An indigenous contraceptive herbal formulation consisting of a mixture of Lepidagathis longifolia, Palaquium sp and Phyllagathis rotundifolia is being used by the Temuan Aborigins of Malaysia. Although the previous studies demonstrated that this contraceptive herbal formulation causes anovulatory estrous cycle, altered circulating hormone levels and fetal resorption in rats, but the effects of this formulation on the gonadotrphs of the pituitary gland are yet to be evaluated. The present study was designed to observe the morphometric changes of the gonadotrophs and the plasma concentrations of follicle stimulating hormone and leutinizing hormone. Thirty five Sprague-Dawley adult female rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. Experimental animals were given a combined herbal extract or individual herbal extract at a dose of 540 mg/kg/day subcutaneously for 7 days. Immunostained gonadotrophs were studied by using image analyzer. FSH and LH serum concentrations were determined using RIA. The FSH and LH concentrations were low in animals that received combined herbal extract (p<0.01). FSH concentration was noted to be significantly low in animals that received P. rotundifolia (p<0.05). The mean cell area and cell density of gonadotrophs of animals that received combined herbal extract were significantly low compared to control group (p<0.05). It was concluded that the herbal extracts do suppress the production of gonaotrophins along with the demonstrable suppresive effect on the FSH cells.

The objective of this cross -sectional study is to determine the prevalence and pattern of herbal medicines use during pregnancy among women in Tumpat district, Kelantan. A total of 210 mothers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. There were 108 mothers (51.4%) who used at least one type of herbal medicines during pregnancy. The most common herbal medicines used (63.9%) was coconut oil which was ingested during the third trimester of pregnancy only. The most common indication was (89.8%) to facilitate labour. The majority of users (79.6%) used herbal medicines during the third trimester of pregnancy only. Many of them (81.5%) believed that herbal medicines were effective to solve their health problems and fulfilled the indications for use. The older generation like parents and in laws (63.9%) were the most common persons who suggested using herbal medicines. The majority of them used the herbs only once (56.5%) and one type (87.0%) throughout the pregnancy. Further research focusing on local commonly used herbal medicines is to be carried out to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the herbs.

Background: Petrol is known to be hazardous to human health and is associated with various health effects, such as haematotoxicity and oxidative stress. Although Malaysia has adopted the European fuel quality standards in recent years in order to reduce petroleum pollutants and to improve air quality, gasoline with research octane number 95 (RON95), believed to contain benzene and other toxic substances, is still widely used all over the country. This study assessed the effect of RON95 gasoline on haemtological parameters of rats after 11 weeks of exposure. Methods: A total of 16 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: control (exposed to ambient air daily) and gasoline exposed (exposed to petrol fumes at 11.13 ± 1.1cm3/h for 6h daily, 6 days/week) groups. Body weight was monitored daily. At the end of 11 weeks, the rats were sacrificed, bone marrow was extracted for cytological examination, and blood samples were collected for a full blood picture examination, full blood counts and oxidative markers. Results: The results show that gasoline inhalation was associated with a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the rate of weight gain and a reduction in mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and red cell distribution width. It was also observed that the inhalation of gasoline was associated with changes in the nuclei of megakaryocytes, hence causing an increase in the percentage of abnormal megakaryocytes with detached nuclei, hypo-lobulation and/or disintegration. However, the inhalation of gasoline did not cause significant changes in oxidative markers in the erythrocytes. Conclusion: This study shows that 11 weeks of inhaling RON95 petrol vapours caused adverse effects on weight gain, blood cell indices and bone marrow megakaryocytes, but did not cause significant changes in oxidative markers in erythrocytes. The definitive effects of these changes on health require further confirmation.

Introduction: Acne vulgaris is a common skin disease that affects people all over the world. One of the main pathogenesis of acne is Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) proliferation. Propolis has long been used in folk medicine as a natural remedy. Its antimicrobial properties have all been studied extensively. However, there have been few studies on its use in acne. Thus, the goal of this study was to assess the antimicrobial potential of ethanolic (EEP) and water extracts (WEP) of Malaysian Apis mellifera propolis against P. acnes. Methods: Propolis samples were collected from Acacia mangium apiary from northern and southern regions of Peninsular Malaysia. The propolis extracts were screened for antimicrobial activity against P. acnes using an agar well diffusion assay. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extracts were determined using a resazurin broth microdilution assay. Results: The antimicrobial screening demonstrated all extracts had antimicrobial activity against P. acnes. The inhibition zones at concentration 20 mg/ml were in the range of 16 mm to 24 mm which was greater than positive control (10% benzoyl peroxide) (15 mm). The EEP from northern region showed the lowest MIC values (0.32 µg/ml), followed by EEP from southern region (0.63 µg/ml), WEP from southern region (625 µg/ml) and WEP from northern region (2500 µg/ml). Conclusion: The Malaysian EEP demonstrated promising antimicrobial properties against P. acnes. Further study is needed to determine the active constituents and their possible inhibitory mechanisms against P. acnes.