Introduction to Pharmacognosy Quiz

The study of drugs derived from natural sources, focusing on their physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties.

A raw material from plants, animals, or minerals used in medicine.

Higher plants, microbes, animals, marine organisms, and minerals are common sources of medicines.

Organizing crude drugs by their Latin and English names in alphabetical order.

Grouping crude drugs based on their plant's evolutionary relationships.

Proper organization of crude drugs that is simple, easy to use, and minimizes confusion.

Easy to use, no repetition, and convenient for adding and locating drug entries.

Does not show the source of the drug (plant, animal or mineral).

Grouping drugs based on their physical parts (e.g., leaves, roots) used as medicine.

Crude drugs with recognizable cellular structures from plant parts like leaves, roots, etc.

Crude drugs lacking visible cellular structures, like juices or resins.

Grouping drugs according to their effect on the body (e.g., anti-inflammatory, cardiotonic).

The specific effect a drug has on the body/patient (e.g., pain relief, blood pressure reduction).

Drugs that increase the force and efficiency of heart action.

A similar drug used as a replacement for another drug if it's unavailable.

Identifying impurities or substitutions in a crude drug using morphology.

Grouping crude drugs based on the chemical nature of their main constituent(s).

Polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones with a carbon chain, like gums, mucilages, and starches.

Compounds containing sugars (glycones) and non-sugar parts (aglycones), like anthraquinone glycosides and cardiac glycosides.

Complex organic molecules from polyhydroxy benzoic acids, found in many plants like catechu, galls, and myrobalan.

Nitrogenous substances of plant origin, like tropane, quinoline, and isoquinoline.

Classification based on the chemical similarities of related plants, considering the presence of specific constituents.

Useful for phytochemical studies due to its focus on chemical composition.

Difficult to classify complex drugs with multiple chemical constituents, like Cinchona.

Soil containing more than 1.5% to 5% organic matter is considered rich. This high organic matter content promotes healthy plant growth due to increased nutrient availability and improved soil structure.

The acidity or alkalinity of soil, measured on a scale of 0 to 14. Most plants thrive at a pH between 6.5 and 7.5, where nutrients are readily available.

Plants like groundnut, sunflower seeds, cotton, and rice prefer alkaline soils, meaning soils with a pH above 7.

Plants such as tobacco, cinchona, tea, and potato thrive in acidic soils, meaning soils with a pH below 7.

Plants need 16 essential elements for growth and development. These elements are categorized into primary, secondary, and trace elements.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are primary nutrients that plants need in large quantities for healthy growth.

Organic compounds that influence plant development and growth in small concentrations. They can be natural or synthetic.

Alkaloids are naturally occurring organic compounds that contain nitrogen and have a complex structure. They are found in plants, animals, and even some fungi.

Alkaloids are predominantly found in plants, particularly in higher plants. Of these, dicotyledonous plants (dicots) tend to have a higher concentration of alkaloids compared to monocots.

Plants produce alkaloids to protect themselves from insects, herbivores, and other threats. Alkaloids are often bitter and toxic, deterring animals from eating them.

Many plants contain alkaloids. For instance, Catharanthus plants have alkaloids in all their parts, while Cinchona plants have alkaloids in their bark.

Specific reagents like Dragendorff's, Mayer's, Wagner's, and Hager's can be used to detect the presence of alkaloids in samples. These reagents cause the formation of precipitates with specific colors, indicating the presence of alkaloids.

The ideal solvent for a tincture should be highly selective for the target compound, unreactive with other components, affordable, safe for humans and the environment, and completely volatile.

Ethanol is the preferred solvent for tinctures due to its ability to extract a wide range of compounds from plants, including those soluble in both water and alcohol.

Water is added to ethanol in tinctures to help swell plant particles, increase their porosity, and facilitate the extraction of substances from within the cells.

The optimal alcohol/water ratio for tinctures depends on the plant part being extracted. Roots, barks, and seeds typically use a higher alcohol concentration (7:3 or 8:2), while leaves and aerial parts often use a 1:1 ratio.

Volatile oils, responsible for plant scents, are found in specialized plant parts like glandular hairs, parenchyma cells, oil tubes, and epidermal tissues.

Living protoplasts, such as the nucleus and cytoplasm, are not diagnostically useful for identifying plant material. Ergastic substances, like starch, crystals, and alkaloids, are non-living components and are more useful in identification.

This method involves soaking the plant material in a solvent for an extended period to extract the desired compounds.

Percolation uses a continuous flow of solvent through the plant material to extract the desired compounds efficiently.