• INTRODUCTION TO PHARMACOGNOSY.
Definition:
The word pharmacognosy derived from the Greek words “pharmakon” and gnosis; pharmakon means drug while gnosis means knowledge
So it can be defined as:
“The study of crude drugs of vegetable and animal origin”.
• Pharmacognosy, which literally means knowledge of drugs or pharmaceuticals, has been a part of the healing arts i.e., medical arts, and sciences since mankind first began to treat illnesses.
• It has developed from ancient civilizations that used parts of plants and animals to concoct various potions to eliminate pain, control suffering and counteract disease.
Pharmacognosy may be defined as “ an applied science that deals with the biologic, biochemical and economic features of natural drugs and their constituents”.
1. In a restricted sense, the definition of Pharmacognosy implies a particular knowledge of methods of identification and evaluation (to check the identity then check the purity and at last quality is determined)
2. In a broad sense, Pharmacognosy embraces knowledge of the history, distribution, cultivation, collection, selection, preparation, and use of drugs and economic substances that affect the health of human and other animals.
History..
1. Period of voodoo tribe;
Pharmacognosy has risen from the mysterious incantations of voodoo tribes and has survived the unwritten secret recipes of medicine men.
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So we can say that voodoo tribes were first one that was related to this subject.
The healing powers of certain herbs roots and juices were undoubtedly discovered by accident; but once these attributes were learned, they were too important to be forgotten.
2. Period of Babylonians;
The Babylonians made clay models of the human body, and early writings indicate that they were aware of the medicinal effects of the number of plants.
3. Period of Egyptians.
It is a well known fact that the ancient Egyptians were adept at embalming the dead body (preserve the dead body by applying the antiseptic and other preservatives.).
They also know about human anatomy as well as knowledge of medicinal uses of many plants and animals, according to the Papyrus Ebers.
This famous book document, written in 1550 B.C was found in the tomb of a mummy and is now preserved at the University of Leipzig.
4. Period of Greeks;
Greeks have made a great contribution to this science. Some
well-known Greek men are listed as follows.
1. Hippocrates.
2. Aristotle.
3. Theophrastus.
4. Pliny.
5. Dioscorides.
6. Galen.
• HIPPOCRATES;
He is known as the “father of medicine” and many of his treatises dealt with anatomy and physiology;
The “Hippocratic Oath” of modern day medicine is a reflection of the high esteem with which the Greek Physician regarded.
• Aristotle;
He was the student of Plato. He attempted to separate superstition from fact in his writings on the animal kingdom and his writings were considered authoritative for nearly twenty centuries.
• Theophrastus;
He studied under Aristotle, utilizing his teacher’s scientific reasoning, but he applied these principles to plant kingdom.
• Pliny;
Pliny the elder compiled 37 volumes of natural history, and although his information was not completely factual, these books were employed as reference data for many years.
• Dioscorides;
He was a Greek physician who lived in the first century A.D. wrote his De Materia Medica in 78 A.D. In it he described about 600 plants which were known to have medicinal properties.
• Galen;
He was a Greek physician and Pharmacist. He described the method of preparing formulae containing plant and animal drugs. He has written about 20 books relating to this subject. As tribute to his accuracy in recording his observations the term Galenical pharmacy was oriented.
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5. Period of Muslims,
The following scientists’ works on this subject;
Abu_hashim;
He has contributed in biology and medicine.
Abdul Malik Asma;
Who has also contributed in biology working on animals and plants.
Al_Razi and Bu_ Ali Sena;
They have contributed in field of medicine and also wrote about 99 books quite related to medicine.
Scope;
Like many contemporary fields of science, Pharmacognosy has undergone significant change in recent years and today represents a highly interdisciplinary science, which is one of five major areas of Pharmaceutical education.
Its scope includes the study of the physical, chemical, biological, and biochemical properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources. Research problems in Pharmacognosy include studies in area of photochemistry, microbial chemistry, biosynthesis, biotransformation, chemotaxonomy and other biological and chemical sciences.
So Pharmacognosy is mainly concerned with naturally occurring substances having medicinal substances having a medicinal action. It is not entirely limited to such substances (the natural and synthetic fibers which are used for surgical dressings are most conveniently studied in Pharmacognosy.)
Pharmacognosy also includes the study of other materials used in Pharmacy such as flavoring agents and suspending agents, disintegrants, filtering and support media and so on.
Other fields, which have natural associations with the subject, are those of poisonous and hallucinogenic plants, raw materials for the production of oral contraceptives, allergens, herbicides and insecticides.
It is closely related to botany and chemistry and to be regarded as parent of both.
At the beginning of 20th century the Pharmacognosy has developed mainly on botanical side (concern with the description, identification of drugs) in whole state or in form of powder with their history, commerce (trade of drug), collection, preparation and storage
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With the rapid development of plant chemistry and Pharmacology in recent years has increased interest in this aspect for the formation of medicinal active constituents.
There are many plant kingdoms still hold many species of plants containing substances of medicinal value, which have yet to be discovered large number of plants are tested for their Pharmaceutical values {antibiotics, cytotoxic (those substances used in the destruction of cell) anti-inflammatory, anti -cancer} as the result of modern isolation and Pharmacological testing procedure new plant drugs find their way into medicine as purified substances rather than older preparation. The preparation is restricted to one or few form that handle all the raw material.
Many of botanical, chemical and physical techniques used in Pharmacognosy and also applicable to analysis of other commodities (those products which run in trade i.e. food, spices, gum, narcotics, fabrics, cosmetics, and perfumes) and are therefore also used by public annalists forensic science at Quality Control chemist associated with other industries.
Thus Pharmacognosy which is an applied science and which has played an important role in development of pure sciences i.e. botany and plant taxonomy, phytochemistry, chemical plant taxonomy. Genetical studies involving secondary metabolites and tissue culture of the plants.
• Terminology;
1. Crude drug.
2. Advanced drug.
3. Geographic or Habitat source.
4. Scientific and commercial name.
5. Indigenous drug.
6. Naturalized drug plants.
7. Wild and cultivated drug plant.
Crude Drug;
A crude drug is a vegetable or animal drug that consists of natural substances. These are the natural products, which have not been advanced in value or improved in condition by grinding, by chipping by crushing, by grinding, by chipping, by crushing, distilling, evaporating, and extracting. A crude drug is that an unrefined drug that has undergone simply collection and drying.
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It consist of natural substances as well as containing impurities derived from its source.
Advanced Drug;
It is the product which has advanced in value or improved in condition from its crude state by mechanical or physical processes. Often crude as such are used their chief principles are separated by various means and are employed, these are known as derivatives wether single or mixture of substances it consider as chief constituents of the drug.
Geographic or Habitat source;
In this case the region in which the plant or animal yielding the drug grows or found. Drugs are collected in all part of the world, though the tropicals and subtropics yield more drugs than do the arctic and sub arctic regions because a greater variety of plants grows there. The Mediterranean basin including Asia Minor yields more drugs than any other region of the world. However, India, the East Indies, Central Europe, Northern South America, Mexico, Central America, North America and other regions yield numerous and valuable drugs.
Scientific and Commercial name;
The scientific name and commercial name may be relied upon as indicating the true habitat of the drug plant.
Spanish liquorice is the commercial name of the drug first of all found in Spain.
Its scientific name is Glycyrrhiza _spp. People used it in glycefida tinctures used as expectorants. It is obtained from the Rhizome of the drug plant. It is taken and extracted and we get Saponin Glycerrhiza. Now it is not only produced in Spain. So it is in correct.
Indigenous Drug;
Plants growing in their native countries are said to be indigenous to those regions.
Pinus palustris in southern United States, Podophyllum plant in Pakistan.
Naturalized Drug Plant;
The plants when grow in a foreign land or in a locality other than their native homes.
Prosopus is naturalized plant in Pakistan.
Wild and Cultivated Drug Plant;
Wild plants;
Wild growth means natural growth where plants are distributed in wide range and in distributed form. So those plants which are gown by nature are called wild plants.
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Drugs may be collected from wild plants.
Ammi visnaga growing wild in Mediterranean are contain a variety of coumarins and chromones in its seeds.
Cultivated Plants;
Cultivated means grown by man.
Those plants, which are grown in lands by man, are called cultivated plants. Cultivated medicinal plants have been propagated in China, Europe and many other lands for countries.
Cinchona, native to South American .Indes was developed as a crop in Indonesia
Before World War 2, the Japanese had established large plantations of Camphor trees in Formosa and held a virtual monopoly in natural Camphor.
