Vigorous research has been conducted into the phenology of the shea tree, its usage and that of the shea butter extracted from the nuts of the shea fruit. Shea butter is the most valuable product in the Shea tree and its use as raw or in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products was expanded in the last years. The aim was to carry out comparative study between imported South African raw Shea Butter, one sample from Poland and samples from Libyan market on their physical properties (organoleptic), thin layer chromatography (TLC) chromatogram, phytochemical screening and diphenylpicrylhydrazil (DPPH) scavenging activity. As well as antimicrobial screening. Organoleptic test was carried out by comparing color and odor. TLC chromatogram was performed by spotting solution of samples in hexane on TLC plate and eluted twice in hexane: ethylacetate 8:2 to get good separation. Phytochemical screening was performed to determine the presence of carbohydrates (Fehling test), steroids, and triterpens (Salkwiski test). DPPH assay was carried out by spraying TLC sample spots by 0.2% DPPH methanolic solution. Antimicrobial test was conducted on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Mueller-Hinton agar was used with ciprofolxacin as +ve control and DMSO as–ve control. As a result, Shea Butter samples showed wide diversity in color and odor which considered normal except two white samples that might undergo refining process, while spreadability and TLC chromatograms were similar. Samples and control showed presence of carbohydrates, steroids and triterpens. Control and samples had DPPH scavenging activity. Shea Butter control and samples had no antimicrobial activities against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. arabic 17 English 111
Sakina Salem Saadawi, Khairi Ali Alennabi, Hanin Nafed Mughrbi, Kholoud Lotfi, Nesrin Saleh Ali Abdulnabi(4-2020)

The antibacterial activity of peppermint oil and different extracts of Mentha piperita against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains was evaluated in the present research work by agar well diffusion method. It was found that the distilled concentrations of essential oil inhibited the growth of microorganisms and the results were comparable with those of antibiotic gentamycin. Essential oils showed a wider spectrum of activity but less strong inhibition as compared to the investigated commercial antibiotic. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for the bacterial species ranged from 0.4% to 0.7% v/v. The oil and extracts also exhibited significant antioxidant activity and the oil showed about half potency when compared to the standard BHT. These results indicated the strong antibacterial and antioxidant activities of peppermint oil but additional investigations need to be performed in order to confirm the safety of these concentrations (MIC) for human consumption. Peppermint oil could be used as a good conservation agent by inhibiting some food borne pathogens. arabic 8 English 54
Rajinder Singh, Muftah A. Shushni, Asma Belkheir(5-2015)

Medication error reporting (MER) is an effective way used to identify the causes of Medication Errors (MEs) and to prevent repeating them in future. The underreporting of MEs is a challenge generally in all MER systems. The current research aimed to explore nurses’ knowledge on MER by determining their attitudes towards reporting and studying the implicated barriers and facilitators. A total of 23 nurses were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The saturation point was attained after 21 interviews. All the interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Four major themes and 17 sub-themes were identified. Almost all the interviewees were aware about the existence of the MER system. They showed a positive attitude towards MER. The main barriers for MER were the impacts of time and workload, fear of investigation, impacts on the job, and negative reactions from the person in charge. The nurses were knowledgeable about MER but there was uncertainty towards reporting harmless MEs, thus indicating the need for an educational program to highlight the benefits of near-miss reporting. To improve participation strategies, a blameless reporting culture, reporting anonymously, and a simplified MER process should be considered. arabic 26 English 137
Eman Ali M. Dyab(11-2018)