Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) was declared a “pandemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO) in early March 2020. Globally, extraordinary measures are being adopted to combat the formidable spread of the ongoing outbreak. Under such conditions, people's adherence to preventive measures is greatly affected by their awareness of the disease. Aim: This study was aimed to assess the level of awareness and preparedness to fight against COVID-19 among the healthcare workers (HCWs) and other residents of the South-West Saudi Arabia. Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-developed structured questionnaire that was randomly distributed online among HCWs and other residents (age ≥ 12 years) of South-West Saudi Arabia for feedback. The collected data were analyzed using Stata 15 statistical software. Results: Among 1,000 participants, 36.7% were HCWs, 53.9% were female, and 44.1% were aged ≥ 30 years. Majority of respondents showed awareness of COVID-19 (98.7%) as a deadly, contagious, and life-threatening disease (99.6%) that is transmitted through human-to-human contact (97.7%). They were familiar with the associated symptoms and common causes of COVID-19. Health organizations were chosen as the most reliable source of information by majority of the participants (89.6%). Hand hygiene (92.7%) and social distancing (92.3%) were the most common preventive measures taken by respondents that were followed by avoiding traveling (86.9%) to an infected area or country and wearing face masks (86.5%). Significant proportions of HCWs (P < 0.05) and more educated participants (P < 0.05) showed considerable knowledge of the disease, and all respondents displayed good preparedness for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Age, gender, and area were non-significant predictors of COVID-19 awareness. Conclusion: As the global threat of COVID-19 continues to emerge, it is critical to improve the awareness and preparedness of the targeted community members, especially the less educated ones. Educational interventions are urgently needed to reach the targeted residents beyond borders and further measures are warranted. The outcome of this study highlighted a growing need for the adoption of innovative local strategies to improve awareness in general population related to COVID-19 and its preventative practices in order to meet its elimination goals.

Objectives: Present report evaluates the protective effect of geraniol on high fat diet (HFD) induced obesity in rats and also determines the molecular mechanism of it. Methods: Rats were induced with obesity with administration of HFD for four weeks and geraniol 200 and 400 mg/kg p.o. was administered for the next four week in the respective groups. Blood glucose and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), lipid profile was estimated in the geraniol treated HFD induced obesity in rats. Moreover, docking study was performed to determine the specific mechanism of geraniol by targeting HMG-CoE A reductase (in silico). Results: There was significant increase in body weight and amelioration in altered serum glucose and lipid profile were observed in the geraniol treated group than negative control group. Weight of organs and adipose tissue isolated from different regions of the body was reduced in geraniol treated group than negative control. Moreover, geraniol interact with HMG-CoA reductase having binding energy −5.13. Conclusions: In conclusion, data of the report reveals that geraniol reduces obesity by promoting the conversion of white adipose tissue (WAT) to brown adipose tissue (BAT), as it interacts with HMG-CoA reductase in HFD induced obesity in rats.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the quality of Zamzam water, holy water for Muslims and consumed for its medicinal value. The present study demonstrates the physicochemical characterization and wound healing property of Zamzam water. The physicochemical characterization of Zamzam water samples was analyzed for dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, redox potential, zeta potential, polydispersity index, and zeta size. The microbial quality of Zamzam water was also assessed by exposing water samples to open air. In this work, Zamzam water was also screened for the medicinal value through wound healing properties in Wistar rats. Zamzam water exhibited a unique physicochemical characterization with high levels of dissolved oxygen, zeta potential, polydispersity index, redox potential, total dissolved solids, and conductivity before exposure to open air. After open air exposure, Zamzam water resisted the growth of bacteria. The wound healing properties of Zamzam water in vivo showed a 96% of healing effect on 12th day observation. The wound healing was achieved by modulating pro-inflammatory cytokine such as interleukin -1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor -α (TNF-α). Followed by the level of apoptosis markers caspase-9 and caspase-3 were reduced. The present study proved that Zamzam water is a good-quality water and showed excellent wound healing property. Therefore, Zamzam water can be used for pharmaceutical formulations.

Background: Osteoporosis is a major health problem in most nations, including Saudi Arabia. Awareness among the Saudi population is essential for early detection, timely treatment and subsequent fracture prevention. Aim: The current study was intended to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards osteoporosis among the general population residing in Jazan region, south-western Saudi Arabia. Study design: A community-based cross-sectional survey was developed, and a structured questionnaire was distributed among residents of Jazan. Data were collected from 400 male and female participants and analysed using STATA 15.0 software. Results: The data revealed that most of the participants were aware about osteoporosis risks, causes and symptoms. However, knowledge and attitude levels were significantly higher among females and individuals who were <30 years of age. Likewise, knowledge and positive attitude levels were higher among graduates compared to lower education groups. Almost 69.3% of participants were aware of women’s susceptibility towards osteoporosis as compared to men. Most of the participants showed a positive and advisable attitude towards osteoporosis. The practice of osteoporosis-related prevention was found to be very poor, but intake of calcium- and vitamin-rich food was found to be better among participants. Conclusion: An appreciable level of knowledge and positive attitudes towards osteoporosis was observed; however, practices for osteoporosis prevention still need improvement. The obvious gap between the osteoporosis prevention-related knowledge and practice requires innovative strategies based on local evidence to promote and encourage adoption and practice of personal protective measures.

Aliskiren (ALSK), being a direct renin inhibitor, is known for its additional benefit of renoprotection under several pathological conditions. On the other hand, Cisplatin (CP) is one of the most preferred chemotherapeutic agent; however, its clinical utility is limited owing to nephrotoxicity as its primary side effect. This study was aimed to investigate the protective role of ALSK against CP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of six animals each. They included vehicle treated normal control, CP (7.5 mg/kg), ALSK (25 mg/kg), and ALSK + CP treated groups. ALSK was orally administered for 2 weeks while CP was administered through the i.p. route on the 10th day to the respective groups. Blood and kidney samples were collected for the estimation of renal function, histology, the determination of oxidative stress, and the measurement of pro-inflammatory cytokines and markers of apoptosis. The results demonstrated that CP significantly elevated the levels of serum creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and uric acid (UA) while it suppressed the renal markers of oxidative stress including glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) and increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content. In addition, CP up-regulated the markers of pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the kidney and induced apoptosis by activating caspase cascade, which was observed as elevated levels of caspase-3 and −9. Two weeks of continuous treatment of ALSK 25 mg/kg significantly decreased the levels of serum Cr, BUN, UA and ameliorated histological damage in CP-treated animals. ALSK increased the antioxidant defense (increased renal GSH, SOD, and CAT levels while MDA content was suppressed) against CP. ALSK also significantly decreased the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α and prevented apoptosis by reversing the increased levels of caspase-3 and −9 by CP. Therefore, it may be concluded that ALSK has a protective role against CP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

The study investigated the wound healing effect of medicinal oil (MO) formulation prepared from Murraya koenigii leaves extract (methanolic) incorporated in olive oil. The MO was visually transparent, homogenous, smooth in texture, the viscosity grade was observed as 140 cP and easily spreadable. Pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly reduced to 82.3 ± 3.5, 156 ± 6.2, 137.3. ± 5.5 pg/ml, respectively after treatment with MO when compared to disease control animals that showed IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels of 170 ± 6, 265 ± 7, and 288.6 ± 11, pg/ml respectively. The level of pro-inflammatory cytokine in povidone iodine solution (PIS) group was 95.3 ± 3, 162 ± 6, 177.6 ± 8.9 pg/ml of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α respectively. Interestingly, the wound-healing efficacy of MO was found better as compared to povidone iodine treated standard group and concluded that MO has excellent wound healing effect.