Background. Tablets are still the most preferred means of drug delivery. The search for new and improved direct compression tablet excipients is an area of research focus. This is because the direct compression method overcomes the drawbacks of granulation methods of tablet production. It exempts several treatment steps associated with the granulation methods. The requirements for the powders to be directly compressible include flowability, low friction tendency, compressibility, and fast disintegration capacity. Taro Boloso-I is a new variety of Colocasia esculenta (L. Schott) yielding 67% more than a previously reported variety (Godare) in Ethiopia. This study is aimed at enhancing the flowability while keeping the compressibility and compactibility of the pregelatinized Taro Boloso-I starch. Methods. Central composite design was used for the optimization of two factors which were the temperature and duration of pregelatinization against 4 responses. The responses were angle of repose, Hausner’s ratio, Heckel’s yield pressure, and tablet breaking force. Results and Discussions. An increase in the temperature resulted in decrease in both the angle of repose and the Hausner ratio and that of time decreased angle of repose as well. The Heckel yield pressure was observed to increase with increasing levels of both temperature and time. The pregelatinized starch prepared by heating 15% slurry of Taro Boloso-I starch at the pregelatinization temperature of 66.22°C for 20 min showed desired flow property and compressibility. Conclusions. Pregelatinized Taro Boloso-I starch could be regarded as a potential direct compression excipient in terms of flowability, compressibility, and compactibility. The PGTBIS could perform better as filler and binder in direct compression tablets than the Starch 1500® in terms of compactibility.

Background. Food borne disease, which is the result of ingestion of foodstuffs contaminated with microorganisms, parasites, or chemicals, encompasses a wide spectrum of illness and public health problem worldwide. Ethiopia is placed on second, third, and fourth position due to the highest burden of ascariasis, hookworm, and trichuriasis, respectively, in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study is aimed at determining the prevalence of Salmonella typhi and intestinal parasites among food handlers working in catering establishments of public institutes found in Dawuro Zone, South-Western Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study is conducted among food handlers working in catering establishments of public institutions found in Dawuro Zone from March to July 2019. The data was collected by using pretested structured questionnaires. Stool and blood samples were taken from each participant for parasitic examinations concurrently using direct and modified formol ether concentration wet smear techniques and Widal test by slide test and tube serial dilution technique, respectively. The data entered into Epi info version 3.5.1 and then exported into SPSS window version 20.0 for analysis. Logistic regressions were performed to assess the association between binary outcomes and different explanatory variables. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result. The study included 402 (293 females and 109 males) food handlers. Of 402 stool specimens, 20.4% were found to be positive for different parasite species, comprising protozoa (35.9%) and helminths (64.1%). A. lumbricoides was the most prevalent parasite (8.0%), followed by E. histolytica/dispar (4.23%). Twenty-six (6.5%) of food handlers were positive for Widal test. Ages ≥ 40 years (AOR: 0.436; 95% CI: 0.203, 0.937), attending no education (AOR: 2.142; 95% CI: 1.048, 4.378), not washing hands after using latrine (AOR: 4.355; 95% CI: 1.771, 10.708), not covering mouth with tissue paper (AOR: 0.530; 95% CI: 0.312, 0.899), no medical checkup (in the last four months) (AOR: 0.278; 95% CI: 0.116, 0.667), and untrimmed fingernails (AOR: 0.382; 95% CI: 0.229, 0.635) were significantly associated with intestinal parasitic or Salmonella typhi infections. Conclusion. The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection (IPI) and Salmonella among food handlers in the present study is relatively high compared to other different studies conducted in developed and developing countries. Therefore, biannually screening of food handlers for intestinal parasites (IPs) and periodic deworming of infected cases along with provision of food safety measures focusing on personal hygiene and environmental sanitation are recommended to control the parasitic infection in food handlers.

Background. Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to the human population everywhere. However, less attention is given to its concern in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. There is an information gap concerning antibiotic resistance and its pattern in Wolaita Sodo University Teaching Referral Hospital. This study is aimed at investigating the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in the study area. Methods. Five-year retrospective data of cultures and records of 581 patients were utilized to analyze the pattern of antibiotic resistance. The statistical software including SPSS version 25 and Microsoft excel 2013 were used. Laboratory records with incompletely registered age, sex, culture isolation, or drug susceptibility test data were excluded. Results. Out of the total of 581 samples extracted from the microbiology laboratory, 237 (40.8%) samples were culture positive for bacteria. From positive culture growth, 165 (69.6%) were gram-positive bacteria whereas 72 (30.4%) were gram negative. Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent isolate among gram-positive isolates as Escherichia coli was for gram-negative isolates. Overall antibiotic resistance of gram-positive isolates was 57.2% whereas that of gram-negative bacteria was 58.8%.Conclusion. S. aureus and E. coli were found to be the most prevalent pathogenic isolates among gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, respectively. Most of the isolated pathogens showed high resistance towards the commonly prescribed antibiotic agents. The overall antibiotic resistance in this study was 57.7%, and the overall MDR prevalence was 72.2%.

Introduction. In drug delivery, solid dosage forms, of which tablet is the commonest, are still the leading preferences. An area of research focus in tablet drug delivery is the search for tablet excipients. This study was aimed at evaluating and optimizing native Taro Boloso-I starch as a tablet disintegrant. Methods. The response surface method with central composite design (CCD-RSM) was used for the analysis and optimization of the concentration of native Taro Boloso-I starch and compression force. Wet granulation method was used for the preparation of paracetamol tablets. The response variables considered were tablet crushing strength, friability, and disintegration time. Results and Discussion. Both the native Taro Boloso-I starch concentration and compression force had increasing effect on the tablet breaking force. The friability of the tablets was shown to decrease with increasing levels of the disintegrant concentration. On the other hand, compression force had a decreasing effect on friability in the investigated range. The disintegration time of the tablets was found to decrease with the concentration of the starch. The paracetamol tablets prepared with the optimized levels of native Taro Boloso-I starch and compression force showed tablet breaking force of 116.24 N, friability of 0.153%, disintegration time of 1.36 min, disintegration efficiency ratio of 562.3 N/(%Min), and comparative disintegration efficiency ratio of 13.6 with respect to commercial potato starch. Conclusions. The tablets exhibited improved crushing strength, friability, in vitro disintegration time, and disintegration efficiency ratio which suggest the novel applicability of the native Taro Boloso-I starch as an efficient pharmaceutical tablet disintegrant.