoparia(0.760),Berberis lyceum(0.742),Bromus japonicus(0.731),Avena sativa(0.721),and Cannabis sativa L.(0.711).Consensus index percentage showed the highest for Artemisia scoparia(83.109%),followed by Berberis lyceum Royle(80.454%),whereas the ethnomedicinal plant species with most fidelity level were Artemisia scoparia(76.320%),Berberis lyceum Royle(73.403%),Bromus japonicus(72.013%),Avena sativa(71.024%),Cannabis sativa L.(69.322%),Capsicum annum L(68.344%),Cedrus deodara(67.215%),and Chenopodium murale(66.060%)for various disorders.Informant consensus factor ranged from 0.947 to 1.000,whereas different ailments viz.appetite-causing agent,carminative treatment,eye diseases,mouth ulcers,myiasis,pediculosis,septicemia,and tick infestation had maximum informant consensus factor value.Conclusion:The publics of Shamozai are deeply reliant on ethomedicinal plants for treating numerous livestock ailments.Folk information always offers a baseline for further phytochemical and pharmacologic study.

Phytochemical Screening of Two Tropical Moss Plants: <i>Thidium gratum</i>P. Beauv and <i>Barbula indica</i>Brid Grown in Southwestern Ecological Zone of Nigeria

Chemical tests were carried out on the aqueous extracts of the air-dried powders of two tropical moss plants, Thidium gratum and Barbula indica using standard procedures, to identify the phytochemical constituents. The extracts were screened for the presence and quantities of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, saponins and steroids with a view to assess their therapeutic values in ethnomedicine. The results of the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, saponins and steroids in varying quantities in the two moss plants but there was absence of phenol in Barbula indica. These results suggest that the two moss plants can be veritable and potential source of useful drugs in treatment of ailments.

Fight against COVID-19: Survey of Spices &Herbs Used in North India

Treatments for the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic continue to be researched. Clinical trials with antivirals or immunomodulators have met with variable success. Traditional herbal remedies for health problems are popular for prevention and treatment of ailments especially in low resource countries. It is notable that morbidity and mortality from COVID were lower in low resource countries compared to the west. Other factors attributed to this difference include ethnicity, temperature, humidity, innate immunity, and nutrition. Objective: To identify the traditional herbs used for protection against COVID, in north India. Method: This questionnaire-based survey was conducted from August to September 2020 at five districts in North India. Participation in the brief interview was voluntary. Responses were recorded in a predesigned questionnaire (Annexure). Descriptive data analysis was done. Results: A total of 250 people participated in the interview. Majority (84.4%) of the respondents used mask. A total of 66.8% of the respondents confirmed using traditional herbs and spices. Most frequently used home remedies were decoction of herbs including ginger, Tinospora cordifolia, turmeric, black pepper, carom seeds. Turmeric milk was also popular choice. COVID positivity was present in family members of 4% (n = 10) of the respondents, of these four did not consume any herbs. Conclusions: This study provides an overview on the use of home remedies in North India. Given the scarcity of reliable information on home remedies and traditional medicines, further research is needed to develop robust evidence for their role in disease prevention and treatment.

Pharmacist Opportunities to Improve Public Self-Medicating Practices in the UAE

Objective: Self-treatment is an important aspect of self-care and one of the vital issues under debate in health care. Self-medication patterns vary among different populations and are influenced by many factors. The objective was to investigate the nature of self-medication behavior among the general public in the UAE and to explore public attitudes, beliefs, and level of knowledge concerning self-medication. Methods: A purposive sample of individuals involved in self-medication who belong to different age, gender, income, education level and health-seeking behaviors. A qualitative approach through individual face-to-face interviews was utilized to investigate participants’ behaviors and attitudes towards self-medication;factors influencing decision to self medicate, sources of information on medications, types of conditions for which self-medication is sought and types of medications used. Participant recruitment continued until theme saturation using content analysis. Findings: Three themes emerged from the data: Reasons for self-medication such as costs associated with visiting a doctor, convenience in visiting a pharmacy and perception of simplicity of the condition;Sources of information: pharmacists as a main source in addition to medication leaflets, family role and previous use, and medicines and medicines’ use: medicines’ use in chronic disease, use of antibiotics, use of herbals and supplements and medicines’ use in children. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that self-medication behaviors are common among the population due to several reasons. Inappropriate self-medication practices are evident and may compromise patient care outcomes. Pharmacists play a vital role in intervening to optimize the use of medications and patient education regarding self-care.

Liver Ailment Prediction Using Random Forest Model

Today,liver disease,or any deterioration in one’s ability to survive,is extremely common all around the world.Previous research has indicated that liver disease is more frequent in younger people than in older ones.When the liver’s capability begins to deteriorate,life can be shortened to one or two days,and early prediction of such diseases is difficult.Using several machine learning(ML)approaches,researchers analyzed a variety of models for predicting liver disorders in their early stages.As a result,this research looks at using the Random Forest(RF)classifier to diagnose the liver disease early on.The dataset was picked from the University of California,Irvine repository.RF’s accomplishments are contrasted to those of Multi-Layer Perceptron(MLP),Average One Dependency Estimator(A1DE),Support Vector Machine(SVM),Credal Decision Tree(CDT),Composite Hypercube on Iterated Random Projection(CHIRP),K-nearest neighbor(KNN),Naïve Bayes(NB),J48-Decision Tree(J48),and Forest by Penalizing Attributes(Forest-PA).Some of the assessment measures used to evaluate each classifier include Root Relative Squared Error(RRSE),Root Mean Squared Error(RMSE),accuracy,recall,precision,specificity,Matthew’s Correlation Coefficient(MCC),F-measure,and G-measure.RF has an RRSE performance of 87.6766 and an RMSE performance of 0.4328,however,its percentage accuracy is 72.1739.The widely acknowledged result of this work can be used as a starting point for subsequent research.As a result,every claim that a new model,framework,or method enhances forecastingmay be benchmarked and demonstrated.

Eosinophil extracellular traps in respiratory ailment:Pathogenic mechanisms and clinical translation

Background:Eosinophilic extracellular traps(EETs)are reticular complexes comprising deoxyribonucleic-Acid(DNA)fibers and granule proteins.Aims:EETs play a crucial role in antimicrobial host responses and are pathogenic when overproduced or under degraded.EETs created by eosinophils appear to enable vital immune responses against extra-cellular pathogens,nevertheless,trap overproduction is evident in pathology.Materials&Methods:As considerably research is performed,new data affirmed that EETs can alter the outcome of respiratory ailment.Results:We probe into the disclosure and specificity of EETs produced in reaction to various stimuli and propose a role for those frameworks in ailment pathogenesis and the establishment of chronic,unresolved inflammation.Discussion:Whether EETs can be used as a prospective brand-new target for the diagnosis,treatment and prognosis of respiratory ailments is a scientific theme worth studying.Conclusion:We probe into the disclosure and specificity of EETs produced in reaction to various stimuli and propose a role for those frameworks in ailment pathogenesis and the establishment of chronic,unresolved inflammation.

Medical Therapy of Hearing Impairment and Tinnitus with Chinese Medicine:An Overview

The current review gives a comprehensive overview of the recent development in Chinese medicine(CM)for treating several kinds of acquired nerve deafness and tinnitus,as well as links the traditional principle to well-established pharmacological mechanisms for future research.To date,about 24 herbal species and 40 related ingredients used in CM to treat hearing loss and tinnitus are reported for the treatment of endocochlear potential,endolymph growth,lowering toxic and provocative substance aggregation,inhibiting sensory cell death,and retaining sensory transfer.However,there are a few herbal species that can be used for medicinal purposes.Nevertheless,clinical studies have been hampered by a limited population sample,a deficiency of a suitable control research group,or contradictory results.Enhanced cochlear blood flow,antiinflammatory antioxidant,neuroprotective effects,and anti-apoptotic,as well as multi-target approach on different auditory sections of the inner ear,are all possible benefits of CM medications.There are numerous unknown natural products for aural ailment and tinnitus identified in CM that are expected to be examined in the future utilizing various aural ailment models and processes.