ObjectivesTo assess community pharmacists'/pharmacy technicians' knowledge and perceptions about adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and barriers towards the reporting of such reactions in Dhaka, Bangladesh.MethodA cross-sectional study was planned to approach potential respondents for the study. A self-administered questionnaire was delivered to community pharmacists/pharmacy technicians (N=292) practising in Dhaka, Bangladesh.ResultsThe overall response to the survey was 69.5% (n=203). The majority of the sample was comprised of pharmacy technicians (152, 74.9%) who possessed a diploma in pharmacy, followed by pharmacists (37, 18.2%) and others (12, 5.9%). Overall, 72 (35.5%) of the respondents disclosed that they had experienced an ADR at their pharmacy, yet more than half (105, 51.7%) were not familiar with the existence of an ADR reporting body in Bangladesh. Exploring the barriers to the reporting of ADRs, it was revealed that the top four barriers to ADR reporting were ‘I do not know how to report (Relative Importance Index (RII)=0.998)’, ‘reporting forms are not available (0.996)’, ‘I am not motivated to report (0.997)’ and ‘Unavailability of professional environment to discuss about ADR (RII=0.939)’. In addition to these, a majority (141, 69.46%) were not confident about the classification of ADRs (RII=0.889) and were afraid of legal liabilities associated with reporting ADRs (RII=0.806). Moreover, a lack of knowledge about pharmacotherapy and the detection of ADRs was another major factor hindering their reporting (RII=0.731).ConclusionsThe Directorate of Drug Administration in Bangladesh needs to consider the results of this study to help it improve and simplify ADR reporting in Bangladeshi community pharmacy settings.

Context:Thrombus formation inside the blood vessels obstructs blood flow through the circulatory system leading hypertension, stroke to the heart, anoxia, and so on. Thrombolytic drugs are widely used for the management of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis patients, but they have certain limitations. Medicinal plants and their components possessing antithrombotic activity have been reported before. However, plants that could be used for thrombolysis has not been reported so far.Aims:This study's aim was to evaluate the thrombolytic potential of selected plants’ root extracts.Settings and Design:Plants were collected, dried, powdered and extracted by methanol and then fractionated by n-hexane for getting the sample root extracts. Venous blood samples were drawn from 10 healthy volunteers for the purposes of investigation.Subjects and Methods:An in vitro thrombolytic model was used to check the clot lysis potential of four n-hexane soluble roots extracts viz., Acacia nilotica, Justicia adhatoda, Azadirachta indica, and Lagerstroemia speciosa along with streptokinase as a positive control and saline water as a negative control.Statistical Analysis Used:Dunnett t-test analysis was performed using SPSS is a statistical analysis program developed by IBM Corporation, USA. on Windows.Results:Using an in vitro thrombolytic model, A. nilotica, L. speciosa, A. indica, and J. adhatoda at 5 mg extract/ml NaCl solution concentration showed 15.1%, 15.49%, 21.26%, and 19.63% clot lysis activity respectively. The reference streptokinase showed 47.21%, and 24.73% clot lysis for 30,000 IU and 15,000 IU concentrations, respectively whereas 0.9% normal saline showed 5.35% clot lysis.Conclusions:The selected extracts of the plant roots possess marked thrombolytic properties that could lyse blood clots in vitro; however, in vivo clot dissolving properties and active components responsible for clot lysis are yet to be discovered.

BackgroundThe current study aims at evaluating the analgesic, anti-pyretic and anti-inflammatory properties of methanolic extract of the stem, bark and leaves of Launaea sarmentosa and Aegialitis rotundifolia roxb.ResultsThe AELS and AEAR extract presented a significant (***p < 0.001) dose dependent increase in reaction time in writhing method and showed inhibition of 63.1% and 57.1% respectively at the doses of 400 mg/kg body weight while standard drug showed (P < 0.001) inhibition of 69.23%. In tail immersion method, AELS and AEAR showed maximum time of tail retention at 30 min in hot water i.e. 6.93 sec and 6.54 sec respectively at highest doses of 400 mg/kg body weight than lower dose while standard pentazocine showed reaction time of 7.62 sec. The AELS and AEAR extract also exhibited promising anti-inflammatory effect as demonstrated by statistically significant inhibition of paw volume by 32.48% and 26.75% respectively at the dose of 400 mg/kg body weight while the value at the dose of 200 mg/kg body weight were linear to higher dose at the 3rd hour of study. On the other hand, Standard indomethacin inhibited 40.13% of inflammation (***P < 0.001). In Cotton-pellet granuloma method, AELS and AEAR extract at the dose of 400 mg/kg body weight exhibited inhibition of inflammation of 34.7% and 29.1% respectively while standard drug showed (P < 0.001) inhibition of 63.22%. Intraperitoneal administration of AELS and AEAR showed dose dependent decrease in body temperature in brewer’s yeast induced hyperthermia in rats at both doses. However, AELS significantly decreased body temperature (***p < 0.001) at 400 mg/kg compared to control.ConclusionsPresent work propose that the methanolic extract of Launaea sarmentosa and Aegialitis rotundifolia roxb possesses dose dependent pharmacological action which supports its therapeutic use in folk medicine possibly mediated through the inhibition or blocking of release of prostaglandin and/or actions of vasoactive substances such as histamine, serotonin and kinins.

The study was designed to explore possible phytochemical characteristics (group determinant of plant extract) and to investigate the cytotoxic and anthelmintic potential in vitro, using the methanolic extract of bark of Dillenia indica growing in coastal region of Bangladesh. Phytochemical analysis of the crude extract revealed the presence of alkaloid(s), carbohydrate(s), glycoside(s), phenol, tannin, protein(s), gum and mucilages. Nhexane and ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Dillenia indica were screened for cytotoxic activity using brine shrimp lethality bioassay, where vincristine sulphate was used as a positive control. It was noticed that the methanolic extract and its fractions possess potent cytotoxic principles (with LC50 value17.68 mg / ml, 17.68 mg / ml, 15.80 mg / ml and LC90 value 486.61, 287.66, 148.82 μg / ml respectively) compared with positive control vincristine sulphate (LC50 0.631 mg / ml and LC90 value 13.51 mg / ml). The other study was undertaken to evaluate anthelmintic activity where albendazole was used as reference standard. Methanolic extract of barks

The purpose of the present study is to examine the antibacterial and cytotoxic properties of methanol extract of leaves of Stephania japonica. The crude methanolic extract of S. japonica, n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate soluble fractions of methanolic extract were screened for their antimicrobial activity against a wide range of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria by disc diffusion method. The crude extract showed moderate and n-Hexane, chloroform soluble fraction of crude extract showed mild antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the extract showed significant antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus. The zones of inhibition produced by the crude methanolic extract, n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate soluble fractions were found to be 12.80-16.55 mm, 12.60 mm, 5-14.30 mm and 10-20.25 mm, respectively, at a concentration of 30 g/disc. Chloroform, n-hexane and ethyl acetate soluble fractions of methanolic extract of S. japonica were screened for antitumor properties using brine shrimp lethality bioassay. A reputed cytotoxic agent vincristine sulphate was used as a positive control. From the results of the brine shrimp lethality bioassay, it can be well predicted that chloroform and ethyl acetate soluble fractions of methanolic extract of S. japonica possess cytotoxic principles (with LC50 66.488 mg/ml and LC50 45.662 mg/ml, respectively) comparison with positive control vincristine sulphate (with LC50 0.839 mg/ml). But n-hexane soluble fractions of methanolic extract of S. japonica exhibited no lethality effect on shrimp nauplii. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjm.v28i2.11816 Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 28, Number 2, December 2011, pp 52-56