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Belete Kassa Alemu, Desye Misganaw Pharmacology and Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Belete Kassa AlemuPharmacology and Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, P O Box 1145, Dessie, EthiopiaTel +251 918330307Fax +251 333115052Email belete.kassa@wu.edu.etBackground: A current challenge in malaria control and elimination is the progressive resistance to most antimalarial drugs which necessitates the discovery of new options. Hence, the current study was initiated to investigate the antimalarial activity of the stem bark of Fagaropsis angolensis in mice.Methods: The test material was extracted using 80% methanol in a cold maceration technique and further fractionated in solvents of varied polarity. Acute oral toxicity was assessed following the OECD guideline no. 425 protocol. Then, the antimalarial activities of the crude extract and the fractions were evaluated in a 4-day suppression test. Rane’s test was also used to evaluate the curative potential of the n-butanol fraction that showed the highest effect during the 4-day suppressive test. Parameters such as parasitemia suppression, mean survival time, packed cell volume, rectal temperature, and body weight were determined to establish the activity.Results: The acute oral toxicity test indicated that the plant did not cause any signs of behavioral changes or mortality at 200 mg/kg limit dose. In a 4-day suppression test, a significant dose-dependent reduction in the parasitemia level and prolongation of survival time were observed (p< 0.001) in all three doses of the crude extract compared with the negative control. The crude extract also exhibited a significant (p< 0.001) protective effect in packed cell volume and rectal temperature decline in all three doses in a dose-dependent fashion compared with the negative control. Among all fractions, the n-butanol fraction displayed the highest effects in all parameters in the 4-day suppression test. In addition, the n-butanol fraction also showed a significant percentage of parasitemia suppression effects at all doses in Rane’s test. Furthermore, higher free radical scavenging activity was observed in the n-butanol fraction and the 80% methanol extract.Conclusion: This study established that Fagaropsis angolensis had shown potential antimalarial activity as evidenced by the significant effects in the different parameters, upholding its traditional use for the treatment of malaria and laying the foundation for further investigations.Keywords: antimalarial activity, Plasmodium berghei, Fagaropsis angolensis, parasitemia, antioxidant activity

Belete Kassa Alemu, Desye Misganaw, Getnet Mengistu Pharmacology and Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Belete Kassa AlemuPharmacology and Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, EthiopiaTel +251 918330307Fax +251 333115052Email belete.kassa@wu.edu.etBackground: Acokanthera schimperi is traditionally used for the treatment of wounds and various bacterial infections. Due to the ongoing escalation of antimicrobial resistance, there is an increasing demand for the appropriate wound care and hence, the present study was initiated to investigate the wound healing effects of the leaf extract ointments of A. schimperi in mice and its in-vitro antioxidant activity.Methods: The crude extract was prepared as 5% and 10% w/w ointments for topical use in mice. Wound contraction and epithelialization period were determined in excision and infected models, whereas tensile strength was determined in an incision model. Besides, its antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH method.Results: In this study, the 10% w/w extract ointment did not cause toxicity at the 2000 mg/kg limit dose. In the excision model, the 10% w/w ointment exhibited a significant wound contraction effect starting from day 6 to 14 with a complete epithelization shown on day 13. Besides, the 5%w/w ointment showed a significant wound contraction effect starting from day 6 onwards, and a significant decrease in the epithelization period observed on day 16. Conversely, both the 10% w/w and 5% w/w ointments showed significant wound contraction effects starting from day 4 and onwards in the infected model. However, a complete epithelization period was observed on days 14 and 18 in the 10%w/w and 5% w/w/extract ointment treated groups, respectively. In the incision model, the 10% (w/w) and 5% (w/w) extract ointments showed a significant increase in tensile strength by 36.80 and 32.23%, respectively. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the extract was concentration-dependent with an IC50 value of 5.49± 0.38 μg/μL.Conclusion: The potential wound healing effects of this plant may provide a candidate source in the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of wounds.Keywords: wound healing, antioxidant activity, extract ointments A. schimperi

Belete Kassa Alemu,1 Kefyalew Ayalew Getahun,2 Wubayehu Kahaliw2 1Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie 1145, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Belete Kassa AlemuDepartment of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, P O Box; 1145, Dessie, EthiopiaTel +251 918330307Fax +251 333115052Email beletekassa0@gmail.comBackground: Brassica carinata is one of the traditional medicinal plants used in Ethiopia for the treatment of wounds and other diseases. However, the plant has not been scientifically validated, and thus the present study evaluated the in vitro anti-oxidant and the in vivo wound healing activity of the crude extract and solvent fractions of B. carinata seeds in mice.Materials and Methods: The crude extract was prepared by maceration using 80% methanol and formulated as 5% and 10% w/w ointments for topical application. The acute dermal toxicity was performed in female albino rats based on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guideline number 434. Excision and incision wound healing models were used to evaluate the wound healing activities of crude extract and solvent fractions ointments in mice. Wound healing parameters such as wound area contraction and the period of epithelialization were determined in an excision model, whereas tensile strength was determined in an incision model. Moreover, the crude extract and solvent fractions were evaluated for the free radical scavenging activities in DPPH assay.Results: The acute dermal toxicity test showed that a limit dose of 2,000 mg/kg of 10% w/w crude extract ointment did not cause dermal toxicity in mice. In the excision wound model, the data revealed that 10% w/w ointment exhibited a significant wound contraction (from day 6 to 16, P< 0.001) effect with a significant decrease in epithelization period (at day 14, P< 0.001). In addition, 5% ointment of the crude extract showed a significant effect in wound contraction (from day 8 onwards, P< 0.01) and epithelization period (at day 16, P< 0.01). Despite all fractions being shown to promote wound healing, 10% w/w aqueous and ethyl acetate fractions showed a significant wound contraction (P< 0.001) effect starting from the 4th day onwards. Besides, the maximum antioxidant activity was seen in the aqueous fraction with an IC50 value of 3.45± 0.12 mg/mL.Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that the 80% methanol extract and solvent fractions of the seeds of B.carinata possess potential wound healing and anti-oxidant effects, supporting the traditional use of the plant for wound management.Keywords: wound, epithelialization, tensile strength, incision, excision, B. carinata, antioxidant

Getnet Mengistu,1 Desye Misganaw,1 Tessema Tsehay,2 Belete Kassa Alemu,1 Kassahun Bogale2 1Pharmacology and Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia; 2Clinical Pharmacy Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Getnet MengistuPharmacology and Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, P.o. Box 1145, Dessie, EthiopiaTel +251 912 49 26 92Fax +251 333115052Email mgetnet12@gmail.comBackground: Enhancing the standards of medical treatment at all levels of the healthcare delivery system can improve the quality of life in developing countries. One method to promote rational drug use is an assessment of drug use pattern based on drug use indicators.Objective: To evaluate prescription patterns at the outpatient pharmacy of Dessie Referral Hospital and Boru Meda Hospital at Dessie town.Methods: An institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prescribing patterns in governmental hospitals of Dessie town from April 1 to May 30, 2019. Six hundred eligible prescriptions were selected from each hospital through a systematic random sampling technique.Results: The result of this study showed that both hospitals used standard prescriptions (100%). Age (99.0%) and name (94.7%) of patients were the most commonly recorded patient information while weight, address of patients and diagnosis were recorded only in 1.1%, 39.2% and 61.3% of the studied prescription papers, respectively. A total 2409 drugs were prescribed in the 1200 prescription papers and the percentage of encounters with injection(s) and antibacterial(s) was 9.0% and 42.6%, respectively. At each hospital, all drugs were prescribed from the Ethiopian essential drug list.Conclusion: The present study revealed the use of standard presecription papers at both hospitals. None of the patient-related information was completely written in all prescrptions. For drug-related information, only the name of the drug was written in all prescription papers. There is also a significant deviation from the acceptable WHO standard for prescribing antibiotics.Keywords: prescription pattern, completeness, WHO core prescribing indicators, Dessie, Ethiopia

Desalegn Birara Mamo, 1 Belete Kassa Alemu 2 1Medicine Department, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pharmacy, Pharmacology and Toxicology Unit, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Belete Kassa AlemuDepartment of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University Address PO Box 1145, Dessie, EthiopiaTel +251 91 833 0307Fax +251 333115052Email belete.kassa@wu.edu.etBackground: Irrational use of drugs is often observed in health-care systems throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. The World Health Organization estimates that more than half of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed, or sold inappropriately and that half of all patients fail to take them correctly. Therefore, the study was aimed at investigating the practice of rational drug use in a referral and teaching hospital in Northeast Ethiopia.Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional design was employed to conduct the study from February 2019 to May 2019. Systematic random sampling was used to select prescriptions dispensed in outpatient pharmacies. Convenient sampling was employed to select patient attendants and their prescriptions in outpatient departments during the study period. Data were collected using a structured and technical observational checklist for prescribing, patient care, and health-facility indicators. Face-to-face interviews were also employed to assess patient knowledge of correct dosage among patient-care indicators. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics are given using frequency, proportions, and summary measures.Results: An average of 2.5 drugs per encounter were prescribed, with 34.64% and 13.80% of prescriptions being antibiotics and injections, respectively. Generics were used in 90.53% of prescription, and nearly 83% of drugs were prescribed from an essential-drug list. Average consultation and dispensing times were 1.57 minutes and 47 seconds, respectively. A total of 362 drugs were prescribed, with 82.6% actually dispensed and only 22.7% adequately labeled. The hospital had its own drug formulary and essential drug list, but no standard treatment guidelines. Moreover, except propyl thiouracil, all key essential drugs included in the study were available.Conclusion: The majority of World Health Organization–stated core drug-use indicators were not met by the referral hospital in this study, which is especially problematic regarding patient-care indicators.Keywords: rational drug use, WHO core drug-use indicators, prescribing indicators, patient-care indicators, health-facility indicators, Dessie Referral Hospital