A Review on Pharmacological Properties of Christia vespertilionis

Abstract

Commonly referred to as ‘daun rerama’, Christia vespertilionis has increased in popularity in traditional and modern medicine. This review aims to report the relevance of this plant in terms of its traditional uses, pharmacological actions, phytoconstituents, extractions methods, and identify the research gaps and future potentials. The review is conducted as per PRISMA guidelines; a database search was conducted in Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus and Google Scholar from 1996 to 2021. Results show that to date, phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, quinones, and others have been identified, corresponding to its range of pharmacological activities that include anti-cancer, anti-malaria, and antioxidant. There have also been claims of antidiabetic activity but not supported by enough scientific evidence. Study on molecular and gene expression was still lacking. There is a good future in the research of this plant with many potential aspects to be investigated.

Causes of Visual Impairment and Types of Low Vision Aids Prescribed in Low Vision Clinic, Sibu Hospital, Sarawak

“…Ten per cent of patients (n = 4) required more than one device to perform their daily tasks comfortably, hence they were prescribed more than one LVD. The most frequently low vision aids prescribed in LVC, Sibu Hospital were video magnifiers (n = 10, 37.0%), followed by hand magnifiers either illuminated or non-illuminated type (n = 6, 22.2%), spectacle magnifiers (n = 4, 14.8%), telescopes (n = 4, 14.8%) and stand magnifiers Males were predominant in LVC Hospital Sibu, which is in accordance with the literature (Huong et al, 2022;Ibrahim & Razif, 2022;Kim et al, 2010;Mohidin & Yusoff, 1998;Omar et al, 2008;Sapkota & Kim, 2017). This was possibly due to a lack of social support among females and they may have limited access to eye clinics in view of financial constraints and logistic issues.…”

“…Contrarily, UiTM Low Vision Clinic claimed that the leading cause of visual impairment among low vision patients was cataracts, which was a reversible and treatable ocular condition (Ibrahim & Razif, 2022). This observation discrepancy had been attributed to different visually impaired patients' entry criteria because LVC Sibu Hospital only accepted referrals of patients with irreversible and permanent ophthalmic diseases.…”

“…Therefore, LVC patients mostly were pleased and delighted to use it because reading, writing and the performance of near tasks were their main concerns (Chotikavanich et al, 2018;Kim et al, 2010). Contrarily, many previous studies claimed that spectacle magnifiers were the most commonly used among their LVC patients as they were the cheapest and highly available in the market (Chong et al, 2016(Chong et al, , 2018Ekpenyong & Ndukwe, 2010;Ibrahim & Razif, 2022;Omar et al, 2008). Although utilisation of a basic and cheaper range of LVDs such as spectacle magnifiers, handheld and stand magnifiers was adequate for the visually impaired patients to maintain and improve their quality of life, they still might need a more advanced LVD to perform a different range of tasks daily (Omar et al, 2008).…”

“…Previous studies on low vision and blindness in Malaysia were mainly conducted in the peninsular region and predominantly focused on Malay, Chinese, and Indian ethnic groups (Ibrahim & Razif, 2022;Mohidin & Yusoff, 1998;Omar et al, 2008;Omar, 2010;Rahman et al, 2020). Although some studies have explored the visual impairment among preschool and school-aged children, as well as among patients visiting the Ophthalmology Department in the southern and northern regions, there were no studies described visual impairment in the central region of Sarawak (Abu Bakar et al, 2012;Huong et al, 2022;Ting et al, 2021;Premsenthil et al, 2013).…”