Cyperus rotundus L., (Family Cyperaceae), also known as purple nutsedge or nutgrass, is a common perennial plant. This is a multipurpose plant, widely used in traditional medicine around the world to treat various diseases such as indigestion, constipation, dysentery, abdominal distention, neurogenic gastralgia, chest pains, irregular menstruation, painful menstruation, skin diseases, furuncle infections, leprosy, sprains and bruises, and fever. It has the property of therapeutic actions such as analgesic, alternative, astringent, antispasmodic, antibacterial, carminative, contraceptive, demulcent, emmenagogue, emollient, febrifuge, immunostimulant, laxative, tonic, vermifuge. Pharmacognostical investigations are the first and foremost step to determine the identity and to assess the quality of plant species. The aim of the study was to evaluate the parameter to determine the quality of the rhizome of Cyperus rotundus L. These studies comprise to investigate macroscopy, microscopy, physicochemical parameters, preliminary phytochemical screening and fluorescence characteristics. The findings may provide useful information with regard to its identification and standardization in future.

Pharmacognostical standardization of herbal formulation is essential in order to assess the quality of drugs, based on the concentration of their active principles. Vellarugu chooranam is a reputed drug mentioned in the ancient books of Siddha Medicine for the treatment of Vata diseases, arthritis, constipation, and diabetes mellitus. The main component of Vellarugu chooranam is whole plant of Enicostemma littorale Blume (Siddha Name: Vellarugu) (Gentianaceae). In the present study an attempt has been made to standardize the Vellarugu chooranam. For the standardization of this drug Organoleptic properties, Phytochemical screening, Fluorescence analysis, Elemental analysis, Physicochemical parameters such as moisture content, ash values, extractability in water and ethanol were carried out. TLC and HPLC fingerprints of the Vellarugu chooranam were also prepared to evaluate its quality. These set of parameters were found to be sufficient to evaluate authenticity of the Vellarugu chooranam and can be used as reference standards for the preparation of a standardized pharmaceutical product and further quality control researches.

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Background Learning capacity of university students is affected by several factors. Except some personal factors most of them can be modified to facilitate learning. Method A descriptive study was conducted among 144 students who are studying at Allied Health Sciences unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna to study their learning environment. Data were collected with self-administered questionnaire after obtaining the Ethical approval. Results More than half (52%) of the students stated that language is a barrier for their learning, but only 8% stated that their writing skill was poor. Writing in English was not problematic for the majority of the students. Among the students 43.6% stated more than half of their teachers were good role models for them, 30.3% stated more than half of their senior students were good role models for them and 60.8% of students stated more than half of their teachers were adequately prepared for teaching. Majority of them (98%) were utilizing resources in library and nearly 63% are using e-resources from computer laboratory. Three fourth (74%) of the students were accessing internet, most of them (82%) were utilizing their own internet fascilities. Majority of the students have email addresses (90%), even though only 40% of them checked emails at least once in a week. Conclusions Teachers and senior students should motivate the students by being role models for them. Use of academic supportive services among the students seems good. Faculty internet access availability should be expanded. Continuing the English language teaching throughout the course may help eliminate the language barriers of Allied Health Sciences students.