It is important to share information about other countries' pharmacists to optimize cross-border medical cooperation. This paper examines the dispensing systems and the work done by pharmacists in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Thailand, and Malaysia so as to compare these countries' medical practices and develop a cohesive vision for the future of Japanese pharmacists. All five of the countries have dispensing assistants. Pharmacists in Japan have duties of inventory control, drug dispensing, and providing medication advice. In contrast, assistants working in other countries are responsible for some aspects of dispensing and inventory control, allowing the pharmacists to spend their time and competency in instructing patients on how to take their medication. Because of this, pharmacists were actively involved with health promotion intervention in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. It is hoped that work done by Japanese pharmacists would transition from primarily dispensing drugs to patient care, advice, and counseling to enrich overall health promotion and health/nutrition counseling.
In recent years, several developed countries reported on new multidisciplinary roles of pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, especially considering the former's expanding functions. This paper examines differences in pharmacists' and pharmacy assistants' professional roles and the dispensing system in Japan with those in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and the Philippines. A review of relevant literature was supplemented by interviews of dispensary staff at hospitals and community pharmacies in Malaysia and the Philippines. The UK, Philippines, and Malaysia had dispensing assistants who performed dispensing roles, while Japan did not. Although pharmacy assistants occasionally performed screening and dispensing inspections due to the lack of pharmacists, it is necessary for pharmacists participating in risk management to ensure formula optimization and monitoring. Pharmacists' contribution to medical care involves ensuring safety in drug therapy and overall medical services. Screening is the most fundamental and important function performed exclusively by pharmacists, thereby establishing their status within the medical system.
The current investigation evaluated the potential of proniosome as a carrier to enhance skin permeation and skin retention of a highly lipophilic compound, α-mangostin. α-Mangostin proniosomes were prepared using the coacervation phase seperation method. Upon hydration, α-mangostin loaded niosomes were characterized for size, polydispersity index (PDI), entrapment efficiency (EE) and ζ-potential. The in vitro permeation experiments with dermis-split Yucatan Micropig (YMP) skin revealed that proniosomes composed of Spans, soya lecithin and cholesterol were able to enhance the skin permeation of α-mangostin with a factor range from 1.8- to 8.0-fold as compared to the control suspension. Furthermore, incorporation of soya lecithin in the proniosomal formulation significantly enhanced the viable epidermis/dermis (VED) concentration of α-mangostin. All the proniosomal formulations (except for S20L) had significantly (p<0.05) enhanced deposition of α-mangostin in the VED layer with a factor range from 2.5- to 2.9-fold as compared to the control suspension. Since addition of Spans and soya lecithin in water improved the solubility of α-mangostin, this would be related to the enhancement of skin permeation and skin concentration of α-mangostin. The choice of non-ionic surfactant in proniosomes is an important factor governing the skin permeation and skin retention of α-mangostin. These results suggested that proniosomes can be utilized as a carrier for highly lipophilic compound like α-mangostin for topical application.
Intranasal administration is poised as a competent method in delivering drugs to the brain, because the nasal route has a direct link with the central nervous system bypassing the formidable blood-brain barrier. C17-monoglycerol ester (MGE) and glyceryl monooleate (GMO) as liquid crystal (LC)-forming lipids possess desirable formulation characteristics as drug carriers for intranasally administered drugs. This study investigated the effect of LC formulations on the pharmacokinetics of tranilast (TL), a lipophilic model drug, and its distribution in the therapeutic target regions of the brain in rats. The anatomical biodistribution of LC formulations was monitored using micro-computed tomography tandem in vivo imaging systems. MGE and GMO effectively formed LC with suitable particle size, zeta potential, and viscosity supporting the delivery of TL to the brain. MGE and GMO LC formulations enhanced brain uptake by 10- to 12-fold and 2- to 2.4- fold, respectively, compared with TL solution. The olfactory bulb had the highest TL concentration and fluorescent signals among all the brain regions, indicating a direct nose-to-brain delivery pathway of LC formulations. LC-forming lipids, MGE and GMO, are potential biomaterials in formulations intended for intranasal administration.