This review aims to analyze Mentha piperita L. as a potential raw material for the development of new health promoting products (nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products). A lot of scientific publications were retrieved from the Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases which enable the study and generalization of the extraction procedures, key biologically active compounds of essential oil and extracts, biological properties, and therapeutic potential of M. piperita, along with perspectives on the development of its dosage forms, including combinations of synthetic active substances and herbal preparations of M. piperita. The results of this review indicate that M. piperita is a source rich in phytoconstituents of different chemical nature and can be regarded as a source of active substances to enhance health and to develop medicinal products for complementary therapy of various conditions, especially those related with oxidant stress, inflammation, and moderate infections. Essential oil has a broad spectrum of activities. Depending on the test and concentration, this essential oil has both anti- and prooxidant properties. Gram-positive bacteria are more sensitive to the essential oil of M. piperita than Gram-negative ones. This review also considered some facets of the standardization of essential oil and extracts of M. piperita. Among the identified phenolics of extracts were caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, eriocitrin, luteolin derivates (luteolin-7-O-rutinoside, luteolin-7-O-glucoronide), and hesperidin. The concentration of these phenolics depends on the solvent used. This review also considered the relationships between the chemical component and biological activity. The results showed that the essential oil and extracts reduced inflammation in vitro by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and in vivo by reducing the paw edema induced using carrageenan injection in rats. Therefore, herbal preparations of M. piperita are promising medicinal and cosmetic preparations for their usage in skincare and oral cavity care products with antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, and wound-healing properties. This plant can also be regarded as a platform for the development of antibacterial preparations and combined anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective medicinal products (synthetic active substances plus herbal preparations). This review could be considered for the justification of the composition of some medicinal products during their pharmaceutical development for writing a registration dossier in the format of Common Technical Document.

The article highlights the new approach to teaching a foreign language to medical students as a reasonable mixed method of traditional teaching and the use of modern technologies. Teaching process at higher medical educational institutions is based on innovative didactic technologies, mechanisms and procedures. Many theories suggest implementation of combined classroom and online teaching called blended or hybrid learning. The aim of this investigation is to develop practical recommendations for successful integration of blended learning with traditional teaching medical students at the Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University. Web-basedtechnology stimulates and promotes self-learning, keeps the learner at the centre of the learning process using personality-oriented and technology-mediated approaches. E-learning promotes autonomy and motivates students to learn throughout the life performing specific tasks before or after classroom learning. The research involved 47 groups of students studying General Medicine at Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University (602 second-year students, 2017-2018 academic year). The experiment consisted of 40% of e-learning and 60% of classroom teaching. Assessing performance, we concluded that students' academic performance results improved from 15% to 23% depending on the language skill due to the integration of blended learning strategies into the teaching process. Blended learning also assists students to choose and interpret required tasks, to assess cases related to future medical profession, and to apply compulsory information, which requires proficiency and practical skills.