1.Anti-neuroinflammatory Effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. (Roselle) on Lipopolysaccharides-induced Microglia and Neuroblastoma Cells
Nor Fadilah Rajab ; Siti Masitah Musa ; Munirah Ahmad Munawar ; Leong Lek Mun ; Heng Kai Yen ; Farah Wahida Ibrahim ; Chan Kok Men
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2016;14(2):111-118
Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. (roselle) is a polyphenol rich fruit. This study aimed to identify the neuroprotective effect of roselle on LPS-induced cell proliferation and nitric oxide-induced free radical in microglia and neuroblastoma cells. MTT assay was used to identify the appropriate concentration of roselle and LPS for microglia and neuroblastoma cells proliferation study. Griess assay were used to determine the level of nitric oxide accumulated based on the reaction of Griess to estimate the activity of iNOS in nitric oxide production. The results showed that roselle at the concentration of 50 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL and LPS at concentration of 1 μg/mL does not give cytotoxic effect towards microglia C8-B4 and neuroblastoma LN18 cells. The roselle treatment at 50 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL showed a protective effect on LPS-induced microglia C8-B4 cells. However, in neuroblastoma LN18 cells, no protective effect was seen on both 50 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL of roselle treatment following induction with 1 μg/mL of LPS. On the other hand, the production of nitric oxide (NO) was reduced when LPS-induced microglia C8-B4 cells were treated with 50 μg/mL of roselle. Treatment of roselle at concentration 100 μg/mL on LPS-induced neuroblastoma LN18 cells also reduced the production of nitric oxide. As a conclusion, roselle had the ability to give neuroprotective effect by the inhibition of LPS induction activity on microglia activation for normal and cancer cells at different concentrations.
Hibiscus
2.Comparison of the efficacy and level of adherence for morning versus evening versus before bedtime administration of simvastatin in hypercholesterolemic patients
Wei Kai Heng ; Yen Ping Ng ; Guat See Ooi ; Habshoh Bt. Hat ; Nurazlin Bt. Jamaluddin ; Nor Azah Bt. M. Nawi ; Hasniza Bt. Hasim ; Noriza Bt. Wahab
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2019;74(6):477-482
Background: Simvastatin is usually taken in the evening due
to the circadian rhythm of hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis.
The degree of reduction of low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol (LDL-C) and the level of adherence to different
administration time remained unknown in the Malaysian
population. This study aims to investigate the effect of
simvastatin on the percentage changes of lipid profile and
the level of adherence to when simvastatin was instructed to
be taken at different timing.
Methods: Nine primary care health clinics across Malaysia
participated in this study. 147 statin-naive subjects were
selected through convenient sampling and randomised into
one of the three arms (after breakfast, after dinner or before
bedtime). Differences on percentage reduction of LDL-C
from baseline and level of adherence among the three
groups at week-16 were compared. The main outcomes
measured in this study were the percentage change of lipid
parameters and the percentage of high-adherence
(MMAS=8) at week-16.
Results: 59.2% of the patients were male. The mean age of
the study population was 53.93± 10.85 years. Most of the
patients were Malays (69.4%); followed by Indians (22.4%)
and Chinese (8.2%). LDL-C decreased from 4.26 (Standard
Deviation, SD1.01) to 2.36 (SD0.69)mmol/L at week-16 for
patients taking simvastatin before bedtime; an absolute
reduction of 44.95%.The differences of LDL-C percentage
reduction between three arms were significantly different
(p<0.001). The greatest LDL-C reduction was observed when
simvastatin was taken before bedtime and revealed 56.2%
patients with high-adherence at week-16.
Conclusion: Simvastatin showed superior LDL-reduction
and higher level of adherence when being instructed to be
taken before bedtime