Abstract Background This paper aims to assess the impact of antibiotic therapy management by clinical pharmacists on rational drug use (RDU) in the perioperative period of patients receiving retinal detachment surgery in China from the perspective of prescription structure. Methods: In this study, a retrospective study was used to compare the differences in the RDU between 233 patients (the experimental group) receiving medical treatment and 210 patients (the control group) without clinical pharmacist intervention. The data were collected with a set of indicators adjusted from the core medication use indicator proposed by the World Health Organization and the International Network of Rational Use of Drugs according to the background of China. Results: There were significant differences in average number of drugs per prescription (19.7 and 20.8, P = 0.001), percentage of drugs on the reimbursable list (98.32% and 72.4%, P = 0.003), and average treatment expenditure per prescription (555.3 yuan and 707 yuan) between the experimental group and the controlled group, while average number of antibiotics per prescription (4.2 and 4.3, P = 0.114), average number of injections per prescription (12.02 to 11.96, P = 0.804) were not changed significantly. Conclusions: More efforts are needed to improve the effectiveness of the antibiotic therapy management by clinical pharmacist on rational drug use, meanwhile the objective of cost-saving should be included in the service pattern of clinical pharmacy services.

Abstract Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was used to extract procyanidins (PC) from the perilla seed hull. Four independent variables, namely, liquid-to-solid ratio, ethanol concentration, UAE time, and UAE temperature were investigated. Response surface methodology was performed on the basis of results of single-factor tests. The optimal conditions for PC extraction were as follows: a liquid-to-solid ratio of 15:1, an ethanol concentration of 62%, a UAE time of 29 min, and a UAE temperature of 53 °C. Under these conditions, the experimental yield of PC was 2.185 mg/g (n = 3), which is correlated with the predicted value of 2.2 mg/g. The extracted and purified PC showed excellent antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl, and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radicals in vitro.

pH-Zone-refining counter-current chromatography (PZRCCC) was successfully used for preparative separation isoquinoline alkaloids from Phellodendri Cortex. Two target compounds of berberine and palmatine were completely resolved by a two-phase solvent system chloroform/methanol/water (4:2:2, v/v), with 10 mmol L-1 HCl in upper stationary phase and 10 mmol L-1 TEA in lower organic phase. From 2.0 g of the crude alkaloids, palmatine (448 mg, 95.1%) and berberine (159 mg, 95.4%) were obtained in one-step PZRCCC separation. The chemical structures were identified by ESI-MS and NMR data. The results indicated that PZRCCC separation is an excellent preparative separation method for isoquinoline alkaloids from Phellodendri Cortex.

Abstract Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of functional components from perilla leaves. The factors investigated were ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, and extraction time. The results revealed that ethanol concentration had significant effects on all extraction parameters. Based on the RSM results, the optimal conditions were an ethanol concentration of 56%, a UAE temperature of 54 °C, and a UAE time of 55 min. Under these conditions, the experimental TPC (total phenolic content), RA (rosmarinic acid), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) values were 48.85 mg GAE/g DW (mg gallic acid equivalent /g of dry weight), 31.02 mg/g DW, 85.55 μmol Fe2+/g DW and 73.35%, respectively. The experimental values were in agreement with those predicted by RSM models, confirming suitability of the model employed and the success of RSM for optimization of the extraction conditions.