Physical appearance of the consumer is revealed to be one of the main factors affecting the pharmacist decision to dispense generic or branded medicine. Pharmacists practising in hospital affiliated pharmacies were found to be influenced by physicians' recommendation, and prefer to dispense good quality medicines.

Objective The aim of this study was to identify the drug-related problems and drug-drug interactions (DDIs) among the inpatients admitted to an internal medicine ward. Method A prospective, exploratory study was planned and all the prescriptions of inpatients admitted to the internal medicine department from 10 to 24 April 2011 were assessed at a public hospital in Alahsa, Saudi Arabia. Descriptive analysis was performed for sociodemographic aspects of the patients. Prescriptions of the studied population were compiled both for potential drug interactions and number of cases in each class of 'nature of interaction'. All the analysis was performed using SPSS v.18. Key findings Total number of records reviewed during this period was 57. Among these 57 cases, 104 interactions were found. On an average 2 to 11 drugs were prescribed per prescription. In our study, we found that out of the total 104 DDIs, 9 (8.5%) DDIs were serious in nature while the major proportion (69.0%) of the interactions was also significant. It was noticed that the significant DDIs were found associated with the number of drugs (χ 2 = 10.992, degree of freedom (df) = 9, P = 0.002*) and age (χ 2 = 5.494, df = 1, P = 0.019*) of the patients. Conclusion Findings of the current study revealed a high occurrence of DDIs. Number of drugs, age and number of comorbid medical conditions are some of the factor demonstrating a possible association with the DDIs. Patients with cardiovascular disorders were found more prone to one or more DDIs.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is rising globally and this disease is proposed to be the next pandemic after COVID-19. Although the cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus is unknown, it is believed to involve a complex array of genetic defects that affect metabolic pathways which eventually lead to hyperglycaemia. This hyperglycaemia arises from an inability of the insulin-sensitive cells to sufficiently respond to the secreted insulin, which eventually results in the inadequate secretion of insulin from pancreatic β-cells. Several treatments, utilising a variety of mechanisms, are available for type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, more medications are needed to assist with the optimal management of the different stages of the disease in patients of varying ages with the diverse combinations of other medications co-administered. Throughout modern history, some lead constituents from ancient medicinal plants have been investigated extensively and helped in developing synthetic antidiabetic drugs, such as metformin. Teucrium polium L. (Tp) is a herb that has a folk reputation for its antidiabetic potential. Previous studies indicate that Tp extracts significantly decrease blood glucose levels r and induce insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells in vitro. Nonetheless, the constituent/s responsible for this action have not yet been elucidated. The effects appear to be, at least in part, attributable to the presence of selected flavonoids (apigenin, quercetin, and rutin). This review aims to examine the reported glucose-lowering effect of the herb, with a keen focus on insulin secretion, specifically related to type 2 diabetes mellitus. An analysis of the contribution of the key constituent flavonoids of Tp extracts will also be discussed.