Objective: To evaluate the hypoglycemic activity of Boswellia carterii and Cissus rotundifolia in rats compared to that of glibenclamide and metformin as common oral hypoglycemic drugs. Methods: Thirty-six male Wistar rats, divided into six groups of six rats each, were assigned into diabetic and nondiabetic groups. Diabetes was induced in rats by single intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg b.w.) and nicotinamide (110 mg/kg b.w.). The first two groups were normal and diabetic controls, whereas the other four diabetic groups were treated with water extracts of the medicinal plants; B. carterii (100 mg/kg b.w.) and C. rotundifolia (100 mg/kg b.w.), glibenclamide (5 mg/kg b.w.) and metformin (150 mg/kg b.w.). Body weight and serum glucose were measured on days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were also measured. Results: Treatment of diabetic rats with the water extracts of B. carterii and C. rotundifolia for four weeks resulted in a significant (p<0.05) increase in their body weights and a significant decrease in the levels of serum glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides. The effects of the two plant extracts were almost similar to those of glibenclamide and metformin. Conclusion: Water extracts of B. carterii or C. rotundifolia have a hypoglycemic effect resembling those of glibenclamide and metformin, and these findings provide a pharmacological evidence for their anti-diabetic claims in folk medicine.

Objective: To evaluate the hypoglycemic activity of Boswellia carterii and Cissus rotundifolia in rats compared to that of glibenclamide and metformin as common oral hypoglycemic drugs.Methods: Thirty-six male Wistar rats, divided into six groups of six rats each, were assigned into diabetic and non-diabetic groups. Diabetes was induced in rats by single intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg b.w.) and nicotinamide (110 mg/kg b.w.). The first two groups were normal and diabetic controls, whereas the other four diabetic groups were treated with water extracts of the medicinal plants; B. carterii (100 mg/kg b.w.) and C. rotundifolia (100 mg/kg b.w.), glibenclamide (5 mg/kg b.w.) and metformin (150 mg/kg b.w.). Body weight and serum glucose were measured on days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were also measured.Results: Treatment of diabetic rats with the water extracts of B. carterii and C. rotundifolia for four weeks resulted in a significant (p<0.05) increase in their body weights and a significant decrease in the levels of serum glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides. The effects of the two plant extracts were almost similar to those of glibenclamide and metformin.Conclusion: Water extracts of B. carterii or C. rotundifolia have a hypoglycemic effect resembling those of glibenclamide and metformin, and these findings provide a pharmacological evidence for their anti-diabetic claims in folk medicine.

Objectives: The irrational use of antimicrobials leads to a number of consequences in term of cost, drug interactions, hospital stay and bacterial resistance, and a substantial economic burden on health care systems. This study aimed to investigate the pattern of antimicrobial use among hospitalized patients. Methods: The treatment-charts for 384 in-patients admitted to the major wards (medicine, surgery, pediatric and gynecology) in the teaching hospital and receiving antimicrobials were reviewed for the period from February to May 2016. The enrolled patients were observed from admission till discharge. Descriptive statistics were applied to the collected data and institutional ethical committee approval was obtained prior to the study. The majority of patients were females (52.86%), their age from 1 to 16 years (59.63%). Results: The common diagnosis for patients was respiratory tract infections (30.21%) followed by gastrointestinal infections (19.53%). Ceftriaxone (50.52%) was the top most frequently used antimicrobials followed by ampicillin (37.50%), cefotaxime (16.15%), cefuroxime (15.89%), metronidazole (11.72%) and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (5.99%). The majority of the admitted patients (63.54%) received two or more antimicrobials. 45.4% of physicians confirmed the influence of drug companies and their drug promotion on their antimicrobial prescribing. Conclusion: The evidence of high prescribing rate of ceftriaxone in the presence of other available, low-price and suitable antimicrobials reflected irrational prescribing and this may be responsible on developing resistance against ceftriaxone and other cephalosporins.