The Impact of Health Disparities on COVID-19 Outcomes: Early Findings from a High-Income Country and Two Middle-Income Countries.

The SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has affected lives, with very adverse outcomes in specific populations in the United States of America (USA), a high-income country, and two middle-income countries, Brazil and South Africa. This paper aims to discuss the relationship of race/ethnicity with COVID-19-associated factors in the three countries. The information is based on data collected from infectious disease/epidemiological centers in the USA, Brazil, and South Africa.

Short communication. Challenges relating to comparison of flavonoid glycosides dissolution profiles from Sutherlandia frutescens products.

Unlike the case of conventional drug formulations, dissolution tests have hitherto not been required for herbal medicinal products commercially available in South Africa. This study investigated dissolution of the South African Sutherlandia frutescens using selected flavonoid glycosides as marker compounds. Dissolution of markers was assessed in three dissolution media at pH 1.

Characterizing Herbal Medicine Use for Noncommunicable Diseases in Urban South Africa.

Economic challenges associated with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and the sociocultural outlook of many patients especially in Africa have increased dependence on traditional herbal medicines (THMs) for these diseases. A cross-sectional descriptive study designed to determine the prevalence of and reasons for THM use in the management of NCDs among South African adults was conducted in an urban, economically disadvantaged area of Cape Town, South Africa. In a cohort of 1030 participants recruited as part of the existing Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, 456 individuals were identified.