In recent years, studies have placed a greater emphasis on the scientific evaluation of historical plant-based medications, as well as the examination of various plant parts for medicinal and pharmacological significance. In light of cultural histories and ancient medicine from previous decades, which have continued to promote the healing benefits of plants and their extracts, the medicinal values of plants cannot be overstated. Nutraceuticals are the use of therapeutic properties of plants or plant parts to prevent and control illness. The Zingiberaceae family includes Curcuma longa (Turmeric), which is one of the most innovative nutraceuticals. It is widely grown and consumed in India and Asian countries as a shelf-life enhancer and preservative, aromatic, and coloring ingredient. It possesses anti-glycemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-viral properties, among other health advantages. For millennia, Curcuma longa has been regarded safe to use as a spice and seasoning.
Background: Folate deficiency is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes and is one of the most common vitamin deficiencies in women, especially those of reproductive age. Folic acid intake prior to, and during, the first months of pregnancy significantly reduces the risk of fetal neural tube defects. Maternal folate status has been associated with other adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia, malformations (orofacial clefts, Neural tube defects, anencephaly and encephalocele resulting from incomplete neural tube closure during early embryogenesis), spontaneous abortion, fetal death, fetal growth restriction and preterm delivery. Methods: The study embraced a cross-sectional study that assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of preconceptional folic acid supplementation among pregnant women (18-45years) attending antenatal clinic in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. 152 women attending antenatal clinics in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Ebonyi State were interviewed using structured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 21 for frequency and percentage at P < 0.05 significance level. Results: 98.7% of the participants had heard about folic acid, but an analysis of data shows that 26.6% of them knew that folic acid is a vitamin. In addition, very few (29.6%) knew that folic acid could prevent neural tube defects. The main source of information about folic acid supplementation among the surveyed women were through the health workers. Incidence of at least one episode of adverse pregnancy outcome was noted in about 35.5% of the population under study though a majority indicated the form for their loss were miscarriage and stillbirth. Finding showed that 37.5% of the respondent claimed to have used folic acid before pregnancy while 40.1% of the women in this study were aware of the right time to start using folic acid. 46% of the women took folic acid during Antenatal care and their reason were attributed to late presentation for antenatal care, delayed prescription of the folic acid for women during pregnancy, unplanned pregnancy while others claimed they are getting enough folate from food. Approximately 40.8% of the respondents had started supplementation on antenatal booking and from analysis of data on the preferred/normal booking time of the respondents it shows that a high percentage of them attended antenatal from the third month of pregnancy this shows that the majority of the respondents started supplementation too late which is inconsistent with the ideal time to start folic acid supplementation in prevention of neural tube defect. In this study it has been revealed that 48% of the respondents could identify green leafy vegetable as the only source of folate in local foods and 0.7% could identify other food sources like legumes and fruits as sources of folate. Conclusion: There is a low overall level of awareness of folic acid among pregnant women including lack of understanding of its natural sources, usefulness in preventing Neural Tube Defects and preconceptional intake recommendation. Health education regarding the preconceptional use of folic acid among women of reproductive age is recommended.
Background Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has proven to improve the physical and psychosocial function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the gains achieved during pulmonary rehabilitation diminish over time without an effective maintenance strategy. With several factors affecting access to pulmonary rehabilitation, calls for innovative models were made, which saw the emergence of studies exploring telerehabilitation (TR) as an alternative to traditional pulmonary rehabilitation models. Although there are current reviews exploring the effectiveness of telerehabilitation as an alternative for conventional PR, no review has considered telerehabilitation effectiveness in the long term. Hence, this review aims at examining the effectiveness of telerehabilitation following to pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Main body A systematic review of the literature using CINAHL, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, Web of science PEDRO, AMED and EMBASE databases was conducted to assess the effectiveness of telerehabilitation following PR in patients with COPD. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and exercise capacity was maintained within 6–12 months of a TR maintenance programme. However, there was no significant increase in HRQoL and exercise capacity between the intervention and control groups in 6–12 months. Conclusions This review suggests that a TR maintenance strategy effectively maintains benefits gained and may improve HRQoL and exercise capacity within 6–12 months for patients with COPD. Nonetheless, it is impossible to extrapolate the findings to the general population due to the paucity of included studies. Further high quality randomised controlled trials examining TR in the long-term is required in the future.
Despite the advancement in medicine and surgery, cesarean section (C-section) is still treated with suspicion and aversion in Nigeria. This study examined the perception of women attending antenatal clinic in a Teaching Hospital towards caesarean section as well as identified factors that influence the acceptance and non-acceptance of the operation. A total of 136 women were studied in this descriptive survey study at Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Awka, Nigeria. Data collection was between 1st of June to the 1st of July, 2022. A pre-tested questionnaire was adopted and filled through face to face interview. The hypothesis was tested using chi-square analysis and percentage was calculated. The demographic features of the subjects revealed that the women were between the ages of 18-49 years. The majority (43.4%) of the respondents were university graduates and (8.8%) were illiterates. About (11.8%) were high income earners. Also, 30% of the respondents would strongly disagree to have C-section even when medically indicated. The result of the study showed that C-section as a delivery procedure was unacceptable among low income earners and illiterates. The subjects have a good knowledge of the essence of C-section.
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