Tannis Jurgens

Dalhousie University | Dal · College of Pharmacy

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of bioidentical progesterone cream in the treatment of menopause-related vasomotor symptoms. Data sources: A systematic search (from time of inception to September 2012) of PubMed, EMBASE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding, Cochrane, and CINAHL was cond...

Preparations of green tea are used as aids in weight loss and weight maintenance. Catechins and caffeine, both contained in green tea, are each believed to have a role in increasing energy metabolism, which may lead to weight loss. A number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the role of green tea in weight loss have been published; h...

Objectives: To investigate Nova Scotia (NS) pharmacists´ knowledge and beliefs regarding the use of bioidentical hormones (BHs) for the management of menopause related symptoms. Methods: Using Dillman´s tailored design methodology, an invitation to complete the web-based questionnaire was emailed to pharmacists in NS as part of the Dalhousie Colleg...

To investigate Nova Scotia (NS) pharmacists' knowledge and beliefs regarding the use of bioidentical hormones (BHs) for the management of menopause related symptoms. Using Dillman's tailored design methodology, an invitation to complete the web-based questionnaire was emailed to pharmacists in NS as part of the Dalhousie College of Pharmacy Continu...

Unlabelled: In the last decade, the use of bioidentical hormones (BHs) to treat menopause-related symptoms has become increasingly popular. However, the many different definitions of BHs have led to a great deal of confusion often making it difficult for health care providers to discuss this area with patients. Objective: The purpose of this pap...

Increasing rates of adult obesity and its negative health consequences are likely to become an increasing burden to the Canadian health care system. Consumers are looking for treatment options and often try the natural health products that are heavily promoted as safe, fast and effective. In this case report, MH, a 57-year-old overweight female wan...

To reach consensus on core competency statements for natural health products (NHPs) for Canadian pharmacy students. Four rounds of a modified Delphi method were used to achieve consensus on core competency statements for NHPs. Pharmacy educators from Canada and the United States, and representatives from Canadian pharmacy organizations ranked their...

As many women experiencing symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) seek relief from natural products (NP), health care providers should have quality information available to aid women in making evidence-based decisions regarding use of these products. To identify herbs, vitamins and minerals advocated for the treatment of PMS and/or PMDD and to sys...

With Canadians increasing their use of the Internet to find health-related information, especially regarding natural health products (NHPs), there is a need for high-quality, evidence-based information on Web sites to aid consumers in making informed decisions regarding the appropriate and safe use of NHPs. To determine the quality of Web sites tha...

The efficacy of natural products (NPs) is being evaluated using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with increasing frequency, yet a search of the literature did not identify a widely accepted critical appraisal instrument developed specifically for use with NPs. The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate a critical appraisal instrumen...

Appendix B. User's Guide for Dalhousie Assessment Instrument for Critical Appraisal of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) of Natural Products (NPs).

Appendix A. Final version of new assessment instrument developed for the critical appraisal of RCTs of NPs.

To determine fourth-year Canadian pharmacy students' knowledge of herbal medicine and whether that knowledge is associated with mandatory instruction in herbal medicine. Standardized multiple-choice tests assessing students' herbal knowledge were distributed to all fourth-year BSc pharmacy students at 5 pharmacy schools in Canada. The Quebec respon...

Natural health products (NHPs) such as herbs, vitamins and homeopathic medicines, are currently available for sale in most Canadian pharmacies. However, most pharmacists report that they have limited knowledge about these products which have been regulated in Canada as a specific sub-category of drugs. In this paper, consumers' and practicing pharm...

The purpose of this project was to conduct a systematic review to identify instruments designed to evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of natural health products (NHPs). Instruments were examined for inclusion of items assessing methods, identity and content of the NHP, generalizability of results and instructions for use. O...

Objective: Although natural health products (NHPs) are widely sold in pharmacies, the professional responsibilities of pharmacists with respect to these products have not been well defined. This study addressed the question: what are the pharmacist and consumer perspectives on the professional responsibilities of pharmacists with respect to NHPs?

This article reviews the body of work aimed at elucidating the mechanisms of action by which natural products of plant origin exert a vasodilatory effect at the level of the vasculature. The search was restricted to 4 mechanisms: the nitric oxide system and (or) reactive oxygen species, the eicosanoid system, potassium channel function, and calcium...

The root of Heracleum maximum Bartr. (Umbelliferae), known to possess direct antifungal and anti-mycobacterial properties, has been reported anecdotally to possess antiviral properties. It was therefore hypothesized that the plant may have immunostimulant properties. This hypothesis was tested using a macrophage activation assay to evaluate the abi...

Consumers are increasingly looking to natural health products to manage specific diseases such as osteoporosis. As a result, healthcare providers need evidence-based information on which to base recommendations regarding use and efficacy. To identify natural health products (NHPs, ie, dietary supplements) advocated for the prevention and treatment...

To review the scientific literature to identify reports of the effects of natural health products (NHPs) on blood pressure. Electronic databases (MEDLINE [1965-May 2004] via PubMed, the Cochrane Library [1995-May 2004], International Pharmaceutical Abstracts [1970-May 2004], Iowa Drug Information Services [1965-May 2004]) were searched using the ke...

We have identified a novel nonsteroidal ecdysteroid agonist. This compound was isolated from a methanol extract of Ajuga reptans L. (Lamiaceae) and the structure was identified by spectroscopic methods as 8-O-acetylharpagide. We have characterised this compound as an ecdysteroid agonist in a transactivation assay using beta-galactosidase as the rep...

Curcuma comosa is a member of the economically important plant family, Zingiberaceae. A methanolic extract of C. comosa was shown to be nematocidal when tested against the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Five diphenylheptanoids [1-5], one new and four known, have been isolated and shown to be responsible for the activity. This is the f...

Microbial metabolism studies of crisnatol (1), a new DNA intercalator, has resulted in the isolation and characterization of a major metabolite identified as the C-1 hydroxylated crisnatol (2). The structure of the metabolite was established by comparison of its spectral data to that of crisnatol. Complete 13C-NMR assignments for crisnatol and its...

1. A total of 114 microorganisms were evaluated for their ability to metabolize the antifungal drimane sesquiterpene, muzigadial. 2. Cryptococcus neoformans was found to convert muzigadial to one major metabolite, identified as a hemiacetal. 3. Streptomyces platensis produced three metabolites: the hemiacetal, its corresponding lactone, and the epo...

The juice of freshly macerated unripe hulls of the black walnut (Juglans nigra) has been used for many years in folk medicine as a treatment for localized, topical fungal infections such as ringworm. It has been proposed that the biological activity of the walnut hulls is due to the presence of the simple naphthoquinone, juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naph...

Methyl p-coumarate has been isolated from the roots and stems of Comptonia peregrina, a plant used by North American Indians, settlers and herbalists to treat a variety of skin conditions. Pharmacological testing has proven this compound to be cytotoxic.