Effect of Apium Graveolens (Celery) Seed Extract on Serum Uric Acid Level of Hyperuricemic Rats and its Comparison with Allopurinol

Background: Plant derived medicines are widely used in traditional culture all over the world. Objectives: To determine the effect of Celery Seed Extract (CSE) on uric acid levels in hyperuricemic rats and to compare the effect of allopurinol and CSE. Methods: It was an animal experimental research study. Group A served as negative control whereas Group B served as positive control. CSE was given orally to three groups of rats (C, D, and E). One hour prior to administration of CSE; potassium oxonate was injected intraperitoneally in all groups except negative control to induce hyperuricemia. Similarly, group F was given allopurinol one hour after injection of potassium oxonate. Blood samples were collected for uric acid estimation. Results: It was found that administration of both CSE (group C, D, E) and allopurinol (group F) significantly lowered serum uric acid levels (p<0.001) as compared to positive control (group B). Serum uric acid lowering effect of both drugs CSE and allopurinol was found to be statistically significant on day 3rd and day 7th and was almost comparable. Conclusions: Celery seed extract significantly reduces serum uric acid levels in potassium oxonate-induced hyperuricemic rats and its uric acid lowering effect was comparable with that of allopurinol.

Determinants of Export Performance: A Comparative Study of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi Textile Sectors

The Pakistani textile industry is contributing 8.5% to the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generating nearly 40% of employment in Pakistan. The country is earning more than 50% of its export revenue from the textile industry, but the performance of the Pakistani textile industry in the international market is not impressive. The Pakistani textile industry has not experienced significant export growth since the last decade. Pakistani textile exports faced a decline of 3% in 2014, and exports further decreased to 8% in 2015 (WTO, 2016). Moreover, all commodities faced the worst decline in 2015-16, except ready-made garments (WTO, 2016). The Pakistani government had taken aggressive steps to improve the industry, but unfortunately got no fruitful results. Despite of having similar nature of strength and opportunities, firms experience different level of export performances. Some firms focus on their internal capabilities and resources to achieve high export performance while other emphasize on external opportunities. This research has made a comprehensive attempt to considered both internal and external determinants of export performance based on the Industrial Organisation view (I/O view) and the Resource-Based view (RBV). The I/O view explains the important determinants of export performance across industries and focuses on the characteristics of industry while RBV proposes that a firm should focus on its unique internal resources to achieve high export performance. Every firm has its own unique capabilities but unique capabilities of firm are useless until they earn high export performance. So, explore unique internal capabilities (RBV) of firm and keep modifying with the external environment (I/O View). The foundation for the export performance construct is found in the marketing literature. The critical literature on export performance marketing concept is reviewed through RBV and I/O View to provide the appropriate conceptual and theoretical basis for the study. The research use the survey method, field survey and online survey. Data were collected from the three countries including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Pakistan Bangladesh and India were considered because they are similar in different aspects. For example, they are categorised as developing countries, having the same weather conditions, sharing almost similar culture and importantly, having a textile industry that plays a significant role in their economies. Export performances of the three countries were compared across different internal and external determinants of export performance. A field survey was used to collect data from Pakistani textile firms and an online survey was used to collect data from Bangladeshi and Indian textile firms. The population frame for the field survey included all firms engaged in exports of textiles listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of India and Dhaka Stock Exchange. Questionnaires were used to collect responses from the senior managers and heads of operations and chief executive officers of selected firms. Financial data of firms, export figures and data for other external factors like exchange rates, economic stability and cost to export were taken from the PSX, NSE, DSE, WTO, and World Bank‟s websites. A Linear Regression model was used for cross-sectional data, Panel Regression models were used for panel data and One-Way ANOVA was used to make comparisons of internal and external factors among the three countries, including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Moreover, an exploratory factor analysis of the baseline questionnaire responses was conducted. To address the first objective of the study, a Multiple Regression model was used to identify the key internal determinants of firms‟ export performance based on the RBV. The study showed that marketing capabilities, competitive advantage, ISO certification, research and development, manufacturing flexibility capabilities, relation with suppliers, quality control capabilities, IT resources and capabilities, perceived export motivation of the management and management‟s perceived export advantage have a significant positive effect on export performance of firms, while human resources capabilities, innovation capabilities and international experience of management have an insignificant effect on export performance. To address the second objective of the study, a pool regression model was used to identify the key external determinants of the industry‟s export performance based on the I/O view. Findings showed that currency exchange rates, cost to export, time to export, political stability of country, quality of infrastructure in country, freedom from corruption, business cost of terrorism and economic stability in a country significantly affect the export performance of the industry, while taxes on doing business have an insignificant effect on export performance. To address the third objective of the study, a Multiple Regression model was used to identify the key external determinants of firms‟ export performance based on the I/O view. The study showed that all the external determinants of firms‟ export performance, including management‟s perceived export barriers, perceived government support given to industry, management‟s perceived export risk and perceived uncertainty of competitive environment, have a significant effect on export performance of firms. To address the fourth objective of the study, a One-Way ANOVA model was used to compare the internal determinants of export performance based on the RBV among the textile firms of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The results showed that the marketing capabilities, human resources capabilities, research and development, innovation capabilities, international experience of management competitive advantage, ISO certification, manufacturing flexibility capabilities, relation with suppliers, IT resources and capabilities, perceived export motivation of the management and management‟s perceived export advantage are significantly different among Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani textile firms, while only quality control capabilities are significantly similar among the three countries. To address the fifth objective of the study, the SUEST test was used to identify the difference in export performance of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi firms due to differences in the level of firms‟ internal capabilities. The results showed that higher level of marketing capabilities, R&D capabilities, competitive advantage, ISO certification, relation with suppliers, IT resources and capabilities, perceived export motivation of the management and management‟s perceived export advantage leads to the high export performance of the firms, while higher level of HR capabilities, innovation capabilities and international experience of management do not lead to high export performance. To address the sixth objective of the study, a One-Way ANOVA model was used to compare the external determinants of export performance based on the I/O view among the textile industry (and firms) of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The results show that the currency exchange rates, cost to export, time to export, political stability of country, quality of infrastructure in country, freedom from corruption, business cost of terrorism, economic stability in country, taxes on doing business, management‟s perceived export barriers, perceived government support given to industry, management‟s perceived export risk and perceived uncertainty of competitive environment are significantly different among the Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani textile industry. To address the seventh objective of the study, the SUEST test was used to identify the difference in export performance of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi firms due to difference in the level of external determinants of export performance. The results show that higher level of time to export, management‟s perceived export barriers, perceived uncertainty of competitive environment, taxes on doing business and business cost of terrorism lead to low export performance, while higher level of currency exchange rates, political stability of country, quality of infrastructure in country, freedom from corruption, economic stability in country, perceived government support given to industry lead to high export performance. Further, higher level of cost to export and management‟s perceived export risk do not lead to low export performance. This research provides value for government and policy makers. Public policy makers view exporting as a means to accumulate foreign exchange reserves, increase employment, enhance societal prosperity and improve national performance. The study provides practical suggestions to business managers and practitioners of textile firms. It also contributes to the ongoing academic debate and research on the topical concept of export performance and export-led growth. This study contributes to development of a holistic model approach to identify the factors that have impact on export performance. This study is among few attempts to propose a novel model based on both the RBV and the I/O view and to propose a holistic model approach to identify key determinants in the textile industry. In the previous literature, both RBV and I/O were considered as opposing views but this research has provided a new theoretical aspect by combining both in a single model. This research is among few works which compared the determinants of export performance among textile industries of different countries. Also, an effort was made to compare the RBV and the I/O view in the context of the textile industry." xml:lang="en_US