Module-01 (BP405T)

Chapter-01 Introduction to Pharmacognosy

By- Dr. Richa Gupta

Asst. Prof. Pharmacognosy
ASBASJSM College of Pharmacy, Bela

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Scope- The chapter involves fundamentals of Pharmacognosy like
development and scope, various sources of crude drugs and types of crude
drugs.

Learning outcome-
✓ Student will learn about basics of Pharmacognosy and how its development
processed from traditional medicine to modern medicine.
✓ Student will know about different scope of Pharmacognosy subject.
✓ Student will learn about various sources and types of crude drugs.

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Pharmacognosy- It is a branch of Science dealing with crude drugs obtained from
natural sources. In broad sense, Pharmacognosy deals with the history, distribution,
cultivation, collection, preparation, identification, evaluation, preservation and uses of
crude drugs and their derivatives obtained mainly from Plants and animals.
The word ‘Pharmacognosy’ derived from two Greek words- ‘Pharmacon’
means a drug and ‘Gignosco’ means to acquire knowledge of.
The word ‘Pharmacognosy’ was first coined by a German scientist “C. A.
Seydler” in 1815 in the title of his work “Analecta Pharmacognostica”.

History of Pharmacognosy- Divided in four parts-

1. Primitive era- Pharmacognosy has been developed from ancient civilization who
used parts of plants and animals for healing, eliminate pain, control suffering and
to treat diseases. The primitive man tried to understand the rationale behind use of
the crude drugs and transfer his knowledge by mouth and later on by carving on to
stones and clays and then writing on parchment or paper.
2. Pre-Christian era- Chinese medicine is the oldest system of this era. Ayurveda
also described uses of medicinal plants and Charak samhita & Susruta samhita
were compiled during this phase. Papyrus ebers of Egypt described about 700
medicinal plants and Theophrastus is known for his work on plant kingdom of this
era.

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 History of Pharmacognosy continued..

3. Era after Christ- Dioscoroides a Greek Physician, described a variety of

medicinal plants in his manuscript “De Materia Medica” in 78 AD. Many scientists
work like Galen, Parcelsus, Willium Turner, Le-Mary & Willium Withering is still
known for their contribution in development of Pharmacognosy. Dersone isolated
Narcotine and Serturner isolated Morphine from Opium.

4. Modern Pharmacognosy- Starting from 1815, there was rapid growth and
development in subject of Pharmacognosy along with growth of other subjects and
development of modern techniques for plant drugs. During this era Penicillin and
Streptomycin antibiotic was isolated. A number of plant drugs were also identified
as potential curative agents for many serious diseases. For example- Vinca
alkaloids Vincristine and Vinblastine as anticancer, Reserpine as antihypertensive,
Digitoxan and Digoxin as cardiotonic and many more.

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 Scope of Pharmacognosy
1. Pharmacognosy is critical in development of different disciplines of
science. The knowledge of plant taxonomy, plant breeding, plant
pathology and plant genetics is helpful in the development of
cultivation technology for medicinal and aromatic plants.
2. Pharmacognosy is important branch of pharmacy which is playing key
role in new drug discovery and development by using natural products.
3. Pharmacognosy is an important link between pharmacology and
medicinal chemistry.
4. By means of Pharmacognosy, natural products can be dispensed,
formulated and manufactured in dosage forms acceptable to modern
system of medicine.
5. Development of Pharmacognosy also leads to development of botany,
taxonomy, plant biotechnology, plant genetics, plant Pathology,
Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology, Phytochemistry and other branches of
science.

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Various sources of drugs-
Plants- Plant source is the oldest source of drugs. Most of the drugs in ancient
times were derived from plants. Almost all parts of the plants are used i.e. leaves,
stem, bark, fruits and roots etc. For example leaves of Digitalis purpurea are the
source of Digitoxin and Digoxin, which are cardiac glycosides.
Animals- Pancreas is a source of Insulin, used in treatment of Diabetes. Sheep
thyroid is a source of thyroxin, used in hypertension. Cod liver is used as a
source of vitamin A and D. Blood of animals is used in preparation of vaccines.
Cochineal (dried full grown female insects) consists of carminic acid used as
colouring agent for foods, drugs and for cosmetic products.
Plant Tissue Culture- It is in-vitro cultivation of plant cell or tissue under
aseptic and controlled environmental conditions, in liquid or on semisolid well-
defined nutrient medium for the production of primary and secondary
metabolites or to regenerate plant. This technique affords alternative solution to
problems arising due to current rate of extinction and decimation of flora and
ecosystem. Applications are Production of Phytopharmaceuticals, Biochemical
Conversions Clonal Propagation (Micro-propagation), Production of
Immobilized Plant Cell and Sources of drugs of natural origin.

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 Sources of drugs continued..
Marine Sources- The greater part of the earth surface is covered by seas
and ocean, which contains about 5,00,000 species of marine organisms.
Many of these compounds have shown pronounced biological activity. In
the western medicine agar, alginic acid, carrageenan, protamine sulphate,
spermaceti & cod and halibut liver oils are the established marine
medicinal products. Macroalgae or seaweeds have been used as crude
drugs in the treatment of iodine deficiency states such as goiter, etc.
Various examples are-
1. Anticancer drug- Bryostatins, Dolastatins, Ara-C
2. Anti-inflammatory drugs- Pseudoterosins, bi-indole, Manoalide
3. Cardio-vascular drugs- Anthopleurins, Laminine, Saxitoxin
4. Anthelmintic drugs- Kainic acid, Domoic acid
5. Antimicrobial drugs- Cephalosporin, Istamycin, Nitenin

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 Crude drug and its types-
Crude drugs- It means the natural substances from vegetable and animal
sources that have undergone no any processing other than collection and
drying. These are also called as Simples or Simple drug. These are of two
types-

Organized drugs (Cellular drugs) Unorganized drugs (Acellular drugs)

1. These are organs of plants or animals 1. These are derived from parts of plant or
and are made up of cells or definite animal by some process of extraction
structure. Examples- Flower, fruit, and followed by purification, if
seed, leaf, root, stem etc. necessary. Examples- Extracts, juices,
2. Solid in nature and studied and lattices, gums, mucilage, resin etc.
identified by structural features. 2. Solid/ Semi solid/ liquid in nature and
3. Examples- Leaf- Digitalis, Root- can be studied or identified by
Ruwolfia, Stem- Ephedra, Fruit- Chemical and physical parameters
Fennel, Flower- Clove 3. Examples- Extracts- Agar, Juices- Aloe,
Lattices- Opium, Gum- Acacia,
Mucilage- Isabgol

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Important questions-
For 2 marks-
1. Define Pharmacognosy.
2. Who coined the word Pharmacognosy?
3. Define crude drugs and its types.
4. Differentiate Organized and unorganized drugs with examples.
5. Give examples of any two drugs obtained from plant sources.
6. Give examples of any two drugs obtained from animal sources.
7. Give examples of any two drugs obtained from plant tissue culture.
8. Give examples of any two anticancer drugs obtained from marine sources.
9. Give examples of any two anti-inflammatory drugs obtained from marine sources.
10. Write any two scope of Pharmacognosy.
For 5 marks-
1. Write a brief note on scope of Pharmacognosy.
2. Explain with examples how marine sources are important for crude drugs?
3. Explain with examples how plant tissue culture is important source for crude
drugs?
For 10 marks-
1. Write a detailed note on history, scope and development of Pharmacognosy.
2. Discuss various sources of crude drugs with examples.

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 Module-01 (BP405T)
Chapter-02 Classification of drugs

By- Dr. Richa Gupta

Asst. Prof. Pharmacognosy
ASBASJSM College of Pharmacy, Bela

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 Scope- This chapter involves various types of classification
for crude drugs along with their examples, merits and
demerits.

Learning outcome- Students will learn about various

methods for classification of crude drugs. They will be
able to put a drug in a particular category.

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Classification of drugs-
The most important natural sources of drugs are higher plant, microbes and
animals and marine organisms. Some useful products are obtained from
minerals that are both organic and inorganic in nature. In order to pursue (or to
follow) the study of the individual drugs, one must adopt some particular
sequence of arrangement, and this is referred to a system of classification of
drugs. A method of classification should be:
(a) simple, (b) easy to use, (c) free from confusion and ambiguities.
Because of their wide distribution, each arrangement of classification has
its own merits and demerits, but for the purpose of study the drugs are
classified in the following different ways:
1. Alphabetical classification
2. Taxonomical classification
3. Morphological classification
4. Pharmacological classification
5. Chemical classification
6. Chemotaxonomical classification
7. Serotaxonomical classification

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Alphabetical Classification
It is the simplest way of classification of any disconnected items. Crude drugs
are arranged in alphabetical order of their Latin and English names (common
names) or sometimes local language names (vernacular names). Some of the
pharmacopoeias, dictionaries and reference books which classify crude drugs
according to this system are as follows:
1. Indian Pharmacopoeia 2. British Pharmacopoeia 3. British Herbal
Pharmacopoeia 4. European Pharmacopoeia 5. United States
Pharmacopoeia and National Formulary
Merits
It is easy and quick to use. There is no repetition of entries and is devoid of
confusion. In this system location, tracing and addition of drug entries is
easy.
Demerits
There is no relationship between previous and successive drug entries.
Examples:
Acacia, Benzoin, Cinchona, Dill, Ergot, Fennel, Gentian, Hyoscyamus,
Ipecacuanha, Jalap, Kurchi, Liquorice, Mints, Nux vomica, Opium,
Podophyllum, Quassia, Rauwolfia, Senna, Vasaka, Wool fat, Yellow bees
wax, Zeodary.
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Taxonomical (Biological) Classification
All the plants possess different characters of morphological,
microscopical, chemical, embryological, serological and genetics.
In this classification the crude drugs are classified according to
kingdom, subkingdom, division, class, order, family, genus and
species as follows.
Merits
Taxonomical classification is helpful for studying evolutionary
developments.
Demerits
This system also does not correlate in between the chemical
constituents and biological activity of the drugs.

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Morphological Classification
In this, the drugs are arranged according to the morphological or external characters of
the plant parts or animal parts, i.e. which part of the plant is used as a drug, e.g. leaves,
roots, stem or any unorganized drug.
Organized drugs
Woods: Quassia, Sandalwood. Leaves: Digitalis, Eucalyptus. Barks: Arjuna, Ashoka,
Wild cherry. Flowering parts: Clove, Pyrethrum, Saffron. Fruits: Amla,, Bael,,
Capsicum, Caraway. Seeds:Black Mustard, Cardamom, Ispaghula. Roots and
Rhizomes: Aconite, Ashwagandha, Ginger. Plants and Herbs: Bacopa, Andrographis.
Hair and Fibres: Cotton, Hemp, Jute, Silk, Flax.
lUnorganized drugs
Dried Latex: Opium, Papain. Dried Juice: Aloe, Kino Dried extracts: Agar, Alginate,
Black catechu, Pale catechu. Waxes: Beeswax, Spermaceti. Gums: Acacia, Guar Gum,
Indian Gum. Resins: Asafoetida, Benzoin, Colophony. Volatile oil: Peppermint,
Sandalwood,, Lemon. Fixed oils and Fats: Arachis, Castor, Coconut, Linseed.
Merits Morphological classification is more helpful to identify and detect adulteration.
This system of classification is more convenient for practical study especially when the
chemical nature of the drug is not clearly understood.
Demerits The main drawback of morphological classification is that there is no
correlation of chemical constituents with the therapeutic actions. Repetition of drugs or
plants occurs.
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Pharmacological Classification
Grouping of drug according to their pharmacological action or their therapeutic
use is termed as pharmacological or therapeutic classification of drug. This
classification is more relevant and is mostly a followed method. For example-
1. Drugs like digitalis, squill and strophanthus having cardiotonic action are
grouped irrespective of their parts used or phylogenetic relationship or the
nature of phytoconstituents they contain.
2. Drug acting on G.I.T. Bitter Cinchona, Quassia, Gentian Carminative
Fennel, Cardamom, Mentha Emetic Ipecac Laxative Agar, Isabgol, Banana
Purgative Senna, Castor oil
3. Drug acting on Respiratory system Expectorant Vasaka, Liquorice, Ipecac
Antitussive codeine.
Merits This system of classification can be used for suggesting substitutes of
drugs, if they are not available at a particular place or point of time.
Demerits Drugs having different action on the body get classified separately in
more than one group that causes ambiguity and confusion. Cinchona is
antimalarial drug because of presence of quinine but can be put under the group
of drug affecting heart because of antiarrhythmic action of quinidine.

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 Chemical Classification
Depending upon the active constituents, the crude drugs are classified. The
plants contain various constituents in them like alkaloids, glycosides,
tannins, carbohydrates, saponins, etc. Irrespective of the morphological or
taxonomical characters, the drugs with similar chemical constituents are
grouped into the same group. It is preferred method for classification. For
example-
1. Glycosides- Digitalis, Senna, Cascara.
2. Alkaloids- Cinchona, Datura, Nux-vomica
3. Tannins- Pate catechu, Ashoka
4. Volatile oil- Peppermint, Clove, Eucalyptus
5. Carbohydrates and derived products- Acacia, Agar, Guar gum. Etc.

Merits It is a popular approach for phyto-chemical studies.

Demerits Ambiguities arise when particular drugs possess a number of

compounds belonging to different groups of compounds.

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Chemotaxonomic Classification
This system of classification relies on the chemical similarity of a taxon, i.e. it
is based on the existence of relationship between constituents in various plants.
There are certain types of chemical constituents that characterize certain
classes of plants. This gives birth to entirely a new concept of chemotaxonomy
that utilizes chemical facts/characters for understanding the taxonomical status,
relationships and the evolution of the plants.

For example, tropane alkaloids generally occur among the members of

Solanaceae, thereby, serving as a chemotaxonomic marker. Similarly, other
secondary plant metabolites can serve as the basis of classification of crude
drugs. The berberine alkaloid in Berberis and Argemone, Rutin in Rutaceae
members, Ranunculaceae alkaloids among its members, etc., are other
examples.

Merits- It is the latest system of classification that gives more scope for
understanding the relationship between chemical constituents, their
biosynthesis and their possible action.
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Serotaxonomic Classification
On the basis of antiserum properties or protein homogeneity between plants.
Proteins most widely used as antigens in serotaxonomy are those, which carry
useful taxonomic information and are easy to handle. Both structural and reserve
proteins can be used in the field of systematics, as long as they belong to the
same group and the same organs are always compared.
For example:
a. A close relationship among the Magnoliidae, Hamamelididae and Comiflorae
of the angiosperms has been found, based on comparative serological studies
of their major seed proteins. This has refuted the idea of their independent
evolution.
b. The homogeneity of the iridoid-producing Comiflorae has been confirmed by
serological studies, which has supported the inclusion of the Gentianaceae in
it.
c. Based on phytoserological studies, Pickering and Fair brothers (1970) have
proposed the classification of the family Umbelliferae into Hydrocotyloideae,
Saniculoideae and Apioideae, and Apioideae was found to be more closely
related to Saniculoideae than to Hydrocotyloideae.

Merits- It is latest technique for classification and most reliable.

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 Important Questions-
For 2 marks-
1. Define……………. classsification with its merits and demerits.

For 5 marks-
1. Discuss in brief …………….. Classification with examples and
advantages and disadvantages.

For 10 marks-
1. Write a detailed note on various system of classification for drugs.
Explain which system you will prefer for classification and why?

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 Module-01 (BP405T)
Chapter-03 Quality control of drugs of natural origin

By- Dr. Richa Gupta

Asst. Prof. Pharmacognosy
ASBASJSM College of Pharmacy, Bela

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Scope- This chapter involves various methods of crude drug adulteration with
suitable examples along with different types of evaluation methods to check
the adulteration and maintain the quality of crude drug.

Learning outcomes-
1. Student will learn that how a genuine drug is adulterated to gain
profit or by fault.
2. Student will learn the meaning and importance of quality control.
3. Student will learn about various methods to check the quality and
purity of a crude drug.

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 Adulteration
It is the process of admixture of genuine articles with spurious, inferior,
defective and artificial substances. These all substances are known as
Adulterants. Adulteration can be done by-
Sophistication- Addition of cheap, inferior or spurious material.
Substitution- Genuine drug is substituted with different drug.
Admixture- Addition of adulterant by accident, ignorance and carelessness.
Deterioration/ Inferiority- Imperfect quality of drug due to destruction or
removal of active phytoconstituent.
Spoilage- Drug is destroyed by the action of bacteria, fungi, insect or rodents.
Harmful materials- Addition of harmful materials/ heavy metals.

Adulteration is of two types-

Deliberate/ Intended/ Direct- Done to gain profit.
In deliberate/ Unintended/ Indirect- By fault. Not done for profit.
Adulteration can be detected by- Methods of quality control/ Standardization/
Evaluation

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 In deliberate adulteration-
It may occur due to following reasons-
1. By faulty collection of drug at wrong time, in wrong weather or
other part is collected. Ex. Collection of Senna stem in place of
leaves, Wild cherry bark should be collected in autumn season.
2. By imperfect preparation and processing of crude drugs. Example-
Cork part is not removed properly from Ginger rhizome, Digitalis
leaves are dried at more than 60 degree temperature.
3. By improper storage. Example- If volatile oils are not stored
properly in air tight amber colour container.
4. Due to common vernacular names of different drugs. Example-
Brahmi common name for two plants- Bacopa monnieri and
Hydracotyl asiatica

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 Deliberate adulteration-
It may occur due to following reasons-
1. Adulteration with artificially manufactured substance in crude drug.
Ex. Paraffin wax in Bees wax.
2. Adulteration with inferior quality material (sophistication). Ex.
Alexandrian Senna is added in Indian Senna.
3. Adulteration with exhausted material. Ex. Volatile oil containing
drugs are added with exhausted material.
4. Adulteration with harmful substances. Ex. Brick powder is mixed
with Chilli powder.
5. Adulteration with excessive adventitious material. Ex. Excessive
amount of stem in added in Senna.
6. Adulteration with superficially similar but inferior drug. Ex. Saffron
is mixed with flowers of Carthamus tinctorious.
7. Adulteration with vegetative material. Ex. The lower plants like
mosses, liver worts, epiphytes are added with crude drug.

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 Adulteration can be checked by methods of Evaluation.
Evaluation/ Standardization/ Quality control
Evaluation is an elaborate process of establishing the correct
identity of a drug and of determining its quality ad purity.
Evaluation of a drug can be done on the spot by using some
Organoleptic methods or in the laboratory by the use of
microscopical, chemical, biological and physical methods. On
this basis various types of evaluation are-
1. Organoleptic Evaluation (Macroscopic/ Morphological)
2. Microscopic Evaluation
3. Chemical Evaluation
4. Physical Evaluation
5. Therapeutic/ Pharmacological/ Biological evaluation

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 Organoleptic Evaluation (Macroscopic/ Morphological)-
It involves the use of the organs of sense and depends on the macroscopic
appearance and sensory characters of the drug, such as its gross
morphology, shape and size, colour and external markings and odour and
taste.

Examples-
Camphor-aromatic odour,
Ginger, capsicum-pungent odour.
Cardamom- green colour fruit
Cinnamon- brown color bark
Fractured surface- cinchona
Lemon-sour taste
Honey-sweet

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 Microscopic Evaluation
It is done with the aid of microscopes and utilizes various microscopic
characters of the drugs, such as trichomes, calcium oxalate crystals, starch
grains, pollen grains, etc. and their histological features, such as types and
arrangements of various cells and tissues. This method of evaluation is
indispensable in the evaluation of powdered drugs, as they possess very
few macroscopical characters other than colour, odour and taste.
Microscope is also essential for determining some important physical
constants like stomata number, stomatal index, palisade ratio, vein-islet
number, vein termination number, etc. of leaf drugs. This type of
microscopical determinations is otherwise known as Quantitative
microscopy. It also includes counting of cells by Lycopodium spore
method.

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 Chemical evaluation
It involves both qualitative and quantitative determinations of their active
principles. In this method characteristic qualitative chemical tests are
employed to identify crude drugs and their constituents. Quantitative
chemical assays are used to determine their quality and purity. This method
of evaluation is now widely used in the examination of crude drugs for its
accuracy and reliability. Various specific chemical tests have been established
for identification and quality determination of different drugs.
Generally it is completed in two parts-
1. Preliminary phyto-chemical screening
2. Particular chemical test for different phyto-constituent

Examples-
For alkaloids- Dragendroff’s test, Mayer’s test, Wagner’s test
For cardiac glycosides- Legal test, Baljet test, Killer Killiani test
For steroids- Liebermann- Burchard reaction
For carbohydrates- Molish test, Fehling solution test etc.

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 Biological evaluation
This Biological evaluation of crude drugs is very useful in determining the
potency of drug sample. In this type of evaluation the extent of
pharmacological activity of the drug or its constituents is taken as the basis
of quality. Since living organisms or their isolated living tissues are used,
this method is also called the biological method or bioassay. Many drugs,
particularly the antibiotics, toxins and toxoids and also vitamins are
assayed by this method.

Examples-
1. Analgesic activity is evaluated by Hot plate method, Tail flick method
2. Antipyretic activity is evaluated by Yeast induced pyrexia method
3. Anti-inflammatory activity is evaluated by Carageenan induced rat paw
edema

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 Physical Evaluation
The Physical evaluation of crude drugs is accomplished by the
determination of various physical constants using various physico-
chemical techniques. The common physical constants used to evaluate
crude drugs and their extracted chemical principles include specific
gravity (particularly of the fats and volatile oils and some crude drugs as
Nutgalls), optical rotation (of some alkaloids in solution and of volatile
oils), refractive index (particularly of the volatile and fixed oils), melting
points (of isolated alkaloids and their derivatives), ash values (of most
crude drugs) and extractive values (of most crude drugs).

All the above methods and types of evaluation are appropriately used to
achieve the various objectives of evaluation of crude drugs, that is, to
establish their identity (correct source), purity (absence of adulterants)
and quality (presence of required amount of active constituents).

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 Important questions-
For 2 marks-
1. Define Adulteration and its types.
2. Differentiate the meaning of adulteration and substitution.
3. What do you mean by sophistication? Give example.
4. Which evaluation method you will prefer to identify a crude drug?
5. What do you mean by evaluation/ quality control/ standardization?
6. Define …………………..evaluation with example.
7. Define leaf constants.
8. Define quantitative microscopy.
For 5 marks-
1. Explain different types of deliberate adulteration with example.
2. Explain different types of in deliberate adulteration with example.
3. Explain in detail …………………………evaluation with example.
For 10 marks-
1. Write a detailed note on adulteration.
2. What is adulteration? How you can check adulteration?
3. Explain in detail various methods for quality control of herbal drugs.

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