Introduction: Natural antioxidants are vital to promote health and treat critical disease conditions in the modern healthcare system. This work adds to the index of natural medicines by exploring the antioxidant potential of Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. (Plant-DV).Material and Methods: The aqueous extract of leaves and flower-containing seeds from plant-DV in freshly prepared phosphate buffer is evaluated for antioxidant potential. In vitro antioxidant potential of the nascent and oxidatively stressed extracts was analyzed through glutathione (GSH) assay, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging effect, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) assay, and catalase (CAT) activity. In vivo therapeutic assessment is performed in Wistar Albino rats using vitamin C as a positive control. The livers and kidneys of individual animals are probed for glutathione, glutathione-S-transferase, and catalase activities.Results: flower-containing seeds have GSH contents (59.61 µM) and leaves (32.87 µM) in the fresh aqueous extracts. The hydrogen peroxide scavenging effect of leaves is superior to flower-containing seeds with 17.25% and 14.18% respectively after 30 min incubation. However, oxidatively stressed extracts with Ag(I) and Hg(II) show declining GSH and GST levels. The plant extracts are non-toxic in rats at 5000 mg/Kg body weight. Liver and kidneys homogenate reveal an increase in GSH, GST, and CAT levels after treatment with 150 ± 2 mg/kg and 300 ± 2 mg/kg body weight plant extract compared with normal saline-treated negative and vitamin C treated positive control.Discussion: The crude aqueous extracts of leaves and flower-containing seeds of plant-DV show promising antioxidant potential both in in vitro and in vivo evaluation.
Amidst to current Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the international pharmaceutical federation stated that pharmacists being a part of the healthcare system had a crucial role in the management cycle of COVID-19 outbreak. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of community pharmacists, to snapshot their current preparedness and awareness regarding COVID-19. An online survey was conducted among a sample of 393 community pharmacists from two provinces; Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan during a period of strict lockdown (10 th to 30 th April 2020). A validated (Cronbach alpha= 0.077) self-administered questionnaire comprised of five sections (Demographics, source of information, knowledge, attitude, and practice) was used for data collection. Logistic regression was applied to find potential factors associated with good knowledge, attitude, and practice by using SPSS version 21. Of total 393 participants, 71.5% (n=281) had good knowledge, 44% (n=175) had positive attitude and 57.3% (n=225) had good practice regarding COVID-19. Social media (45.29%, n=178) was reported as the main source to seek information regarding COVID-19. Results revealed that the age of ≥26 years, Ph.D. degree level, and good knowledge were the substantial determinants (P5 years, hold a Ph.D. degree, good knowledge and good attitude had higher odds of good practice compared to reference categories (P<0.05). The findings demonstrated that the majority of community pharmacists had good knowledge, but had a poor attitude and practice towards the COVID-19. This study also highlighted the disparity in some aspects of knowledge, attitude, and practice that must be addressed in future educational, awareness, and counselling programs.