BACKGOUND: Labisia pumila (LP) is a popular herb used by women over the past few decades. This herb has shown potentials as an alternative agent for treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. It was observed in previous studies that supplementation to ovariectomized rats were associated with increased bone antioxidative enzymes and reduced lipid peroxidation activity. It had also improved bone formation markers in ovariectomized rats. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of giving different forms of LP extracts on the trabecular bone microarchitecture of ovariectomised rats. METHODS: Forty-eight female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham-operated (Sham), ovariectomized control (OVX), ovariectomized and given estrogen at 64.5 ?g/kg (ERT), ovariectomized and given LP aqueous extract (LPaq), LP methanol extract (LPmet) and LP ethanol extract (LPet) at 100mg/kg, respectively. Treatments were given daily via oral gavages for nine weeks. Following sacrifice, femora were dissected out for bone microarchitectural analysis using an in vitro micro-CT, which provided three dimensional informations on bone microarchitecture. RESULTS: LPaq was the most effective extract found to improve the bone microarchitectural paramaters which comprised ofBone volume fraction (BV/TV), Trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), Trabecular number (Tb.N), Connective density (Conn.dens), Structure model index (SMI) and Degree of anisotropy (DA). CONCLUSION: LPaq was effective in protecting the bone of postmenopausal osteoporosis rat model against microarchitectural deterioration. � 2017 - IOS Press and the authors.

Studies assessing the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the general population are still insufficient in literature. This study aimed to assess the baseline levels of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the adult population in Malaysian urban area towards NCDs. A thoroughly designed and validated KAP questionnaire was administered, and the responses were coded and analysed. The survey involved 207 respondents from the urban area of Ampangan, Negeri Sembilan with an average age of respondents is 53.52 ± 17.86 years. Seventy-six (36.7%) were male and 131 (63.3%) were female. Majority of the respondents had good knowledge (81.2%) and attitude (53.1%) towards NCDs. However, only 8.7% of the respondents possess good practice while the majority had moderate (56.5%) practice score towards NCDs. Older age category of more than 40 years old had better knowledge scores compared to those below 40 years [median=25 (IqR=4) vs 23 (5), p=0.001]. Female respondents had higher attitude [25(7) vs 56 (6), p=0.025] and practice [5(2) vs 5(3), p=0.007] scores compared to male. Respondents with hypertension [25(4) vs 24(5), p=0.002] and diabetes mellitus [25(4) vs 24(4), p=0.014] had higher knowledge scores compared to non-disease respondents. The findings of this study depicted that respondents in the studied urban area had good knowledge and attitude towards NCDs. However, the practice was moderate. To overcome this problem, repeated reinforcement with health education will bring about a positive change in urban general population knowledge towards NCDs, especially in younger and non-disease population. 2018 Pharmascope Publications. All rights reserved.

The study evaluates the prevalence, knowledge, attitude, and practices of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among adult Orang Asli and Malay ethnicity in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. This cross-sectional study involving 634 respondents aged 18 years and above of Orang Asli (51.3%) and Malays (48.7%) from the rural villages. Structured interview questionnaire for disease history and KAP level conducted. Weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels then measured. Prevalence of NCDs was higher among Malays compared to Orang Asli with hypertension (35.0% vs 14.8%), hypercholesterolemia (31.1% vs 5.2%), and diabetes mellitus (16.2% vs 4.3%), respectively. Malays also had a higher percentage of being abdominal obese (70.6% vs 59.7%) and increased blood pressure (54.4% vs 29.8%). Multivariate analysis indicates hypercholesterolemia [OR=6.035 (95%CI: 3.150,11.561)], abdominal obesity [aOR= 1.807 (95%CI: 1.065, 3.067)], and increased in blood pressure [aOR= 2.359 (95%C1: 1.619,3.437)] have a significant relation with Malay ethnicity. For Orang Asli, 51.7% had poor knowledge, 72.3% had a good attitude, and 16.0% had a good practice. Knowledge and attitude scores were significantly less among Orang Asli with no significant difference for practice compared to the Malays. The prevalence of NCDs among the Malays is alarmingly high, with an increasing trend among Orang Asli, which needs immediate attention. The NCDs and obesity were significant among Malays but also showed a worrying trend in the Orang Asli as the good practice on a healthy life-style was low in both ethnicities. Thus, proper education and promotion regarding NCDs needed for diseases screening and prevention. 2020. All rights reserved.

Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is known to be effective as an anti-osteoporotic treatment for postmenopausal women but exerted many adverse effects. Ficus carica (FC) or fig is a fruit rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory sources that are believed to contribute to its potential as ERT alternative. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of FC supplementation on the trabecular microarchitecture of postmenopausal osteoporotic rat models. Fifty-six adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into groups of Sham-operated (Sham), ovariectomized control (OVX), ovariectomized with 64.5 ?g/kg estrogen Premarin (ERT), ovariectomized with 50 mg/kg aqueous extract of FC (FC50), ovariectomized with 100 mg/kg aqueous extract of FC (FC100), ovariectomized with 50 mg/kg raw extract of FC (RAW50) and ovariectomized with 100 mg/kg raw extract of FC (RAW100). The treatments were given daily via oral gavage for eight weeks. After the treatment, rats were euthanized and femora were dissected out for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) analysis. Trabecular structure of OVX femur showed significant osteoporotic deterioration in bone volume, trabecular separation, structural model index and connectivity density. ERT significantly reversed the osteoporotic-induced bone changes comparable to Sham level. RAW50 showed the best FC treatment in preserving bone microarchitecture. In conclusion, raw extraction of FC has high potential as an alternative against osteoporosis due to its high mineral contents and bioactive compounds.