Statistic challenges in pharmacy education

The graduate programs in pharmacy education are designed to prepare students for teaching and research careers in academia, for pharmaceutical industry, for drugs controlling agencies and research institutes. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the necessity of including basic knowledge on statistic techniques in education of students from pharmaceutical faculties. Some practical examples of using statistics in quality control, particularly in validation of analytical procedures, will demonstrate the application of statistics in pharmaceutical analysis. The debate stays open concerning the optimal range of statistical methods, included in education programs. It is intended that the pharmacists after graduation will be capable to apply regulatory guidance documents, to develop statistical thinking within the pharmaceutical industry, to validate analytical procedures. Students are expected to use statistics in all pharmaceutical disciplines including medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutics

In vitro assessment of manganese bioavailability from Hibiscus sabdariffa (Karkade) tea

Karkade tea may be a rich dietary source of Mn, since the dried hibiscus calyces contain 300-950 mg/kg of this essential element. The soluble elemental content was between 55% and 85% in dependence on the plant origin and on the tea preparation procedure (temperature, leaching duration). The potential bioavailability of dissolved Mn was studied using chemical fractionation including ion exchange, liquid phase extraction and selective precipitation. Flame atomic absorption spectrometry was applied for element determination in all fractions. The main part of Mn (>90%) presents in fresh prepared tea as positively charged species with low molecular weight (free cation or labile complexes) considered as potentially bioassimilable. In vitro assessment of manganese bioaccessibility was performed using sequential enzymatic simulation of gastro-intestinal digestion in combination with operational fractionation. Under simulated intestinal conditions the bioaccessible fraction of Mn was approximative 40% from its total content. Daily drinking of 200 ml karkade tea will contribute around 9 % of RDA/RDI of this element in a potentially bioaccessible form.The bioavailability of Mn from hibiscus infusions was compared with that of other major and trace essential elements. The percentages of low molecular weight and potentially more bioabsorbable forms of elements following simulated gastro-intestinal digestion were around 35% (Ca), 83% (Cu), 44% (Fe), 55% (Mg), 90% (K), 85% (Zn) from their total dissolved content

A New Approach for Determination of the Botanical Origin of Monofloral Bee Honey, Combining Mineral Content, Physicochemical Parameters, and Self-Organizing Maps

A new approach for the botanical origin determination of monofloral bee honey is developed. The methodology combines mineral content and physicochemical parameters determination with intelligent statistics such as self-organizing maps (SOMs). A total of 62 monofloral bee honey samples were analysed, including 31 linden, 14 rapeseed, 13 sunflower, and 4 acacia. All of them were harvested in 2018 and 2019 from trusted beekeepers, after confirming their botanical origin, using melissopalynological analysis. Nine physicochemical parameters were determined, including colour, water content, pH, electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, diastase activity, specific optical rotation, invertase activity, and proline. The content of thirty chemical elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, In, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Se, Sr, Te, V, and Zn) was measured using ICP-OES, ICP-MS, and FAAS as instrumental techniques. The visualisation of the SOMs shows an excellent separation of honey samples in five well-defined clusters—linden, rapeseed, acacia, sunflower, and polyfloral honey—using the following set of 16 descriptors: diastase activity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, invertase activity, pH, specific optical rotation, water content, Al, B, Cr, Cs, K, Na, Ni, Rb, V, and Zn

Scientific and Practical Conference "Challenges in the Education of Masters of Pharmacy"

Th conference is organised with the fiancial support of European Social Fund within the Project BG051PO001-3.1.07-0046 `Updating and approbation of the curricula of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Varna according to the needs of the pharmaceutical business and the requirements of the labor market