Background: In absence of reliable hepatoprotective drug in modern medicine, the traditional herbal medicines have been emphasized. Present study was designed to assess hepatoprotective effect of aqueous extract of Melothria perpusilla (AEMP) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver injury.Methods: Five groups of animals with 6 rats in each were treated for 7 days.  Group I received 1% gum acacia in distilled water (1 ml/200 g p.o.) daily.  Group II, III, IV and V received CCl4 in liquid paraffin (1 ml/kg s.c.) on day 2, 4 and 6. Group III, IV and V were treated respectively with silymarin (100 mg/kg p.o.), AEMP- 200 and 400 mg/kg p.o. daily. On day 8, liver injury was assessed by measuring serum ALT, AST, ALP and bilirubin.Results: ALT, AST, ALP and bilirubin were significantly reduced in groups receiving both CCl4 and AEMP when compared with CCl4 treated group.Conclusions: AEMP produced hepatoprotective effect against CCl4 induced liver injury.

Background: Cyclophosphamide is commonly used against malignancies, such as leukemia and solid organ cancers. It can induce nephrotoxicity in cancer patients thereby complicating the initiation of chemotherapy. The study is to evaluate the effect of Phylllanthus fraternus against cyclophosphamide induced nephrotoxicity in albino rats.Methods: In this study, a total of 20 albino rats were divided into four groups of five each. Group I (normal control) received i.p. injection of normal saline. While, group II, III and IV received single dose (200 mg/kg b/w) of cyclophosphamide i.p. on day 1. Group III and IV received 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus fraternus respectively p.o. daily for 10 days. All the groups were fed with standard diet and water ad libitum. Serum levels of creatinine, urea and albumin were estimated. Histopathology of renal tissues was compared among the groups.Results: The renal parameters significantly improved in groups III and IV after 10 days of treatment with the extract. The histopathology study also supported the finding.Conclusions: The aqueous extract of Phyllanthus fraternus possesses protective effect against cyclophosphamide induced nephrotoxicity.

Objectives: This study was undertaken to investigate the possible protective effect of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus fraternus (AEPF) leaves against cyclophosphamide (CP) induced myocardial toxicity in rats.Methods: Wistar rats were given CP single intraperitoneally injection (200 mg/kg) on day 1 of the experiment and two doses of AEPF (200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg) p.o. daily for 10 days. Cardiac biomarker enzymes such as creatinine kinase (CK), CK isoenzyme MB, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine transaminase, and aspartate transaminase were determined. Histopathological examinations of the hearts were done.Results: CP treated groups exhibited significantly increased in cardiac biomarker enzymes. Treatment with AEPF prevented the elevation of these enzymes. Potential protective effect was also seen in histopathological examination of the heart characterized by decreased myocardium cell damages in AEPF treatment group.Conclusion: The study showed the protective role of AEPF against CP-induced myocardial injury. The possible role of antioxidant activity is anticipated.

Objective: To compare anticonvulsant activity of methanol extracts of Sapindus emarginatus (MESE) and Acorus calamus (MEAC) in experimental seizure models in mice. Methods: Hind limb tonic extension (HLTE) in Maximal electroshock (MES) seizure and clonic seizure in Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) seizure models were assessed. Group I (control) mice received 1% gum acacia in distilled water (1 ml/100 g). Topiramate (50 mg/kg) was administered in group II (standard) animals. Group III and IV mice were treated with 200 and 400 mg/kg of MESE, respectively. Mice in group V and VI were given MEAC at the dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively. Drugs were given orally suspended in 1% gum acacia suspension (1 ml/100 g) for 7 d. Next day after 1 h of drug administration, the seizure was induced for evaluation. Results: Anticonvulsant property of both extracts was confirmed by reduction (p<0.001) in HLTE phase in MES model; delayed onset of the clonic seizure (p<0.001) and its shortened phase (p<0.001) in PTZ model when compared with the control. MESE-200 mg/kg produced significantly longer (p<0.001) HLTE phase with lower protection (40.34%) among the different doses of the extracts. Clonic seizure onsets and durations in PTZ model were comparable among the different extract-treated groups; however, mortality was higher (66.6%) with MESE-200 mg/kg. Conclusion: Anticonvulsant activity of MESE and MEAC was evident; however, MESE at the dose of 200 mg/kg was less effective.

Background:Antibioticsare one of the most commonly used drugs in hospitalised patients and are sometimes associated with significant safety concerns. However, there is still insufficient data about the incidence of adverse drug reactions(ADR) especially in case of injectable antibiotics. This study was done to assess the severity and pattern of different types of adverse drug reaction that occurs with commonly used injectable antibiotics. Method: A retrospective cross-sectional study was done at Pharmacovigilance centre RIMS utilizing data from January 2018 till December 2019. Result: A total of 146patients who presented with antibiotic associated ADR reported during the study period were included in this study. Incidence was higher in males (90) as compared to females (56). The most common injectableantibiotic responsible for ADR was found to be the cephalosporin group (42.6%). A total of 178 different ADRs were observed among 146 patients, out of which the dermatological system (27.4%) was the most commonly affected system. On evaluation of WHO-UMC causality assessment of ADRs, majority were found to be possible (64.4%). Conclusion:Injectable antibioticsare one of the most importantdrugs used for treatment of various clinical conditions and the sheer magnitude of their usage among hospitalised patientsrequires special monitoring especially with respect to the adverse reactions they can cause.A more active pharmacovigilance is needed for better understanding of the types of injectable antibiotics associated ADRs. Active monitoring can also help promoterational use of these important life saving drugs.

Objective: The objective is to shed light on the prescribing pattern of levetiracetam, a newer antiepileptic drug, in the treatment of different types of epilepsy. Methods: A record-based cross-sectional study of epilepsy patients who reported to the Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Unit in the Department of Pharmacology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Manipur, was conducted. Case records of patients receiving levetiracetam and reporting from January 2017 to December 2020 were included. The patient's age, gender, and weight; clinical diagnosis; levetiracetam dose; and other co-administered AEDs were all examined. Findings: Of the 17 cases, the majority of the patients were adults, and 52.9% were males. The patients' average body weight (kg) was 49.8 ± 9.4. Generalised tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) constituted the majority of the cases (47.1%), followed by simple partial seizures, complex partial seizures (23.5% of each), and absence seizures (5.9%). 70.11% of the cases received LEV monotherapy, while the remaining cases were prescribed combination therapy. LEV alone was prescribed in 87.5% of GTCS cases. The median daily dose of LEV was 1000 mg (IQR-625). Novelty : The observation that levetiracetam alone is prescribed in the majority of GTCS cases, the commonest type of epilepsy, is an eye-opener for another new monotherapy option for GTCS.

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate and compare the anticonvulsant activity of aqueous leave extract of Portulaca oleracea Linn. and Eupatorium brimanicum DC in MES model in albino mice. Methods: Aqueous Extracts were prepared by the soxhlet extraction method. MES model was chosen to evaluate anticonvulsant activity. 36 albino mice were selected and divided into 6 groups for this model. Group I received 2% gum acacia 1 ml/100 g orally. Group II received phenytoin-20 mg/kg orally. Group III and IV received 200 and 400 mg/kg of Portulaca oleracea Linn. Respectively. Group V and VI received 200 and 400 mg/kg of Eupatorium brimanicum DC respectively. Results: The extracts didn’t show any toxicity and significantly reduced hind limb tonic extension (HLTE) duration in MES model (50 mA, 0.2 sec) at higher doses. Conclusion: The results suggest Portulaca oleracea Linn. and Eupatorium brimanicum DC extract possess anticonvulsant activity and justify their use in folk medicine.

Objective: The use of antiretroviral drugs is associated with significant safety concerns but there is still insufficient data about the toxicity profile of ART drugs especially in developing countries. Hence, this study was done to describe the severity and pattern of different types of adverse drug reactions that occurs with antiretroviral therapy.Method: A retrospective cross-sectional study was done at Pharmacovigilance centre RIMS utilizing data from January 2016 till December 2019.Result: A total of 190 cases reported during the study period were included in this study. Incidence was higher in females (109) as compared to males (81). The most common regimen responsible was TLE (69.5%) followed by ZLN (16.3%). Involvement of dermatological system (27.4%) was most common. The most common ADR associated with TLE was skin rash (28.3%) which was less severe as compared to the most common ADR associated with ZLN, which was anaemia (40.6%). On evaluation of WHO-UMC causality of ADRs, majority were found to be possible (78.2%).Conclusion: TLE regimen requires special focus as it was the most common regimen causing ADR but patients on ZLN regimen need to be closely monitored as they were found to cause more serious ADRs. A more active pharmacovigilance is needed for better understanding of toxicities related to ART.Key words: Adverse drug reactions, Pharmacovigilance, WHO-UMC criteria, Anti-retroviral therapy.