A QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE LABELING INFORMATION OF COLLAGEN-CONTAINING FOOD SUPPLEMENTS

The use of collagen dietary supplements (CDS) has increased dramatically, creating a large market for these products. With so many options available, it is important for consumers and medical professionals to be well-informed about the composition of these supplements. The aim of this study was to compare the information provided on the labels of CDS with science-based literature. The study conducted an electronic search of randomized, double-blind, control, and pilot studies, which all evaluated the use of oral native or hydrolyzed CDS. All studies were searched in PubMed, and had to be published in English between 2009-2022, August in PubMed. After the initial search, 33 were used for analysis. These studies were then compared to 147 CDS labels registered with the Food Veterinary Service (FVS) in Latvia. The results showed that while studies confirm the benefits of CDS for health, the labels registered in FVS often lack important information about the collagen source, dosage, and duration of use. This results in a significant frequency of errors and potential misuse compared to current scientific knowledge. This makes it challenging for consumers and medical professionals to make informed decisions when purchasing and using collagen supplements

CREATING A PROTOTYPE OF AN INTERACTIVE LEARNING GAME IN MOLECULAR AND CELL BIOLOGY

At the beginning of medical studies at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU), students’ knowledge and skills differ widely. In the first semester, students must take a course, “Molecular and Cell Biology.” In many cases, problems in students’ abilities to absorb new information of this new, specific nature are evident. The reason for this is insufficient prior preparation. On average, 3-4 % of students failed this course each academic year. After focus group discussions and interviews with colleagues and leading specialists in information technologies, we concluded the need to create an interactive and pedagogically correct tool for improving students` competence in molecular and cell biology; one such tool could be an interactive learning game. This article describes the process of creating a learning game prototype in molecular and cellular biology. With the help of selected RSU students, a prototype was created. The involvement of students proved beneficial for them (improving understanding of the topics) and for us (clarifying students’ preferences for the game’s design).The learning game was tested with a target group (1st-semester students from the Medicine and Dentistry faculties of RSU). Initial feedback from the students and teachers certifies that this example is an opportunity to provide a desired, low-stress self-paced learning resource. 

Antibacterial effects of oak bark (Quercus robur) and heather herb (Calluna vulgaris L.) extracts against the causative bacteria of bovine mastitis

Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 857287. Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 857287. Publisher Copyright: © ukele, et al. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background and Aim: Bovine mastitis has a negative impact on animals, and improper antibiotic use has caused an increase in bacterial resistance. Therefore, medicinal plants could serve as an alternative treatment for this condition. Polyphenols have potential as antibiotic agents. Oak bark has long been used as a medicine and has shown antibacterial effects. Moreover, research on heather plant demonstrated that it has antibacterial properties. This study aimed to assess the antibacterial effects of oak (Quercus robur) bark and heather (Calluna vulgaris L.) herb extracts against common bovine mastitis pathogens. Materials and Methods: Dried oak bark and heather herb were used to prepare extracts using 30%, 50%, and 70% ethanol and acetone as solvents. Their polyphenol content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Bovine mastitis-inducing clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Serratia liquefaciens, Staphylococcus aureus, and reference cultures of S. aureus and E. coli were used for antibacterial tests. All extracts were screened through a disk diffusion test to ascertain their antibacterial effects, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined for the most effective extracts. Results: Oak bark extracts had variable antibacterial effects against S. aureus and Streptococcus strains, but no statistically significant difference was observed in activity against E. coli. The disk diffusion test showed that the oak bark extracts obtained using acetone and ethanol at 30% yielded the best results. However, the 70% acetone oak extract alone affected all types of bacteria. Further antibacterial tests of 70% acetone and 30% ethanol oak extracts revealed that the lowest MIC and MBC scores were against S. aureus strains and E. coli reference cultures. Conversely, the heather herb extracts exhibited broader activity against all types of bacteria, although better results were observed against Gram-positive bacteria. There was also a negative correlation between solvent concentration and antibacterial effect (p < 0.05, r = −0.507). The highest inhibition zone scores and broadest spectrum were observed in samples prepared in 30% ethanol. There was no statistically significant correlation between the phenolic content of plants and their antibacterial effects. Conclusion: Oak bark and heather extracts could be used as potential antibacterial agents against bovine mastitis pathogens.publishersversionPeer reviewe

PHARMACEUTICAL CARE AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS

Nowadays, the provision of pharmaceutical care and effective communication with customers are being discussed more often. A pharmacist is a specialist in his field with specific knowledge in the field of pharmacy. Therefore, the trust from the customer’s side and a kind, informative, and professional approach from the pharmacist’s side are very important in this case. Objective: To clarify what knowledge do the pharmacy customers have about pharmaceutical care and how satisfied they are with the pharmaceutical care services. The research was conducted using a quantitative survey, the statistical analysis of the obtained data was carried out using data processing software Microsoft Office Excel 2010, 267 respondents from various regions of Latvia were surveyed. Only 37% of respondents understand meaning of pharmaceutical care. This means that most of the customers are unaware of the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacist. Most of the respondents associate pharmaceutical care with medication dispense, consultation and good customer service. It would be necessary to inform society about pharmaceutical care and its importance in healthcare. Conclusions: The hypothesis put forward in the thesis confirms that society needs to be informed about pharmaceutical care, and pharmacist duties and responsibilities.

REASONS TO DEVELOPMENT OF ASSISTANT PHARMACISTS’ COMPETENCES FOR QUALITY PATIENT CONSULTING IN POLYPHARMACY CASES

Over fifteen years, polypharmacy has increased by 4.9% across all age groups. Consequently, the responsibility of professionals for advising patients in such cases has increased as well. The research aims at studying patients' habits when purchasing and using medicinal products to enhance the theoretical and practical training of assistant pharmacists at the RSU Red Cross Medical College. The research is based on the patient questionnaires and further analysis of results within a focus group. 404 respondents were interviewed between December 2017 and November 2019. Under the conventions of social studies, this ensured a 3% margin of error at a confidence level of 5%. According to the results of the questionnaire, 44% of the surveyed women and 66% of men were rarely or very rarely interested in the possible side effects of a new medicinal products, food supplement or herbal product. Patients could obtain such information by reading the package leaflet, however, 24% of women and 40% of men read it very rarely or rarely. 30% of respondents used four or more prescription and over-the-counter medical substances on a daily basis. The information-gaining habits of the population regarding side effects and interactions of medicinal products, food supplements and herbal remedies suggest patients must receive oral and more detailed information from a pharmacist. Based on the obtained results, the focus group outlined opportunities for raising pharmacy students' competences.

Antibacterial Activity of Tanacetum vulgare L. Extracts against Clinical Isolates of Bovine Mastitis

Funding Information: This research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the grant agreement No 857287 and this research is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Support Service Republic of Latvia with the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development—Development of herbal plant containing medical extracts with anti-parasitic effect No 18-00-A01620-000028. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.A bovine mastitis is an infectious disease, which is usually treated with antibiotics. Alternatively, herbal medicine has been proposed due to bacterial resistance. The aim of this study was to determine the antibacterial activity of the acetonic and ethanolic extracts of dried flowers and leaves of Tanacetum vulgare L. against bovine mastitis-inducing clinical isolates such as Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Serratia liquefaciens, Staphylococcus aureus, and reference cultures of S. aureus and E. coli. The extracts of T. vulgare showed partial antibacterial activity against tested strains of S. aureus. The MIC and MBC values of a 70% ethanol extract of flowers (MIC = 3.4 mg/mL, MBC = 3.4–6.8 mg/mL) were lower than for the 70% ethanol extract of leaves (MIC = 15.7–31.4 mg/mL, MBC = 62.9–125.9 mg/mL). The flower extracts showed low activity against E. coli (MIC = 53.9 mg/mL, MBC = 53.9–107.8 mg/mL) and S. agalactiae (MIC, MBC = 53.9 mg/mL). T. vulgare leaf extracts had minimal antibacterial effects against Streptococcus strains (MIC = 31.4–62.9 mg/mL, MBC = 53.9–125.9 mg/mL) and Serratia liquefaciens (MIC, MBC = 125.9 mg/mL). However, flower extracts had a higher phenolic content that did not correlate with antibacterial effects. T. vulgare flower and leaf extracts could be combined to obtain broader antibacterial effects.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Chemical Profiling and Antioxidant Activity of Tanacetum vulgare L. Wild-Growing in Latvia

Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 857287 and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development—development of the medication form from the extract of the leaves of the Latvian traditional medicinal plant tansy and its impact on the sheep digestive tract microbiome and antiparasitic control (22-00-A01612-000007). The project is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Support Service Republic of Latvia, project no: 22-00-A01612-000007. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.The Tanacetum vulgare L. (Tansy) has several ethnobotanical uses, mostly related to the essential oil and sesquiterpene lactones, whereas information regarding other compounds is scarce. This research is designed to characterize the phenolic compounds (flavonoids, phenolic acids, and tannins) to analyze the thujone (which is toxic in high concentrations) content and to detect the antioxidant activity (DPPH assay) of extracts. The main highlights of our work provide a chemical profile of phenolic compounds of T. vulgare harvested from different regions of Latvia, as well as simultaneously support the ethnomedicinal uses for wild T. vulgare through the integration of phenolic compounds as one of the value constituents of leaves and flowers. The extraction yield was 18 to 20% for leaves and 8 to 16% for flowers. The total phenol content in the extracts of T. vulgare as well as their antioxidant activity was different between collection regions and the aerial parts ranging from 134 to 218 mg GAE/g and 32 to 182 mg L−1, respectively. A remarkable variation in the thujone (α + β) content (0.4% up to 6%) was detected in the extracts. T. vulgare leaf extracts were rich in tannins (up to 19%). According to the parameters detected, the extracts of T. vulgare could be considered promising for the development of new herbal products.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Traditional Latvian herbal medicinal plants used to treat parasite infections of small ruminants: A review

Numerous treatment agents offering prophylaxis against livestock parasites are commercially available. However, because of increasing antiparasitic drug resistance, the increased popularity of environmentally friendly lifestyle choices, and organic farming, there is more demand for new alternatives to livestock anthelmintic control strategies and medications. It is important to develop antiparasitics that are safe, effective, inexpensive, and environmentally safe. Local, traditional herbal plants such as tansy, mugwort, wormwood, and heather may serve as treatments for intestinal parasites of sheep. This overview provides knowledge of traditional Latvian plants with antiparasitic activities to establish a database for further research to develop new herbal antiparasitic drugs