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Results: Both MIC and MBC values for the extract were same for the pathogens tested. According to MIC and MBC results, MRSA was more susceptible for the extract (Table ). Conclusions:The study showed that the methanol extract of A. ceylanica showed potential antibacterial activity for methicillin-resistant S. aureus and E. coli. Therefore, A. ceylanica may be a potential candidate for further investigation for the development of new antibacterial agents.

SDstandard deviation *Nystatin (25 µg/ml) Secondary phytochemicals including alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, saponins, tannins and chalcones were detected in the root, leaf and stem aqueous extracts.Conclusions: Plumbago zeylanica root extract has shown the highest antimicrobial activity when compared to leaf and stem extracts. It was most effective against C. albicans showing higher antifungal activity. The antibacterial property of these plant extracts could be mainly due to their phenolic and flavonoid content.

Majority of deaths worldwide have been caused by noncommunicable diseases, with cancer as the second leading cause. Plant-based cures have become increasingly popular because current synthetic pharmaceuticals and other medications have demonstrated severe side effects, leading to less patient compliance and treatment failure. Furthermore, for most cancer types, there is no permanent cure. Sri Lankan traditional practitioners employ natural plant remedies to treat and cure malignancies, drawing on a long history of Ayurveda treatments and ancestral wisdom. These practitioners use different extraction processes, different parts of the same plant, and different modes of administration of the same herb. This descriptive cross-sectional study identifies commonly utilized botanicals with anticancer properties by traditional ayurvedic practitioners in Sri Lanka. The snowball approach and purposive sampling were used to select medical practitioners for this study. The survey was conducted among 18 traditional ayurvedic practitioners, and from the survey, 120 plants that the practitioners used for cancer therapy were identified. Of those 120 plants, the repetitive plants were shortlisted for ten plants. The most commonly used plants identified in this survey were Flueggea leucopyrus, Curcuma longa, Aegle marmelos, Abrus precatorius, Phyllanthus emblica, Zingiber officinale, Annona muricata, Aloe vera, Manihot esculenta, and Solanum melongena. Most medicinal plants used for cancer treatment were from the family Fabaceae.

The global prevalence of active headache disorders is estimated to be around 52%. The International Headache Society (IHS) defines chronic daily headache as, having 15 or more headache episodes per month consecutively for at least 3 months. Acupuncture is one of the most common alternative medicines used to treat chronic pain in patients. In Sri Lanka, there are no documented reports to evaluate the prevalence of headaches caused by perceived stress. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture for chronic headaches caused by perceived stress in patients who visited the acupuncture clinic at KIU. Forty patients were selected using a convenient sampling method, and their stress levels were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) was used to assess the intensity of the headache prior to treatment. Following six weeks of acupuncture treatment, post-intervention PSS and NPRS were assessed. A strong positive correlation (r2=0.929, p=0.001) was determined between the levels of stress and the severity of headache. Furthermore, a statistically significant (p=0.001) decrease in means scores of stress and pain was found following acupuncture treatments. Therefore, it was concluded that acupuncture is an effective treatment method for chronic headache due to perceived stress.