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In Bangladesh, numerous tribal people of Chittagong Hill Tracts have been using different parts of Thysanolaena maxima Roxb. for many years. The present study was designed to investigate CNS depressant and analgesic activities of methanol extract of the aerial parts of the plant in mice models. CNS depressant activity of the crude extract (200 and 400 mg/kg) was evaluated using open field, hole cross and thiopental-induced sleeping time tests using diazepam as the standard. Analgesic activity was determined using acetic acid-induced writhing and hot plate tests using diclofenac sodium as the standard. The extract showed dose dependent suppression of locomotion in open field and hole cross tests and exerted sedative action in thiopental induced sleeping time. In the open field and the hole-cross tests, maximum CNS depressant activity was observed at 90 min after administration of extract and the standard drug. The extract significantly induced the onset of sleep and prolonged the sleeping time in thiopental induced sleeping test compared to the control group. The extract produced significant (p < 0.05) analgesic activity by inhibiting writhing by 41.89% and 60.81%, at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight, respectively, which was comparable to the inhibition of diclofenac sodium (73.64%). Additionally, in hot plate test, the extract exhibited a significant (p < 0.05) increase in pain threshold in a dose dependent manner. The findings of the study are encouraging and demands further investigation of other bioactivities with isolation of pure compounds. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 20(2): 227-233, 2021 (December)

Background: COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Unpredictable and peculiar characteristics of coronavirus left no single recommended treatment option apart from preventive actions. Bangladesh government adopts guidelines for the clinical management of mild, moderate, and severe cases of COVID-19 patients. Prescription error, the avoidable mistake, may cause havoc, especially for comorbid patients with diabetes and hypertension identified as a risky population group for COVID-19. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate the prescription errors, including the drug-drug interactions among the outdoor patients infected with the coronavirus. This study was carried out in outpatient departments of different hospitals in Bangladesh through a random sampling method between May 2021 and August 2021. Eighty prescriptions of COVID-19 patients were collected, among which 44 patients had comorbidity. Microsoft Excel 2016 program analyzed the prescription and online aiding tools such as Drug Interaction Checker (Drugs.com) to identify potential drug-drug interaction/s. Results: Among those 80 prescriptions, 44 cases (55%) contained moderate drug-drug interaction; Moxifloxacin and Remdesivir, the highest observed combination, were detected in 10 prescriptions (12.5%). A total of 7 prescriptions (8.75%) contained significant drug-drug interactions. The dose was not mentioned in 37 cases (46.25%), while the patient’s history was not found in 21 cases (26%). Moreover, 6-10 drugs were found in 54 prescriptions (67.50%), while 11-15 drugs were prescribed in 19 prescriptions (23.75%). Conclusions: The prescription error being an avoidable occurrence may be eradicated by awareness, helping tools with preventive measures.

The present study was designed to investigate antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of petroleum ether, chloroform and hydromethanol fraction of methanol extract of Citrus aurantifolia peel. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the fractions was done following the standard procedure. Antioxidant activity was measured using DPPH free radical scavenging assay besides measuring total phenolic and flavonoid content using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminum trichloride method, respectively. The antimicrobial activity was conducted by disc diffusion method and cytotoxic activity was determined by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The results of phytochemical screening were indicative of the presence of steroids, alkaloids, saponins, glycosides, flavonoids in the fractions. A dose dependent scavenging activity was observed in DPPH radical scavenging assay where chloroform fraction demonstrated the highest activity with IC50 value of 153.68 ± 3.60 μg/ml. The highest phenolic content was observed in chloroform fraction (308.0 ± 6.55 mg/g gallic acid equivalent) and highest flavonoid content was found in hydromethanol fraction (132.66 ± 2.36 mg/g quercetin equivalent). The chloroform fraction showed excellent antibacterial activity against all the tested bacteria where highest zone of inhibition (19 mm) was produced against Bacillus cereus. In brine shrimp lethality bioassay, LC50 values for petroleum ether, chloroform and hydromethanol fractions were 367.39 μg/ml, 228.14 μg/ml and 296.52 μg/ml, respectively. The present findings suggested that C. aurantifolia peel could be a potent source of medicinally important secondary metabolites and further investigations can be done to identify those active compounds responsible for such bioactivity. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 19(2): 161-168, 2020 (December)

BackgroundThis study was designed to evaluate the free radical scavenging property of chloroform extract of the bark ofStereospermum chelonoides(SCBC) and to investigate its potential in Alzheimer’s disease and inflammation, two oxidative stress related disorders.MethodsPreliminary phytochemical analysis andin vitroantioxidant potential of SCBC were evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and total antioxidant capacity determination assay. Total phenol and total flavonoid contents were also determined. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) based cytotoxicity and cyto-protective assays were performed on human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Thioflavin-T assay and caspase activation measurement assay were carried out to elucidate the mechanism of cytoprotection of SCBC observed here.In vivoanti-inflammatory potential was measured using croton oil and xylene induced ear edema tests.ResultsPhytochemical screening of SCBC revealed the presence of various phytoconstituents. Dose-dependentin vitroantioxidant activity was observed. The extract was enriched in flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds too. SCBC was found to inhibit amyloid-β peptide 1-42 (Aβ42) induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Encouraged by the cyto-protective effect, its effects on Aβ42 fibrillogenesis and caspase-3 activated apoptosis were observed. SCBC significantly slowed down the Aβ42 fibrillogenesis and caspase-3 activation in a concentration-dependent manner indicating its probable mechanism of rendering cyto-protection. SCBC has been able to reduce inflammation significantly in croton oil induced ear edema in both doses.ConclusionsThus, this study could form the basis for further study for the potential use of SCBC in oxidative stress associated cell death and inflammation.

Use of different solvent systems for extraction of plant materials may cause variation in their bioactivities. The present study was conducted to evaluate the presence of different phytoconstituents and to compare in vitro bioactivities of petroleum ether, dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol extracts of Bombax ceiba (B. ceiba) roots available in Bangladesh. Preliminary phytochemical screening was conducted using specific standard procedure. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated using DPPH radical scavenging assay. Determination of total phenolic and flavonoid content was also carried out. Antibacterial and cytotoxic activities were investigated using disc diffusion method and brine shrimp lethality bioassay, respectively. All the experiments were carried out from February 2016 to September 2016. Phytochemical evaluation revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, carbohydrates, tannins, flavonoids, saponins and steroids. The methanol extract showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity and had the highest phenolic (187.42 ± 3.77 mg/g, GAE) and flavonoid content (74.67 ± 4 mg/g, QE) followed by the DCM and petroleum ether extracts. The extracts showed positive correlation between DPPH radical scavenging activity with the phenolic and flavonoid content. All the extracts showed mild to moderate in vitro antibacterial activity with zone of inhibition ranging from 7 mm to 13 mm. In brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the observed LC50 values for petroleum ether, DCM and methanol extracts were 70.72 μg/ml, 37.72 μg/ml and 22.58 μg/ml, respectively which revealed strong cytotoxic potential of the extracts compared to the positive control. The results indicated that B. ceiba roots could be a very potent source of natural radical scavenger and cytotoxic agent.