Displaying publications 221 - 240 of 541 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Mazlan ANF, Tuan Rusli NA, Wee LH, Ahmad M, Chan CMH
    Cancer Nurs, 2024 Sep 11.
    PMID: 39259694 DOI: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000001409
    BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is common among patients with cancer. Various interventions have been reported to reduce fatigue, and some evidence suggests that nurse-led interventions may be effective in the management of CRF. A systematic review was conducted to assess the effectiveness of nurse-led interventions for CRF in patients with cancer and survivors.

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to review and appraise the evidence for the effectiveness of different types of nurse-led interventions on fatigue in patients with cancer and survivors.

    METHODS: Electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were searched to identify studies published from January 2013 to October 2023. The studies that described nurse-led interventions in patients with cancer or survivors regardless of treatment duration, modes of intervention delivery, and any based intervention were included. The studies were excluded if no fatigue was an outcome measure.

    RESULTS: Twelve studies from 2013 to 2023 were included and eligible for the review. Nine studies obtained a Jadad score of 3 or more, indicating high quality for the quality assessment. Eleven of the included studies reported a significant effect of the nurse-led interventions in reducing fatigue in patients with cancer or survivors.

    CONCLUSIONS: Nurse-led interventions that focus on multidisciplinary, exercise, psychological, and behavioral approaches appear promising in the management of CRF. More research is needed in order to determine the most acceptable forms of intervention.

    IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The development of evidence-based interventions for managing CRF is significant to nursing practice.

  2. Daker M, Yeo JT, Bakar N, Abdul Rahman AS, Ahmad M, Yeo TC, et al.
    Exp Ther Med, 2016 Jun;11(6):2117-2126.
    PMID: 27284293
    Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a type of tumour that arises from the epithelial cells that line the surface of the nasopharynx. NPC is treated with radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapeutic drugs such as cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. However, current strategies are often associated with potential toxicities. This has prompted efforts to identify alternative methods of treatment. The present study aimed to investigate silvestrol and episilvestrol-mediated inhibition of cell proliferation in human NPC cells. The growth kinetics of NPC cells treated with silvestrol or episilvestrol were monitored dynamically using a real-time, impedance-based cell analyzer, and dose-response profiles were generated using a colorimetric cell viability assay. Furthermore, apoptosis was evaluated using flow cytometry and high content analysis. In addition, flow cytometry was performed to determine cell cycle distribution. Finally, the effects of combining silvestrol or episilvestrol with cisplatin on NPC cells was examined. Apoptosis was not observed in silvestrol and episilvestrol-treated NPC cells, although cell cycle perturbation was evident. Treatment with both compounds induced a significant increase in the percentage of cells in the G2/M phase, as compared with the control. In vitro cultures combining silvestrol or episilvestrol with cisplatin showed synergistic effects against NPC cells. The results of the present study suggested that silvestrol and episilvestrol had an anti-tumour activity in NPC cells. Silvestrol and episilvestrol, particularly in combination with cisplatin, merit further investigation, so as to determine the cellular mechanisms underlying their action(s) as anti-NPC agents.
  3. Ghumman ASM, Shamsuddin R, Abbasi A, Ahmad M, Yoshida Y, Sami A, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2024 Jan 15;908:168034.
    PMID: 37924888 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168034
    Inverse vulcanized polysulfides (IVP) are promising sulfur-enriched copolymers with unconventional properties irresistible for diverse applications like Hg2+ remediation. Nevertheless, due to their inherent hydrophobic nature, these copolymers still offer low Hg2+ uptake capacity. Herein, we reported the synthesis of IVP by reacting molten sulfur with 4-vinyl benzyl chloride, followed by their functionalization using N-methyl D-glucamine (NMDG) to increase the hydration of the developed IVP. The chemical composition and structure of the functionalized IVP were proposed based on FTIR and XPS analysis. The functionalized IVP demonstrated a high mercury adsorption capacity of 608 mg/g (compared to <26 mg/g for common IVP) because of rich sulfur and hydrophilic regions. NMDG functionalized IVP removed 100 % Hg2+ from a low feed concentration (10-50 mg/l). A predictive machine learning model was also developed to predict the amount of mercury removed (%) using GPR, ANN, Decision Tree, and SVM algorithms. Hyperparameter and loss function optimization was also carried out to reduce the prediction error. The optimized GPR algorithm demonstrated high R2 (0.99 (training) and 0.98 (unseen)) and low RMSE (2.74 (training) and 2.53 (unseen)) values indicating its goodness in predicting the amount of mercury removed. The produced functionalized IVP can be regenerated and reused with constant Hg2+ uptake capacity. Sulfur is the waste of the petrochemical industry and is abundantly available, making the functionalized IVP a sustainable and cheap adsorbent that can be produced for high-volume Hg2+ remediation. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: This research effectively addresses the removal of the global top-priority neurotoxic pollutant mercury, which is toxic even at low concentrations. We attempted to remove the Hg2+ utilizing an inexpensive adsorbent developed by NMDG functionalized copolymer of molten sulfur and VBC. A predictive machine learning model was also formulated to predict the amount of mercury removal from wastewater with only a 0.05 % error which shows the goodness of the developed model. This work is critical in utilizing this low-cost adsorbent and demonstrates its potential for large-scale industrial application.
  4. Ahmad F, Tang XW, Ahmad M, González-Lezcano RA, Majdi A, Arbili MM
    Math Biosci Eng, 2023 Nov 29;20(12):21229-21245.
    PMID: 38124595 DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2023939
    A new logistic model tree (LMT) model is developed to predict slope stability status based on an updated database including 627 slope stability cases with input parameters of unit weight, cohesion, angle of internal friction, slope angle, slope height and pore pressure ratio. The performance of the LMT model was assessed using statistical metrics, including accuracy (Acc), Matthews correlation coefficient (Mcc), area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and F-score. The analysis of the Acc together with Mcc, AUC and F-score values for the slope stability suggests that the proposed LMT achieved better prediction results (Acc = 85.6%, Mcc = 0.713, AUC = 0.907, F-score for stable state = 0.967 and F-score for failed state = 0.923) as compared to other methods previously employed in the literature. Two case studies with ten slope stability events were used to verify the proposed LMT. It was found that the prediction results are completely consistent with the actual situation at the site. Finally, risk analysis was carried out, and the result also agrees with the actual conditions. Such probability results can be incorporated into risk analysis with the corresponding failure cost assessment later.
  5. Bheel N, Kumar S, Kirgiz MS, Ali M, Almujibah HR, Ahmad M, et al.
    Heliyon, 2024 Jan 30;10(2):e24313.
    PMID: 38298623 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24313
    The use of supplementary cementitious materials has been widely accepted due to increasing global carbon emissions resulting from demand and the consequent production of Portland cement. Moreover, researchers are also working on complementing the strength deficiencies of concrete; fiber reinforcement is one of those techniques. This study aims to assess the influence of recycling wheat straw ash (WSA) as cement replacement material and coir/coconut fibers (CF) as reinforcement ingredients together on the mechanical properties, permeability and embodied carbon of concrete. A total of 255 concrete samples were prepared with 1:1.5:3 mix proportions at 0.52 water-cement ratio and these all-concrete specimens were cured for 28 days. It was revealed that the addition of 10 % WSA and 2 % CF in concrete were recorded the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths by 33 MPa, 3.55 MPa and 5.16 MPa which is greater than control mix concrete at 28 days respectively. Moreover, it was also observed that the permeability of concrete incorporating 4 % of coir fiber and 20 % of WSA was reduced by 63.40 % than that of the control mix after 28 days which can prevent the propagation of major and minor cracks. In addition, the embodied carbon of concrete is getting reduced when the replacement level of cement with WSA along with CF increases in concrete. Furthermore, based on the results obtained, the optimum amount of WSA was suggested to be 10 % and that of coir fiber reinforcement was suggested to be 2 % for improved results.
  6. Jamaluddin Ahmad M, Maw Pin T, Khaliddin N, Effendi-Tenang I, Amir NN, Kamaruzzaman SB, et al.
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2020 12 29;33(2-3):280-286.
    PMID: 33375833 DOI: 10.1177/1010539520983667
    Low vision and blindness are major health issues affecting ageing population. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the prevalence of visual impairment (VI) in Petaling Jaya North, Petaling Jaya South, and Lembah Pantai using data from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research. There were 1322 participants aged ≥55 years selected by random sampling from parliamentary electoral rolls. Visual acuity was assessed using the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution chart at 4 m distance. The overall population-adjusted prevalence of VI was 9.0%. The estimated prevalence of VI was highest in Malays followed by Indians and Chinese. Following adjustments for ethnic discrepancies in age, marital status, education level, gender and medical illness, the Malay ethnicity remained an independent association for VI. Education level was associated with Indian ethnicity. In conclusion, the Malay ethnicity and lower education level among Indian ethnicity were found to be associated with VI among the older population in Malaysia. The Malay ethnicity showed the highest prevalence of VI followed by Indians and Chinese.
  7. Sabbagh BA, Palanirajan VK, Chew YL, Chin JH, Ahmad M, Akowuah GA
    Drug Metab Pers Ther, 2024 Dec 11.
    PMID: 39658558 DOI: 10.1515/dmpt-2024-0005
    OBJECTIVES: Vernonia amygdalina Del. is a perennial tropical shrub from Asteraceae. The fresh leaf of V. amygdalina is consumed as a vegetable due to its medicinal and nutritional properties. The present study focused on the quantification of bioactive compounds, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide, and 1,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid from aqueous leaf extract of V. amygdalina. The study also aims to investigate the effects of the aqueous leaf extract of V. amygdalina on cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9), and cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) in hepatic cells of control and diabetic rats.

    METHODS: The quantification of the bioactive compounds was conducted using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography multiple reactions monitoring tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS-MRM) technique. The effect of the extract on CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 activities was determined using a fluorometric screening kit according to the manufacturer's instructions.

    RESULTS: The three bioactive compounds were detected and quantified in the aqueous leaf extract. Results showed that the content of luteolin-7-O-glucuronide (47 μg/mg) was the highest followed by luteolin-7-O-glucoside (3.5 μg/mg) and 1,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid (1.07 μg/mg). The extract showed an inhibitory effect on CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 enzyme activities in control and diabetic rats.

    CONCLUSIONS: The UHPLC-MS/MS-MRM method is sensitive and reliable for the quality control of V. amygdalina leaf extract. The inhibitory effect of the extract suggests that concomitant use of V. amygdalina leaf preparations with conventional drugs metabolized and eliminated from the body by CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 enzymes may lead to possible interaction.

  8. Sze Chong AS, Ahmad M, Alias H, Iqbal Hussain R, Lateh A, Chan CMH
    J Psychosoc Oncol, 2025;43(1):73-87.
    PMID: 38873844 DOI: 10.1080/07347332.2024.2364670
    INTRODUCTION: Childhood cancer caregivers report psychological distress and unmet psychosocial needs, affecting outcomes for their children. An experimental study was carried out to measure the effectiveness of an intervention in addressing traumatic stress, depression and anxiety.

    METHODS: Caregivers (n = 59) of children with ALL were allocated to both groups (intervention, n = 29; TAU control, n = 30) via the SNOSE method. The intervention is a physical copy of a 2-week psychosocial self-help guidebook. Scores on the PCL-5, BDI and BAI were recorded at baseline, post-intervention and 1-month follow-up.

    RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in traumatic stress symptoms post intervention (F(1, 57) = 5.760, p = .020, np2 = 0.093) in favor of the intervention group. No statistical significance was found for its effect at one-month follow-up, overall depression and anxiety.

    CONCLUSION: A psychosocial module developed for caregivers of children with ALL was found to be effective in reducing symptoms of traumatic stress and potentially depression. However, the maintenance of its effectiveness and the effectiveness on anxiety requires further study.

  9. Mohd Saat NZ, Hanawi SA, Hanafiah H, Ahmad M, Farah NMF, Abdul Rahman NAA
    Front Public Health, 2024;12:1459952.
    PMID: 39678241 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1459952
    INTRODUCTION: In the current digital age, people's use of electronic devices has significantly increased screen time, which may have an impact on different aspects of their lives. Adolescents today are exposed to excessive screen time, which may affect their sleep and contribute to anxiety and depression. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between screen time with sleep quality, anxiety and depression, among adolescents in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

    METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional study information was gathered from among 353 secondary school students in the Klang Valley using a questionnaire. The instrument that was used in this study was Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Malay version, screen-based media usage (SCREENS-Q) and Hopkins Symptom Check List-25 (HSCL-25) Malay version. The sampling method was stratified and convenience sampling method. The analysis study used the Smart Partial least squares (PLS) method to analyze the data.

    RESULTS: Using the Smart PLS technique, we examined the relationship between these variables and identified revealed that screen time has a direct, positive, and significant impact on anxiety level (Mean = 0.134, β = 0.123, p  0.05) and depression (Mean = 0.044, β = 0.043, p  

  10. Correia JC, Meraj H, Teoh SH, Waqas A, Ahmad M, Lapão LV, et al.
    Bull World Health Organ, 2021 Mar 01;99(3):209-219B.
    PMID: 33716343 DOI: 10.2471/BLT.19.250068
    Objective: To determine the effectiveness of telemedicine in the delivery of diabetes care in low- and middle-income countries.

    Methods: We searched seven databases up to July 2020 for randomized controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of telemedicine in the delivery of diabetes care in low- and middle-income countries. We extracted data on the study characteristics, primary end-points and effect sizes of outcomes. Using random effects analyses, we ran a series of meta-analyses for both biochemical outcomes and related patient properties.

    Findings: We included 31 interventions in our meta-analysis. We observed significant standardized mean differences of -0.38 for glycated haemoglobin (95% confidence interval, CI: -0.52 to -0.23; I2 = 86.70%), -0.20 for fasting blood sugar (95% CI: -0.32 to -0.08; I2 = 64.28%), 0.81 for adherence to treatment (95% CI: 0.19 to 1.42; I2 = 93.75%), 0.55 for diabetes knowledge (95% CI: -0.10 to 1.20; I2 = 92.65%) and 1.68 for self-efficacy (95% CI: 1.06 to 2.30; I2 = 97.15%). We observed no significant treatment effects for other outcomes, with standardized mean differences of -0.04 for body mass index (95% CI: -0.13 to 0.05; I2 = 35.94%), -0.06 for total cholesterol (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.04; I2 = 59.93%) and -0.02 for triglycerides (95% CI: -0.12 to 0.09; I2 = 0%). Interventions via telephone and short message service yielded the highest treatment effects compared with services based on telemetry and smartphone applications.

    Conclusion: Although we determined that telemedicine is effective in improving several diabetes-related outcomes, the certainty of evidence was very low due to substantial heterogeneity and risk of bias.

  11. Magsi A, Mahar JA, Maitlo A, Ahmad M, Razzaq MA, Bhuiyan MAS, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2023 Sep 16;13(1):15381.
    PMID: 37717081 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41727-9
    Date palm is an important domestic cash crop in most countries. Sudden Decline Syndrome (SDS) causes a huge loss to the crop both in quality and quantity. The literature reports the significance of early detection of disease towards preventive measures to improve the quality of the crop. The number of prevailing detection methods limits to consideration of a certain aspect of disease identification. This study proposes a new hybrid fuzzy fast multi-Otsu K-Means (FFMKO) algorithm integrating the date palm image enhancement, robust thresholding, and optimal clustering for significant disease identification. The algorithm adopts a multi-operator image resizing cost function based on image energy and the dominant color descriptor, the adaptive Fuzzy noise filter, and Otsu image thresholding combined with K-Means clustering enhancements. Besides, we validate the process with histogram equalization and threshold transformation towards enhanced color feature extraction of date palm images. The algorithm authenticates findings on a local dataset of 3293 date palm images and, on a benchmarked data set as well. It achieves an accuracy of 94.175% for successful detection of SDS that outperforms the existing similar algorithms. The impactful findings of this study assure the fast and authentic detection of the disease at an earlier stage to uplift the quality and quantity of the date palm and boost the agriculture-based economy.
  12. Khan MA, Zhang B, Ahmad M, Niekurzak M, Khan MS, Sabri Sabri MM, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2025 Jan 09;15(1):1385.
    PMID: 39779787 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-85363-x
    Addressing environmental challenges such as pollution and resource depletion requires innovative industrial and municipal waste management approaches. Cement production, a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, highlights the need for eco-friendly building materials to combat global warming and promote sustainability. This study evaluates the simultaneous use of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SCBA) and Stone Dust (SD) as partial replacements by volume for cement and sand, respectively, at varying ratios in eco-strength concrete mixes designed for 28 MPa (ES-28) and 34 MPa (ES-34), emphasizing their economic and environmental benefits. The influence of SCBA and SD on workability, mechanical properties, and durability were experimentally investigated. Results reveal that for ES-28, with 9% SCBA and 50% SD, compressive and tensile strengths were nearly equal to the control mix, while flexural strength improved by 6.86%. For ES-34, with 9% SCBA and 50% SD, compressive strength was enhanced by 10.16%, tensile strength by 11.68%, and flexural strength by 5.22%, compared to the control mix. This improvement is attributed to pozzolanic reactions, enhanced particle packing, and optimal curing conditions. However, water absorption increased significantly, with ES-28 showing a 31.61% rise and ES-34 a 22.32% rise when SCBA was 9% and SD was 50%. These results highlight the trade-offs between mechanical performance and durability. The optimized mix, derived from response surface analysis, demonstrates significant potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional concrete, aligning with environmental and structural performance objectives.
  13. Rahman AA, Ibrahim MI, Rahman RA, Arifin WN, Ahmad M
    Malays J Med Sci, 2020 Mar;27(2):129-150.
    PMID: 32788849 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/mjms2020.27.2.14
    Background: The aim of the study is to develop and validate the Malay version of the questionnaire assessing the extent of pornography exposure (PORQUE) among youth in Kelantan.

    Methods: 'Youth' was defined as a person aged between 15 and 24 years, while 'pornography' refers to any material that depicts sexual activity or erotic behaviour. The development phase consisted of a literature review, an expert panel review, face validation and a pre-test. Fifty college students from a randomly selected higher learning institutions were invited to participate in the pilot test, whereas 150 and 198 different students from the same institutions participated in exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively.

    Results: EFA suggested a five-factor solution with factor loadings ranging from 0.449 to 0.891 and a Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.904 to 0.966. The CFA of the attitude questions also proved a good fitting model with good fit indices: comparative fit index (CFI) robust = 0.907; Tucker-Lewis fit index (TLI) robust = 0.901; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) robust = 0.073; standardised root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.060. The factor loadings ranged from 0.544 to 0.906, whereas the Raykov's rho ranged from 0.886 - 0.974.

    Conclusion: Based on EFA and CFA, the attitude sections of the newly developed Malay version of the PORQUE were found to be psychometrically valid.

  14. Ngeow YF, Suwanjutha S, Chantarojanasriri T, Wang F, Saniel M, Alejandria M, et al.
    Int J Infect Dis, 2005 May;9(3):144-53.
    PMID: 15840455
    In many parts of Asia, the inaccessibility and high cost of diagnostic tests have hampered the study of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by atypical respiratory pathogens.
  15. Alshehri AA, Adebayo Irekeola A, Merae Alshahrani M, Mohammed Abdul KS, Ahmed Asiri S, Aboluluy BF, et al.
    Saudi Med J, 2024 Jul;45(7):667-674.
    PMID: 38955448 DOI: 10.15537/smj.2024.45.7.20240338
    OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the prevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) across diverse donor groups in the Najran province. Additionally, to establish a potential association between the development of TTI and the donors' blood group, as determined by the ABO/Rh blood grouping system.

    METHODS: Blood donation data of 4120 donors, spanning from January to December 2020, were retrospectively reviewed. The blood were screened for TTI markers, including hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-hepatitis B core (anti-HBc), anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), anti-human immunodeficiency viruses 1 and 2 (anti-HIV1&2), anti-human T-lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (anti-HTLV-1&2), and syphilis antigen.

    RESULTS: Positive TTI markers were detected in 10.9% of the donors. The most detected TTI marker was anti-HBc (8.9%), followed by HBsAg (0.7%). Other markers were individually detected in <1% of the donors. Anti-HBc-positive was significantly elevated among non-Saudi blood donors. There was an association between age groups and anti-HCV (p=0.002), anti-HTLV (p=0.004) and syphilis antigen (p=0.02) markers positivity. The AB positive blood group exhibited the most positivity for TTI markers, followed by O positive blood group. Similarly, association was found between ABO group and HBsAg (p=0.01), anti-HBc (p=0.001), and anti-HCV (p<0.001) markers positivity.

    CONCLUSION: Emphasis on implementing robust screening measures for donated blood is underscored by this study. There is the need for future study to extensively evaluate TTI status to enhance our understanding of the trend in TTI.

  16. Mohamed EAR, Abdel-Rahman IM, Zaki MEA, Al-Khdhairawi A, Abdelhamid MM, Alqaisi AM, et al.
    J Mol Model, 2023 Feb 20;29(3):70.
    PMID: 36808314 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-023-05457-z
    BACKGROUND: In November 2021, variant B.1.1.529 of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and designated Omicron. Omicron is characterized by a high number of mutations, thirty-two in total, making it more transmissible than the original virus. More than half of those mutations were found in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) that directly interacts with human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). This study aimed to discover potent drugs against Omicron, which were previously repurposed for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). All repurposed anti-COVID-19 drugs were compiled from previous studies and tested against the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron.

    METHODS: As a preliminary step, a molecular docking study was performed to investigate the potency of seventy-one compounds from four classes of inhibitors. The molecular characteristics of the best-performing five compounds were predicted by estimating the drug-likeness and drug score. Molecular dynamics simulations (MD) over 100 ns were performed to inspect the relative stability of the best compound within the Omicron receptor-binding site.

    RESULTS: The current findings point out the crucial roles of Q493R, G496S, Q498R, N501Y, and Y505H in the RBD region of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron. Raltegravir, hesperidin, pyronaridine, and difloxacin achieved the highest drug scores compared with the other compounds in the four classes, with values of 81%, 57%, 18%, and 71%, respectively. The calculated results showed that raltegravir and hesperidin had high binding affinities and stabilities to Omicron with ΔGbinding of - 75.7304 ± 0.98324 and - 42.693536 ± 0.979056 kJ/mol, respectively. Further clinical studies should be performed for the two best compounds from this study.

  17. Yam MF, Lim CP, Fung Ang L, Por LY, Wong ST, Asmawi MZ, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2013;2013:351602.
    PMID: 24490155 DOI: 10.1155/2013/351602
    The present study evaluated the antioxidant activity and potential toxicity of 50% methanolic extract of Orthosiphon stamineus (Lamiaceae) leaves (MEOS) after acute and subchronic administration in rats. Superoxide radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, and ferrous ion chelating methods were used to evaluate the antioxidant properties of the extract. In acute toxicity study, single dose of MEOS, 5000 mg/kg, was administered to rats by oral gavage, and the treated rats were monitored for 14 days. While in the subchronic toxicity study, MEOS was administered orally, at doses of 1250, 2500, and 5000 mg/kg/day for 28 days. From the results, MEOS showed good superoxide radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, ferrous ion chelating, and antilipid peroxidation activities. There was no mortality detected or any signs of toxicity in acute and subchronic toxicity studies. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in bodyweight, relative organ weight, and haematological and biochemical parameters between both male and female treated rats in any doses tested. No abnormality of internal organs was observed between treatment and control groups. The oral lethal dose determined was more than 5000 mg/kg and the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of MEOS for both male and female rats is considered to be 5000 mg/kg per day.
  18. Wan Mohd Azam WM, Din NC, Ahmad M, Ghazali SE, Ibrahim N, Said Z, et al.
    Asia Pac Psychiatry, 2013 Apr;5 Suppl 1:134-9.
    PMID: 23857850 DOI: 10.1111/appy.12061
    INTRODUCTION: Loneliness has long been known to have strong association with depression. The relationship between loneliness and depression, however, has been associated with other risk factors including social support. The aim of this paper is to describe the role of social support in the association between loneliness and depression.
    METHODS: This cross-sectional study examined the mediating effects of social support among 161 community-based elderly in agricultural settlement of a rural area in Sungai Tengi, Malaysia. Subjects were investigated with De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale and Medical Outcome Survey Social Support Survey. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, linear and hierarchical regression.
    RESULTS: Results indicated that social support partially mediated the relationship between loneliness and depression.
    DISCUSSION: This suggests that social support affects the linear association between loneliness and depression in the elderly.
    KEYWORDS: depression; elderly; loneliness; rural community; social support
    Study site; FELDA Sungai Tengi, Selangor, Malaysia
    Device, Questionnaire & Scale: De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale; Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15): Medical Outcome Survey Social Support Survey
  19. Ahmad M, Lim CP, Akowuah GA, Ismail NN, Hashim MA, Hor SY, et al.
    Phytomedicine, 2013 Sep 15;20(12):1124-30.
    PMID: 23827665 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2013.05.005
    The present study aims to evaluate the safety of methanol extract of Cinnamomum burmannii (MECB) by acute 14-day (single dose) and sub-chronic 28-day (repeated doses) oral administration to Sprague-Dawley rats. Our results showed that no toxicity was found in either acute or sub-chronic toxicity studies. MECB (containing 0.07% and 0.20% (w/w) of coumarin and trans-cinnamaldehyde, respectively), which was given orally at doses of 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg caused neither visible signs of toxicity nor mortality. No significant differences were observed in general condition, growth, organ weight, hematological parameters, biochemical values, or the gross and microscopic appearance of the organs from the treatment groups as compared to the control group. In conclusion, MECB did not cause any mortality nor did it cause any abnormalities in the necropsy and histopathology findings of treated rats. The LD50 for the MECB was found to be more than 2000 mg/kg. No adverse effects were observed in the treated rats at all the doses tested. The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for the 28-day study was determined to be 2000 mg/kg body weight/day.
  20. Yam MF, Mohamed EA, Ang LF, Pei L, Darwis Y, Mahmud R, et al.
    J Acupunct Meridian Stud, 2012 Aug;5(4):176-82.
    PMID: 22898066 DOI: 10.1016/j.jams.2012.05.005
    Orthosiphon stamineus extracts contain three flavonoids (3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, sinensetin, and eupatorin) as bioactive substances. Previous reported high performance liquid chromatography- ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) methods for the determination of these flavonoids have several disadvantages, including unsatisfactory separation times and not being well validated according to International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) standard guidelines. A rapid, specific reversed-phase HPLC method with isocratic elution of acetonitrile: isopropyl alcohol: 20mM phosphate buffer (NaH(2)PO(4)) (30:15:55, v/v) (pH 3.5) at a flow-rate of 1ml/minute, a column temperature of 25°C, and ultraviolet (UV) detection at 340 nm was developed. The method was validated and applied for quantification of different types of O stamineus extracts and fractions. The method allowed simultaneous determination of 3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, sinensetin, and eupatorin in the concentration range of 0.03052-250 μg/ml. The limits of detection and quantification, respectively, were 0.0076 and 0.061 μg/ml for 3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, 0.0153 and 0.122 μg/ml for sinensetin and 0.0305 and 0.122 μg/ml for eupatorin. The percent relative standard deviation (% RSD) values for intraday were 0.048-0.368, 0.025-0.135, and 0.05-0.476 for 3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, sinensetin, and eupatorin, respectively, and those for intraday precision were 0.333-1.688, 0.722-1.055, and 0.548-1.819, respectively. The accuracy for intraday were 91.25%-103.38%, 94.32%-109.56%, and 92.85%-109.70% for 3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, sinensetin, and eupatorin, respectively, and those for interday accuracy were 97.49%-103.92%, 103.58%-104.57%, and 103.9%-105.33%, respectively. The method was found to be simple, accurate and precise and is recommended for routine quality control analysis of O stamineus extract containing the three flavonoids as the principle components in the extract.
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links