Method: The stem powder of T. crispa was soaked in absolute ethanol for 72 hours. The resulting ethanolic extract was screened for the presence of phytochemicals. Vero cells monolayer in 96-well plate was infected with RH strain of T. gondii and treated with concentrations of the EETC, Veratrine alkaloid, and clindamycin ranging from 1.56 to 200 μg/mL. MTT assay was conducted after 24 hours to evaluate the cytotoxicity and antiparasitic activities of the EETC. Four and 24 hours treatment models were adapted to assess the infection index and intracellular proliferation of T.
Results: The study revealed that the EETC had no cytotoxic effects on Vero cells with IC50 = 179 μg/mL, as compared to clindamycin (IC50 = 116.5 μg/mL) and Veratrine alkaloid (IC50 = 60.4 μg/mL). The EETC had good anti-toxoplasma activities with IC50 = 6.31 μg/mL in comparison with clindamycin (IC50 = 8.33 μg/mL) and Veratrine alkaloid (IC50 = 14.25 μg/mL). The EETC caused more than 70% and 80% reduction in infection index and intracellular proliferation in both treatment models, respectively.
Conclusion: This in vitro study showed that the EETC contains promising phytochemicals effective against T. gondii and safe to the host cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gastric ulcer was modelled in Sprague-Dawley rats after treatment with B. vulgaris leaf extract containing 0.07% of alkaloids, 0.48% of flavonoids and 8.05% of tanning substances, 10 or 50 mg of dry extract/kg, changes in the stomach mucosa were assessed semi-quantitatively, and the gastric wall was evaluated for prostaglandin E2 level using ELISA and assessed histologically by calculation of the lesion index.
RESULTS: B. vulgaris leaf extract at the dose of 50 mg/kg reduced the macroscopic ulcer score and the microscopic lesion index, increased prostaglandin E2 concentration in the gastric wall significantly higher than atropine and B. vulgaris leaf extract 10 mg/kg.
CONCLUSION: The gastroprotective effect of the high dose of B. vulgaris leaf extract may be due to stimulation of prostaglandin E2 secretion in the stomach, and anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenolic complex of flavonoids and tannins present in the leaves of this plant.
METHODS: We derived the data from the TECMA study, which used a cross-sectional study design and multi-stage sampling method to obtain a representative sample of school-going adolescents aged 11-19 years in Malaysia in 2016. Data were collected through a self-administered approach using a pre-validated standard questionnaire. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to analyze the data, and results are presented as adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI).
RESULTS: SHS exposure for the past seven days was higher outside the home (51.2%; 95% CI: 49.2-53.2) compared to at home (37.8%; 95% CI: 35.8-39.9) while 27.3% (95% CI: 25.1-29.5) of school-going adolescents reported exposure to SHS inside the school in the past one month. In the regression analyses, older adolescents, those of Malay and Bumiputra Sarawak ethnicities, adolescents from rural areas and current smokers had higher likelihood of exposure to SHS at home, outside home and inside the school. Our study also found that adolescents who were current smokers had higher odds of being exposed to SHS at home (AOR=2.87; 95% CI: 2.57-3.21), outside the home (AOR=3.46; 95% CI: 3.05-3.92) and in the school (AOR=2.25; 95% CI: 2.01-2.51).
CONCLUSIONS: Health promotion measures should target parents/guardians and household members to reduce SHS exposure among adolescents. In addition, smoke-free regulation should be fully enforced in school. Furthermore, more public places should be designated non-smoking areas to reduce SHS exposure and denormalize smoking behavior.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the cytotoxic effects of betel quid and areca nut extracts on the fibroblast (L929), mouth-ordinary-epithelium 1 (MOE1) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (HSC-2) cell lines.
METHODS: L929, MOE1 and HSC-2 cells were treated with 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 g/ml of betel quid and areca nut extracts for 24, 48 and 72 h. MTT assay was performed to assess the cell viability.
RESULTS: Both extracts, regardless of concentration, significantly reduced the cell viability of L929 compared with the control (P<0.05). Cell viability of MOE1 was significantly enhanced by all betel quid concentrations compared with the control (P<0.05). By contrast, 0.4 g/ml of areca nut extract significantly reduced the cell viability of MOE1 at 48 and 72 h of incubation. Cell viability of HSC-2 was significantly lowered by all areca nut extracts, but 0.4 g/ml of betel quid significantly increased the cell viability of HSC-2 (P<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Areca nut extract is cytotoxic to L929 and HSC-2, whereas the lower concentrations of areca nut extract significantly increased the cell viability of MOE1 compared to the higher concentration and control group. Although betel quid extract is cytotoxic to L929, the same effect is not observed in MOE1 and HSC-2 cell lines. Further investigations are needed to clarify the mechanism of action.
.
METHODS: The study used data from the National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2018. It was a cross-sectional study with two-staged stratified cluster sampling design. In total, 3977 adults aged ≥60 years were selected for this study. Respondents were interviewed face to face using a structured questionnaire. Self-reported diabetes, hypertension or hypercholesterolemia was defined as having ever been told they have these diseases by a medical doctor or paramedic. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. The multiple logistic regression model was used to examine the factors associated with the prevalence of self-reporting.
RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia among older persons in Malaysia were 27.7%, 51.1% and 41.8% respectively. Presence of other comorbidities and being obese showed higher odds for all three diseases. Indians, unemployed, inactive had higher odds for diabetes. Other Bumiputras, unemployed, non-smoker, obese and inactive had higher odds for hypertension. Non-smoker had higher odds for hypercholesterolemia.
CONCLUSIONS: Health promotion, vigilance, attention and services targeting on the associated factors should be strengthened for older persons in Malaysia to ensure healthy aging. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 79-84.
METHODS: This study was a secondary data analysis from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2017, a cross-sectional survey conducted among Malaysian school-going adolescents aged 13 to 17. The NHMS utilised a two-stage stratified cluster sampling. Multivariate Multinomial Logistic Regression analysis was applied.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of single substance use and polysubstance use among adolescents were 17.2% and 5.1% respectively. The multinomial model showed a higher likelihood of being single or polysubstance user among male (single user OR = 3.0, poly user OR = 4.6), others Bumiputeras vs Malay (single user OR = 1.7, poly user OR = 5.3), those who live with a single parent (single user OR = 1.2, poly user OR = 1.4), involved in truancy (single user OR = 1.7, poly user OR = 3.6) and being bullied (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 3.4), those who had lack of peer support (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 1.4), poor parental bonding (single user OR = 1.4, poly user OR = 1.8), depression (single user OR = 1.4, poly user OR = 3.2) and those who had no close friend (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 2.7).
CONCLUSION: Our study highlighted multiple significant associated factors of single and polysubstance use among adolescents in Malaysia. This result can assist in the development of specific intervention and prevention programs targeting high-risk groups.
METHODS: This observational study involved 50 patients recruited from the neurosurgical ward. Method of 24 h dietary recall was utilized and combined with self-administered food diaries for 2-8 days. Food consumptions including calorie intake and protein intake were analyzed using Nutritionist PRO™ (Woodinville, USA) and manual calculation based on the Malaysian food composition database (2015).
RESULTS: Patients consisted of 56% males and 44% females with the median age of 28.0 (IQR = 22.8-36.5) years, of which 92% were diagnosed as mild TBI and the remaining (8%) as moderate TBI. The Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was adopted to classify TBI severity with the score 13-15 being mild and 9-12 being moderate. The median length of hospital stay was 2 (IQR = 2.0-3.3) days. Calorie and protein intake improved significantly from day 1 to discharge day. However, the intake during discharge day was still considered as suboptimal, i.e. 75% of calorie requirement, whilst the median protein intake was only 61.3% relative to protein requirement. Moreover, the average percentages of calorie and protein intakes throughout hospitalization were remarkably lower, i.e. 52.2% and 41.0%, respectively.
CONCLUSION: Although the calorie and protein intakes had increased from baseline, hospitalized TBI patients were still at a risk to develop malnutrition as the average intakes were considerably low as compared to their requirements. Optimum nutrient intakes especially calorie and protein are crucial to ensure optimum recovery process as well as to minimize risks of infection and complications.
AIM: This study aims to investigate the genetic polymorphisms of CYP3A5 among the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia using a next generation sequencing platform.
METHODS: Genomic DNAs were extracted from blood samples of the three main Orang Asli tribes and whole-genome sequencing was performed.
RESULTS: A total of 61 single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified and all the SNPs were located in introns except rs15524, which is in the 3'UTR, and 11 of these polymorphisms were novel. Two allelic variants and three genotypes were identified in the Orang Asli. The major allelic variant was the non-functional CYP3A5*3 (66.4%). The percentages of Orang Asli with CYP3A5*3/*3 (47.2%) and CYP3A5*1/*3 (38.1%) genotypes are more than twice the percentage of Orang Asli with CYP3A5*1/*1 (14.8%) genotype. Almost half of the Orang Asli harboured CYP3A5 non-expressor genotype (CYP3A5*3/*3).
CONCLUSIONS: The predominance of the CYP3A5 non-expressor genotype among the Orang Asli was unravelled and the findings in this study may serve as a guide for the optimisation of pharmacotherapy for the Orang Asli community.