A gap between acceptance and knowledge of herbal remedies by physicians: the need for educational intervention.

Background: The unprecedented global increase in the use of herbal remedies is set to continue apace well into the foreseeable future. This raises important public health concerns, especially as it relates to safety issues including adverse effects and herb-drug interactions. Most Western-trained physicians are ignorant of the risks and benefits of this healthcare modality and assessment of acceptance and knowledge would identify appropriate intervention strategies to improve physician-patient communication in this area.

Protection against paracetamol-induced hepatic injury by prazosin pre-treatment in CD-1 mice.

A synergistic depletion of glutathione has been suggested to be one critical factor in the hepatic injury in mice induced by non-toxic doses of paracetamol (APAP) when co-administered with alpha-adrenergic agonists. Prazosin (an alpha-adrenergic antagonist) could confer hepatoprotection following a toxic APAP dose (530 mg/kg) by increasing glutathione levels and enhancing bioinactivation by glucuronidation and glutathione conjugation. The effect of prazosin pre-treatment on APAP-induced gluthathione depletion and bioinactivation in vivo was assessed.

Medicinal herb use among asthmatic patients attending a specialty care facility in Trinidad.

Background: There is an increasing prevalence of asthma in the Caribbean and patients remain non-compliant to therapy despite the development of guidelines for management and prevention. Some patients may self-medicate with medicinal herbs for symptomatic relief, as there is a long tradition of use for a variety of ailments. The study assessed the prevalence of use and the factors affecting the decision to use herbs in asthmatic patients attending a public specialty care clinic in Trinidad.