Olive or Olea europaea is originated from Mediterranean and cultivated in different regions of the world.
Each part of the plant has its own unique botanical description and gives a lot of benefits, either for
biological or common uses. In this research, the pharmacological properties of O. europaea were studied
via literature reviews. In the laboratory, the extraction of secondary metabolites from the dried leaves of O.
europaea was followed by the chromatographic investigation. The biological uses of O. europaea and
detection of the phenolics from olive leaves are highlighted. Specifically, oleuropein is the targeted
compound worth to be further analyzed.
Introduction: Acalypha indica is commonly referred to as “pokok kucing galak”. It is an herbaceous species that grow along the earth’s equator line, including the wet, temperate and tropical regions. Domestic cats experience the effect of this plant by reacting very favorably to the root. The first compilation of the ethnopharmacology and phytochemistry of the Acalypha plants was published. This genus is the fourth largest genus of the Euphorbiaceae family, with about 500 species. However, the review only represents about one third of the species from the Acalypha genus. Methods: Hence, this study is performed to obtain updates on the biochemistry of this plant, via literature search. Results: From the articles, almost every part of the plant, including the leaves, stems and roots, are used as traditional remedies. Local people consume the plant for therapeutic purposes such as anthelminthic, anti-ulcer, anti-bacteria, anti-microbial and wound healing. In homeopathy practice, it is used for asthma and bronchitis. Nevertheless,
there is still a potential risk of using A. indica. It was reported that this traditional medicine could induce Intravascular haemolysis in patients with a glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Clinical evaluations of Acalypha extract could be utilized to justify the ethnomedicinal claims and for the safety of its therapeutic applications. Meanwhile, there is an increase in the phytochemical and chromatographic experiments of A. indica that could introduce the extract’s role in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, zoology and veterinary fields. It contains secondary metabolites, including dihydroactinidiolide; a terpenoid, alkaloids, flavonoids and steroids, for example, brassicasterol. Conclusion: The finding of this review concludes that Acalypha is a natural source, worth to be further investigated. It is hoped that new biologically active constituents could be discovered, since only few Acalypha species were comprehensively studied.
Monkeypox (MPX) is a zoonotic disease caused by the MPX virus from the poxviridae family of orthopoxviruses. Typically, endemic in central and west Africa, it has now become a matter of concern since cases have been reported in non-endemic countries around mid-June 2022, especially in the European region, with the transmission not related to travel. The diagnosis is made by PCR testing of the skin lesions. Even though treatment is symptomatic, antiretrovirals, such as tecovirimat, are used in severe cases. Vaccination with second and third generation vaccines is approved for prophylaxis in high risk individuals. Unfortunately, these options of treatment and prevention are only available in high income countries at the moment. This review, through a thorough literature search of articles from 2017 onward, focuses on epidemiology, clinical manifestations, challenges, treatment, prevention and control of MPX virus and how they can be corelated with other viral outbreaks including COVID-19, Acute Hepatitis of unknown origin, Measles and Dengue, to better predict and therefore prevent its transmission. The previous COVID-19 pandemic increased the disease burden on healthcare infrastructure of low-middle income countries, therefore, this recent MPX outbreak calls for a joint effort from healthcare authorities, political figures, and NGOs to combat the disease and prevent its further spread not only in high income but also in middle- and low-income countries.
Vaccine hesitancy (VH) is defined as a delayed in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services. This multinational study examined user interaction with social media about COVID-19 vaccination. The study analyzed social media comments in 24 countries from five continents. In total, 5856 responses were analyzed; 83.5% of comments were from Facebook, while 16.5% were from Twitter. In Facebook, the overall vaccine acceptance was 40.3%; the lowest acceptance rates were evident in Jordan (8.5%), Oman (15.0%), Senegal (20.0%) and Morocco (20.7%) and the continental acceptance rate was the lowest in North America 22.6%. In Twitter, the overall acceptance rate was (41.5%); the lowest acceptance rate was found in Oman (14.3%), followed by USA (20.5%), and UK (23.3%) and the continental acceptance rate was the lowest in North America (20.5%), and Europe (29.7%). The differences in vaccine acceptance across countries and continents in Facebook and Twitter were statistically significant. Regarding the tone of the comments, in Facebook, countries that had the highest number of serious tone comments were Sweden (90.9%), USA (61.3%), and Thailand (58.8%). At continent level, serious comments were the highest in Asia (58.4%), followed by Africa (46.2%) and South America (46.2%). In Twitter, the highest serious tone was reported in Egypt (72.2%) while at continental level, the highest proportion of serious comments was observed in Asia (59.7%), followed by Europe (46.5%). The differences in tone across countries and continents in Facebook and Twitter and were statistically significant. There was a significant association between the tone and the position of comments. We concluded that the overall vaccine acceptance in social media was relatively low and varied across the studied countries and continents. Consequently, more in-depth studies are required to address causes of such VH and combat infodemics.