The present paper deals with the folklore herbs used in the traditional practices in the area of villages over the bank of Varada river of Haveri district, Karnataka, India to cure various ailments. Now the modern world is realizing the importance of folklore practice and these practitioners do have valuable information about the medicinal plants and their uses since from generations for the cure of many diseases. This survey was carried out during 2009-2010 in view of documenting traditional knowledge as Haveri district is an under explored area having mixed vegetation and is blessed with rich diversity of herbal medicinal plants and well known for the traditional practices for fractures, skin disorders, nervine disorders etc. In an ethno-botanical exploration of this area traditional practitioners were documented for the identification of the plants, local name, parts used, method of preparation of the medicine, mode of administration, duration, and their parameters for the diagnosis of different diseases. During the ethno-medical documentation it was found that totally 68 different plants are used in treating 34 different disorders by 33 folklore practitioners. Among them it was revealed that 19 therapeutic remedies are having classical references in Ayurveda like use of Abrus precatoriusLinn in skin disorders, Plumbago zeylanicaLinn in piles, Mimosa pudica in uterine disorders, Cissus quadrangularisLinn in fractures etc and the rest are considered as anubhuta prayoga. Further research is needed to conserve and develop some selected species of folklore herbs and to preserve the knowledge of indigenous communities.
Keywords: Ailments, Varada river, Anubhuta prayoga.
2.
Development and evaluation of floating drug delivery system of levofloxacin
The present study concerns the development of floating tablets of Levofloxacin which were designed to prolong the gastric residence time after oral administration. Levofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent which is highly effective against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. By applying direct compression technique floating tablets of Levofloxacin were prepared. The proportion of sodium bicarbonate was varied to get the least possible lag time, also the polymer part varied to get the desired release.The formulation developed using Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC K100M) and Xanthan gum were used as swelling agents and sodium bicarbonate as effervescent agents. Six formulations (H1-H3 and X1-X3) were prepared and evaluated for various physical parameters, Hardness, friability, drug loading, floating ability and drug release profiles were assessed. Selected formulations were able to float immediately and showed buoyancy for at least 12 hrs. Meanwhile, sustained profiles of drug release were also obtained. All the formulation showed compliance with pharmacopieal standards. Based on the evaluation results, H3 formulation were selected as the best formulation and were checked for stability as per ICH guidelines. These results indicated that the selected formulation were stable. The drug release profile of the best formulation was well controlled and uniform throughout the dissolution studies.
Keywords: Levofloxacin, Xanthan gum, Floating time, Stability study.
3.
Management of type 2 diabetes mellitus with special reference to lifestyle modification
Diabetes Mellitus is a common disorder of fuel metabolism which is serious global health problem. . In India prevalence of disease in adults was found to be 2.4% in rural and 4.1 – 11.6 % in urban dwellers. The underlying mechanism for type 2 Diabetes mellitus is either due to diminished insulin secretion that is, an islet defect associated with increased peripheral resistance to the action of insulin resulting in decreased peripheral glucose uptake, or increased hepatic glucose output. Causes of NIDDM includes unscientific diet, overweight, sedentary life style, habits like smoking and alcohol, mental stress including genetic factors and anatomical as well as congenital deformities. Diabetes mellitus is a manageable disorder but is not curable. Smoking has been shown to cause elevations in blood glucose concentration and may increase insulin resistance. Problem with a diabetic consuming alcohol is the potential weight gain. It had been well established that obesity promotes insulin resistance through the inappropriate inactivation of a process called gluconeogenesis. On the other hand regular exercise and diet along with yoga and breathing techniques will reduce the risk of NIDDM. Diabetes is a life style related condition due to an imbalance in handling a glucose load and is not a disease. It is one of the several life style related chronic conditions and one inescapable conclusion is that the public health importance of diabetes prevention is indisputable. To reduce the burden of this devastating disease, prevention programs must target not only the affected individuals but also families, workplaces, schools, and communities.
