Trigona thoracica propolis is known to have antimicrobial properties, however its antileptospiral properties and its synergistic effects with commonly prescribed antibiotics are scarcely documented. This study aimed to evaluate the antileptospiral properties of Trigona thoracica against pathogenic Leptospira species (spp.) and to study its synergistic effects with commonly prescribed antibiotics. Materials and Methods: The tested Leptospira serovars were Australis, Bataviae, Canicola and Javanica.Aqueous extract propolis (AEP) and ethanolic extracts propolis (EEP) were used. Broth dilution methods were used to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and the synergistic effects between the propolis and the tested antibiotics. The synergistic effects was evaluated by using the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index. Morphological changes of the treated Leptospira were observed under a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Results: The AEP and EEP were found to have antileptospiral properties against the tested Leptospiraspp. The synergy result showed that only combination of AEP and penicillin G against serovar Australis has demonstrated synergistic effect with the FIC index of 0.38. Morphological study using SEM showed significant structural changes of the treated Leptospira spp. Conclusions: The result suggests that Trigona thoracicapropolis could potentially be used as either a complimentary or an alternative therapeutic agent against pathogenic Leptospiraspp.
Piper betel is a member of the family Piperaceae, commonly known as Sirih (Malaysia and
Indonesia), Paan (India and Bangladesh), Betel (English) and Phlu (Thailand). It is widely found and
grown in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, other Southeast Asian and East African
countries. Piper betel is widely used throughout the world even in modern days due to its known
medicinal properties. Betel plant contains various biologically active compounds, which are
responsible for its numerous pharmacological actions. The therapeutic profile reveals Piper betel to
have a high potential for treating many diseases and conditions such as chronic renal disease,
atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus. Further studies of betel plant are recommended to focus on
the variety of metabolic activities in human, thus, improving its usage medically that will be beneficial
to humanity.
Hydroxychavicol (HC) is a phenolic compound of betel leaf (Piper betle). It has been reported to have antifungal properties against dermatophytes including T. rubrum. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of the HC against T. rubrum. Broth dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the HC. Microscopic study of the treated fungus was done by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Cytotoxicity study using pre-adipocyte (3T3-L1) cell line was performed by means of MTT cell proliferation assay. The MIC and MFC results of the HC were both 0.49 µg/ml. Microscopic study revealed the destruction of the fungal cell wall and organelles. Cytotoxicity study showed HC to be non-toxic to the tested human cell line. In conclusion, HC may potentially be used as an alternative therapeutic agent against T. rubrum infections.
Aedes mosquito-borne Dengue morbidity is predominantly high in the tropics and subtropics regions. Dengue is also a
public health problem in Malaysia since the first epidemic in 1973. Reducing the vector population and personal
protection still plays an important role in dengue prevention and control. With the information of community’s dengue
knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP), the authorities could construct evidence-based, community- empowered vector
control program. Upon the understanding of the value of baseline data, a cross-sectional study was carried out in dengue
hotspot areas in Seberang Takir using universal sampling. The study results showed that 54.6% of the population had high
level of knowledge, 18.6% had good attitude and 91.7% were performing good practices against Dengue infection. After
adjusting confounding variables, age and educational levels of respondents, knowledge as well as attitude were found to
be significant associated factors for having good practice against Dengue. The study findings provide the need for further
information to undertake a holistic approach which is in need of community participation and cooperatio
Cooperative learning is one of the active learning techniques. There are three commonly recognized types of
cooperative learning groups, namely informal cooperative learning (ICL), formal cooperative learning and
cooperative base groups. There is no study been done on ICL which relate to radiology teaching. The results of this
study will provide evidence to support either traditional lecture (TL) or ICL is a more suitable teaching method for
radiology teaching. This study was aimed to compare students’ attitude and preference towards TL versus ICL in
radiology teaching. This interventional study had been conducted among 52 third year Bachelor of Medicine and
Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin. They underwent both TL and ICL methods
during eleven radiology lectures in classroom setting from September 2013 until July 2014. Subsequently, multiple
items questionnaires regarding students’ attitude and preferences towards TL and ICL were administered. These
questionnaires had undergone validation process and revealed excellent internal consistency with Cronbach’s Alpha
of 0.90, 0.92 and 0.88 respectively. The mean total attitude score towards informal cooperative learning was (90.90)
(SD: 11.73) significantly higher than the score for traditional lecture 85.46 (SD: 11.82) (p= 0.012). Students showed
preference in ICL significantly in six domains. These domains were active involvement in the class, promotion of good
rapport among classmates, getting an opportunity to help others, facilitation of understanding difficult materials,
improvement of communication skills, opportunity for training to be a good leader and follower, and opportunity for
enabling to participate in sharing information, making decision and problem solving. ICL method is recommended in
radiology teaching because students demonstrated better students’ attitude and preferences in the learning sessions
as compared to TL.
Trichophyton rubrum is a common pathogenic fungal species that is responsible for causing infection on
human skin, hair and nail. The antifungal-resistant strains complicate the treatment regime.
Hydroxychavicol (HC) is one of the main compounds from Piper betel leaf that have antifungal potential and
its mechanism of action has not been studied yet. The objective of this preliminary study to determine the
antifungal properties of HC against T. rubrum using transmission electron microscope (TEM) on gross and
ultrastructure of T. rubrum hypha. T. rubrum was treated with HC and miconazole (MI) at concentrations of
1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/mL for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days continuously. Generally, fungi structures became more
severely damaged at increasing treatment duration. Microscopically, the fungi’s cell wall treated with HC
showed a rough surface, shrinkage and demolition similar to the MI treated group. The fungi organelles were
also demolished and disorganized. This study revealed that HC has the ability to inhibit T. rubrum growth
and has potential to be an antifungal agent for skin infections.