THE CONCEPT AND MANAGEMENT OF WAJAUL MAFASIL IN UNANI MEDICINE

More than 54 million Americans suffer from some form of arthritis and 23.7 million are limited in their usual activity, primarily due to pain. The study aims to highlight the concept of Arthralgia and the potential of its management in Unani Medicines. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a slowly progressive condition with a variable prognosis. In general, predicting the prognosis in patients with OA is difficult. However, pharmacological therapy can be associated with serious side effects and high costs. Therefore, alternative therapies have been under investigation. Herbal medications have shown the potential for safe and effective management of arthritis. The Unani Medicine is a rich source of classical knowledge on arthritis. OA has been mentioned as Wajaul Mafasil Balghami/Saudawi, and Unani Physicians has been treating this disease successfully with mostly single herbal drugs and their compound formulations for centuries. It has been revealed through animal, in vitro, and clinical studies that most of the single and compound Unani formulations are safe, without any side effects, and effective in OA, especially gout and rheumatoid arthritis. There is a need to conduct studies at Phase III level after analyzing 2nd Phase clinical studies of Unani medicine, so a promising safe, economic, and effective treatment can be provided to the ailing society for OA.

Cheminformatics and Pharmacological Network Analysis for the Prediction of Molecular Mechanism of Herbal Drug Ligands

The global demand for safer and more therapeutically effective medications is surging, providing medicinal plants a boost as suppliers of lead particles. The focus of current research is on an in silico comparison of one major bioactive principle and curatively designed new small drug-like molecule (scaffold analog). The recent study confirmed that the plant belongs to the Cyperaceae family and that it is Cyperus rotundus L. in taxonomy. The study's purpose was to uncover the mechanism of action of ligands/ scaffold analog by revealing genomic relationships, cellular signaling, and the top ten diseases/ illnesses that they were linked to. The scaffold analog showed promising drug-like potential as compared with cyperene. These investigations could broaden the reach of herbal medications, provide new formulations for current diseases or disorders, and pave the door for drug repurposing.

Acute gastroenteritis and the usage pattern of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications for its management in a Nigerian community

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is the highest cause of mortality worldwide in children under the age of 5 years, with the highest mortalities occurring in low-to-middle income countries. Treatment can involve use of unregulated herbal medication and antibiotics. A cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the use of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications in the management of AGE among Yòrùbá-speaking communities in Kwara State, Nigeria. Our findings suggest habitual use of antibiotics (54.6%) and herbal medication (42.5%) in the management of AGE with high levels of self-prescription of antibiotics (21.7%) and herbal medications (36.2%) within the community. Ethanolic extracts of selected herbal plants reported (i.e. Aristolochia ringens, Azadirachta indica, Chromolaena odorata, Etanda Africana, Ficus capensis, Ficus vogelii, Mangifera indica, Momordica charantia, Ocimum gratisimum, Senna alata, Sorghum bicolor and Vernonia amygdalina) were investigated for antibacterial properties, using bacteria known to be causative agents of AGE. Our findings showed that, with exception of Ficus vogelii, which enhanced bacterial growth, the plant extracts reported all showed some antibacterial activity. We further discuss our findings within a regulatory context, with the aim to guide the use of traditional and herbal medication in low-to medium income countries (LMICs) and reduce the potential risks associated with the development of antimicrobial resistance.

SINCE HERBAL MEDICATIONS ARE NATURAL, CAN THEY BE CONSIDERED COMPLETELY SAFE?

The herbal medications cannot be considered absolutely safe and the unregulated domestic use of herbal medications can have potential life threatening side effects. A 29 year old male presented in emergency department of PGIMS,Rohtak in an intubated status with pancreatitis with MODS. The main etiology was uncertain even till the end. This case report emphasizes on the need of the hour is to educate the common people regarding the safety of herbal medication . Herbal medication can lead to life threatening consequences if taken outside the permissible limits.

Insights into the Mechanism of the Therapeutic Potential of Herbal Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors in Neurological Diseases

: Monoamine oxidase (MAO) is an enzyme that catalyzes the deamination of monoamines and other proteins. MAO’s hyperactivation results in the massive generation of reactive oxygen species, which leads to a variety of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, and depression-like disorders. Although synthetic MAO inhibitors are clinically available, they are associated with side effects such as hepatotoxicity, cheese reaction, hypertensive crisis, and so on, necessitating the investigation of alternative MAO inhibitors from a natural source with a safe profile. Herbal medications have a significant impact on the prevention of many diseases; additionally, they have fewer side effects and serve as a precursor for drug development. This review discusses the potential of herbal MAO inhibitors as well as their associated mechanism of action, with an aim to foster future research on herbal MAO inhibitors as potential treatment for neurological diseases.

Facilitators and barriers to the clinical administration of herbal medicine in Ghana: a qualitative study

Background Herbal medicine administration in conventional health care services is gaining popularity lately. Much has not been documented on the perceived enhancers and challenges to herbal medicine administration at the hospital. The study sought to explore the facilitators and barriers to the clinical administration of herbal medicine in Ghana. Method Qualitative descriptive exploratory design was employed. Fourteen participants among the consented and purposively sampled nurses were interviewed. Data was transcribed and analysed using content analysis. Results The participants disclosed that facilitators to the clinical administration of herbal medicine include doctors’ prescription, affordability of herbal medications by patients, patients’ willingness to use herbal medicine and availability of herbal medicine. Barriers to the clinical administration of herbal medicine were inadequate knowledge on herbal medicine, lack of publicity, unclear integration, lack of collaboration and policies on herbal medicine administration at the hospital. Other barriers were negative mindset of patients and lack of national health insurance scheme (NHIS) coverage. Conclusion Clinical administration of herbal medicine is faced with an array of challenges. Doctor’s prescription, nursing education on herbal medicine and NHIS coverage of herbal medicine are imperative to improve herbal medicine administration in hospitals. Plain English summary Herbal medicine addition into mainstream health care services is surging high in many countries. This study aimed at finding out what nurses consider as the issues that make it easy or difficult to serve herbal medicine in the hospital. Qualitative method was employed, in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted and data collected was typed verbatim. The typed data was content analysed and findings supported with the nurses’ statements. The findings of the study showed that facilitators to the clinical use of herbal medicine include doctors’ prescription, affordability of the herbal drug, patient’s willingness to use the herbal medication, patient’s belief about herbal medicine and availability of herbal medicine. Challenges to the clinical use of herbal medicine disclosed were lack of knowledge on herbal medicine, lack of publicity, unclear integration, lack of collaboration between health professionals and herbal medicine providers. Other barriers include negative mindset of patients and lack of national health insurance (NHIS) coverage. The researchers came to a consensus that nurses need further training on herbal medicine to enhance herbal medicine use at the hospital. Health professionals need to collaborate with herbal medicine service providers and NHIS must be reviewed to cover herbal medications.

Prevalence, Attitude and Knowledge of Self Medication during Covid-19 Disease Pandemic

Aim: To determine the prevalence, attitude, and knowledge of self-medication of general population for the prevention of coronavirus during the COVID 19 pandemic. Place and duration of the study: Major studies of Punjab during 2020. Methodology: A self-generated questionnaire was distributed online amongst the general population of Punjab excluding the people using medication for any other chronic medical disorder. The study included the general public including the age group from 16-60 years. Results: Among 290 participants, 33.7% were males and 66.3% were female. Based on the data obtained 53% used medication without a doctor’s prescription (self- medication) while 46.7% took the medication with a doctor’s prescription. Those with the habit of self-medication relied on both allopathic and herbal medications due to various reasons, the most frequent reason found was unavailability of doctors (27.8%). The most frequently used self-medicated drugs were pain killers, Hydroxychloroquinone, Azithromycin and Ivermectin to prevent from this deadly virus (p-value=0.000).Adverse effects reported after self-medications are statistically non-significant. Conclusion It is concluded that majority of the general population of Punjab are in the habit of self-medicating themselves because of difficulty in approaching physicians and the most commonly self-medicated drug with or without symptoms was found to be tablet Azithromycin as a preventive measure during this pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, self-medication, adverse effects

Assessment of Complications Caused by the Prescription-Free Consumption of Herbal Medicine with the Purpose of Weight Gain: A Case Report

In recent years, the common belief that herbal medications cause no side effects, have led to an increase in the consumption of these medications without prescription. Ginseng is one of the most commonly used herbs in the world and is a native of Eastern Asian countries such as China and Korea. It is also known to have several medicinal purposes. However, unreasonable use of this herb can bear consequences. In the current article, 28-year-old woman has consumed 4 capsules each day, which contained Ginseng roots, Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) extract, and Ziziphora (Ziziphora capitate) extract without a prescription to gain weight, which has resulted in serious side effects - including hepatotoxicity, psychologic, and gynecologic disorders. However, these symptoms were controlled with Chicory roots, Purslane and Jujube oxymel. PM focuses on the cooperation between food categories, nutritional instructions, food modulators, and medications. Regardless of their several therapeutic effects, medical herbs have been known to cause quite serious side effects if consumed unsystematically and without the surveillance of a doctor

Natal teeth associated with ingestion of herbal medication in pregnancy: A case report

Significant alteration in timing of tooth eruption with the first teeth being present at birth or erupting during the first month of life is a rare occurrence in humans. Timing of tooth eruption may be affected by hereditary, endocrine and environmental factors. The presence of natal teeth may lead to complications such as discomfort during suckling, laceration of the mother’s breasts, sublingual ulceration with resultant feed refusal, and aspiration of the teeth making tooth extraction a management option in affected infants. This is to report a rare finding of eight markedly enlarged natal teeth in a post term male. His mother ingested different kinds of herbal medications prior to conception and during pregnancy. The report is aimed at raising questions about the possibility of a causal relationship between antenatal ingestion of herbal medications and occurrence of natal teeth.