We describe different neuropharmacological effects of Verbena officinalis crude extract (Vo.Cr). Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures, elevated plus maze, light–dark box (LDB), open field and thiopental-induced sleeping test models were employed to evaluate Vo.Cr actions in mice. Vo.Cr dose-dependently (100–500 mg/Kg) delayed onset time of myoclonic jerks and tonic-clonic seizures, while decreased duration of tonic-clonic seizures (P < 0.05, P < 0.001 vs. saline group). Vo.Cr at 100 and 300–500 mg/Kg doses reduced animals’ mortality in PTZ-induced seizures test to 75 and 0%, respectively. Vo.Cr (50–300 mg/Kg) significantly increased time spent and number of entries into open arms, while decreased time spent and number of entries into closed arms (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001 vs. saline group), measured in elevated plus maze. Vo.Cr (50–300 mg/Kg) increased time spent in light compartment, while decreased time spent in dark compartment (P < 0.01, P < 0.001 vs. saline group) in LDB, like caused by diazepam. In open field test, Vo.Cr decreased number of ambulations and rearings frequencies, while increased the number of central squares crossings. In thiopental-induced sleeping test, Vo.Cr (50–300 mg/Kg) decreased onset time of sleep, while increased the duration of sleep (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001 vs. saline group). These results indicate that Verbena officinalis possess anticonvulsant, anxiolytic and sedative activities, which provides scientific background for its medicinal application in various neurological ailments, such as epilepsy, anxiety, and insomnia.

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Objective: There are growing concerns towards the quality of medical education in Pakistan. To help strengthen accreditation processes, this study identifies the challenges towards quality assurance of Basic Medical Education in Pakistan. Methods: A qualitative case study was carried out from March to August 2018. Participants included inspectors from various disciplines in both public and private medical colleges, and medical educationists from Pakistan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 inspectors, while focus group discussion included 10 medical educationists. All the interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted to capture the intricacies of meaning within the data. Results: Data identified 14 sub-themes grouped under three major themes. Challenges towards quality assurance included mounting political influence, commercialism in medical education, weak regulatory capacity of accrediting body, violation of rules, lack of valid accreditation standards and skilled inspectors. Conclusion: Quality assurance of Basic Medical Education in Pakistan involves various systemic, resource and personnel related challenges. The accrediting body needs to bring major reforms in its accreditation system and strengthen its regulatory and technical educational capacity to ensure the quality of medical education in nearly 168 medical and dental colleges of the country. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1319 How to cite this:Khan AW, Sethi A, Wajid G, Yasmeen R . Challenges towards quality assurance of Basic Medical Education in Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(2):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1319 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Background. Almost every region of Pakistan is stacked with a large number of medicinal plants. Due to high cost and unavailability of allopathic medicines for the neurological diseases, especially in rural areas, traditional healers prescribe phytotherapy for various neurological diseases like epilepsy, depression, anxiety, insomnia, Alzheimer, and migraine. Such treatments are considered to be most effective by the native people. Methods. The data was collected from articles published on medicinal plants of various districts of Pakistan, using article search engines like Medline, Pubmed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Also, information regarding various neurological uses and mode of applications of medicinal plants was obtained from traditional healers, folk medicine users, and local elderly people having knowledge of medicinal plants. Results. A total of 54 families were found to be used in various neurological diseases, of which the highest use was of Solanaceae (22.22%), Asteraceae (12.96%), Lamiaceae, Papaveraceae, and Poaceae, 9% each, and Caprifoliaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Rhamnaceae, and Rosaceae, 5.5% each. According to districts, 15% of plants that were effective in neurological affections were found in Bahawalpur, 11% in Swat, 8% in Muzaffarabad, 7% in Malakand, and 6% in Bahawalnagar, Dir, Gilgat, and Sarghoda each, with 5% in Dera ghazi khan and Jhelum each. According to the plant’s habit, out of total of 103 plants, 61.15% were found to be herbs, 22.33% trees, 11.65% shrubs, and 4.85% climbers. According to the part used of plant, whole plant, leaves, fruits, roots, seeds, and flowers were found to be used 32.03%, 24.27%, 20.38%, 16.50%, 13.59%, and 11.65%, respectively. According to disease’s types, 45.63% were found to be effective in insomnia, 31.06% in epilepsy 12.62% in depression, 6.80% in anxiety, 7.77% in hysteria, and 5.88% in migraine. Conclusion. Taking into consideration this useful knowledge on medicinal properties of the plants for curing neurologic diseases, it is believed that research in areas of ethnomedicine and ethnopharmacology can bring auspicious results that have potential of adding value to the very rich natural resources of Pakistan. This study will help all the researchers from diverse backgrounds working on plants based medicine for neurological diseases.

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