ABSTRACT
This paper is based on data recorded from various literatures pertaining to ethnophytomedicinal recipes used against diabetes in South East Asia [India, Pakistan and Srilanka]
Traditional plant treatments have been used throughout the world for the therapy of diabetes mellitus. In total 419 useful phytorecipes of 270 plant species belonging to 74 Angiospermic families were collected. From the review it was revealed that plants showing hypoglycemic potential mainly belong to the families, Cucurbitaceae [16 spp.], Euphorbiaceae [15 spp.], Caesalpiniaceae and Papilionaceae [13 spp. Each], Moraceae [11 spp], Acanthaceae [10 spp.], Mimosaceae [09 spp], Asteraceae, Malvaceae and Poaceae [08 spp. Each], Hippocrateaceae, Rutaceae and Zingiberaceae [07 spp. Each], Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Verbenaceae [06 spp. Each], Apiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Lamiaceae, Myrtaceae, Solanaceae [05 spp.each]
The most active plants are Syzigium cumini[14 recipes], Phyllanthus emblica [09 recipes], Centella asiatica and Momordica charantia[08 recipes each], Azadirachta indica [07 recipes], Aegle marmelos, Catharanthus roseus, Ficus benghalensis, Ficus racemosa, Gymnema sylvestre [06 recipes each], Allium cepa, A. sativum, Andrographis paniculata, Curcuma longa [05 recipes each], Citrullus colocynthis, Justicia adhatoda, Nelumbo nucifera, Tinospora cordifolia, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Ziziphus mauritiana and Wattakaka volubilis [4 recipes each]
These traditional recipes include extracts, leaves, powders, tlour, seeds, vegetables, fruits and herbal mixtures
Data inventory consists of botanical name, recipe, vernacular name, English name
Some of the plants of the above data with experimentally confirmed antidiabetic properties have also been recorded. More investigations must be carried out to evaluate the mechanism of action of diabetic medicinal plants
Toxicity of these plants should also be explained. Scientific validation of these recipes may help in discovering new drugs from these medicinal plants for diabetes
ABSTRACT
Objectives: to assess knowledge and practices about eating various foods in patients suffering from Hepatitis B and C attending two public sector hospitals in Islamabad
Settings and design: this cross-sectional survey was conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences [PIMS] and Federal Government Services Hospital [FGSH] in Islamabad, Pakistan; from December 2007 to May 2008 [6 months]
Patients and methods: one hundred forty five [145] patients were selected through systematic random sampling. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to collect the data at Outpatient Department of these hospitals; selecting every third hepatitis B or C patient and interviewing the respondents after taken an Informed written consent
Results: statistical Package for Social Science [SPSS] version 16.0 was used for analysis of the data. A total of 145 patients were interviewed, of whom 53% were females. Most respondents were educated up to matric or under, while 19% had no formal education. Spicy food and nuts were said to be the cause of hepatitis by 92% and 85% patients were avoiding spicy food in their diet. About 8% patients were not aware about relationship of diet and hepatitis
Conclusions: we conclude that the study population, though belonging to low income group, has adequate knowledge about the hepatitis. However, the misconceptions about spicy foods causing hepatitis among patients are commonly prevailing