Lecture 1 Pharmacognosy I PDF

For First year Pharmacy Students By o They exert effects on certain animal tissues and organs and can be used in treating, curing or preventing diseases Examples of crude drugs  Entire plants or animals: Mentha  Entire members of plants or animals: Senna, Clove, Thyroid Gland  Minera...

For First year Pharmacy Students By o They exert effects on certain animal tissues and organs and can be used in treating, curing or preventing diseases Examples of crude drugs  Entire plants or animals: Mentha  Entire members of plants or animals: Senna, Clove, Thyroid Gland  Minerals: Chalk, Talc  Substances derived from plants or animals: Opium, Aloes, Gelatin  Fibers and fabrics: used as surgical dressing  Filteration material: Diatomite  i. Natural or Biological Origin or Sources:  The natural origin of a drug is the plant or animal yielding it, if a plant it is called a botanical origin, if an animal it is a zoological origin. Genus species  Piper album (=white) lutea 3. An aromatic plant or certain aroma:  Myristica fragrans (nice aroma).  Caryophyllus aromaticus (refers to aroma). 4.A geographical source or history of a drug:  Cannabis indica (growing in India).  Iris germanica (growing in Germany). 5.A pharmaceutical activity or an active constituent:  Brayera anthelmentica (expelling worms).  Papaver somniferum (sleep inducing)  Strychnos nuxvomica (nux=nut / vomica=causing vomiting). 6. A general meaning or a special indication  Allium sativum (=cultivated).  Triticum vulgare (=wild). The generic name may also refer to certain character of the plant:  Iris germanica (from the Greek means Goddess of rainbow due to varied colors of the flowers).  Atropa belladonna (from atropos means =poisonous).  Glyccyrhiza glabra (glyccy= from glucose=sweet, riza=root / sweet roots). Collection of drugs from wild growing plants has several disadvantages: 1. Wild plants found in sparse distribution over unlimited areas 2. Difficulty in reaching and collecting these plants 3. Deficiency due to continual collection “Ruthless collection” 4. Collection is done by ignorant unskilled people 5. Difficulty of transport 6. Insufficiency of supply to meet demands of the market Collection of crude drugs from wild growing plants has only 2 advantages: 1. They have low cost 2. They have high concentration of active constituents Cultivation of medicinal plants has the following advantages: 1. Concentration of a large number of medicinal plants in a small controlled area 2. Improvement of the drug (raise the quality) 3. Assurance of regular and constant sufficient supply 4. All the operations are carried out by trained workers 5. Proximity to the pharmaceutical firm so the drug can be taken directly from the field into the factory 6. Control of the purity of the product 7. Narcotic drugs cultivated under government control The cultivated medicinal plants have the following disadvantages: 1. Should be cultivated in large scale to be economic 2. Great loss of crop due to bad weather or insect and fungi attack 3. The environment may be unsuitable for the growth of certain medicinal plants