OMAR AL-MUKHTAR UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Pharmacy
Second year 2023-2024
Applied Pharmacognosy I

Lectures Notes
Week 1. Introduction to Applied Pharmacognosy
Week 2. Extraction of Drug
Week 3. Phytochemical Screening
Week 4. Introduction to Chromatography & Paper Chromatography (PC)
Week 5. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) & Column Chromatography (CC)
Week 6. Gas Chromatography (GC)
Week 7. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
Week 8. Quality Control of Herbal Drugs
Week 9. Review
Dr. Mohamed Babiker
[email protected]
 Week 1

Introduction to Pharmacognosy
• Pharmacognosy is a branch of pharmacy which deals with the
basic resources of medicines from nature (plant & animal) and
their uses as medicaments from ancient time to present day.
• The term Pharmacognosy was first coined and used by C.A
Seydler in 1815. It was first derived from two Greek words:
pharmakon, which means “a drug” and gnosis which means
“knowledge”, thus the literal meaning of pharmacognosy is:
“knowledge of drug”.
• The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines it as "the
study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological
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."

Applied Pharmacognosy Week 1 Dr. Mohamed Babiker

Fields of Pharmacognosy
• Medical ethnobotany: The study of the traditional use of
plants for medicinal purposes.
• Ethnopharmacology: The study of the pharmacological
qualities of traditional medicinal substances.
• Study of phytotherapy: The medicinal use of plant extracts.
• Phytochemistry: The study of chemicals derived from plants.
(including the identification of new drug candidates derived
from plant sources).
• Zoopharmacognosy: The process by which animals self-
medicate, by selecting and using plants, soils, and insects to
treat and prevent disease.
• Marine pharmacognosy: The study of chemicals derived
from marine organisms.

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Scope of Pharmacognosy

Pharmacognosy deals primarily with information on the

sources and constituents of natural drugs.

• Primary source of medicines (from ancient time to

present day), for example: Hyoscine, morphine,
ergotamine, ouabain.

• Providing template/guide for the discovery of new

drugs, for example: Pathidine (analgesic drug)
designed from morphine.

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Terms and Phrase used in Pharmacognosy
• Natural Products: Are produced by living organisms and are
usually secondary metabolites that are produced as a defense
mechanism against predators or to aid the organism adapting to
its environment.
• Indigenous: Plants growing in their native countries are said to
be indigenous to those regions. For example: Aconite (Aconitum
napellus) in the mountainous region of Europe. It is highly
poisonous used as diuretic in Homeopathy preparation.
• Naturalized: Plants are said to be naturalized when they grow in
a foreign land or in a locality other than their native homes. For
example: Datura (Datura stramonium) which was introduced into
the USA from Europe.
• Extractive: The crude mixtures of chemical constituents that are
removed from plants or animals by various extraction processes
are called extractives or derivatives.
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• Drugs: The terms drug refers to any article, weather natural
or synthetic having therapeutic and medicinal properties and
used in the diagnosis, cure, treatment or prevention of
diseases in man and other animals.
• Crude Drugs: Crude drugs are natural substances of plant,
animal or mineral origin, which possess therapeutic
properties and pharmacological actions and which have
undergone no treatment other than collection and drying, for
example: digitalis leaf, rauwolfia root etc.
• Traditional Medicine: Is the systems of medicine based on
cultural beliefs and practices handed down from generation
to generation.
According to the world health organization (WHO)
traditional medicine is the sum total of all knowledge and
practice, used in the diagnosis, prevention and elimination
of physical mental or social imbalance.
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• Official Drug: Any drug (crude or prepared) which is included in
Pharmacopoea or in national formulary or in recognized books is
called an ‘official drug’. For example: quinine, morphine,
codeine, paracetamol are included in BP, USP, NF and so on.
• Unofficial Drug: A drug which has been recognized earlier in
the pharmacopoeia or in national formulary or in recognized
books but not found in the current issue is designated as an
‘unofficial drug’. Those substances were excluded from the
recognized books due to their severe toxic effects on humans.
For example: Sucralfate (hyperacidity), mercurial compounds
(diuretics), benzoic acid (preservative) etc.
• Nonofficial Drug: Substance that has never been appeared in
either of the official books may be called nonoffical. Such types
of compounds may be published in current journals having
proven clinical value, but we do not know about their side
effects. For example: Curcumine (sinusitis), etc.

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• Primary Metabolites: Are organic compounds that are directly
involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction. They
are considered essential for all organisms and are found in all
plants. Examples: Carbohydrates, chlorophylls, lipids, portion.

• Secondary Metabolites: Are organic compounds not directly

involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction. They
are less widespread in the plant kingdom, and often limited to a
specific taxonomic group. Examples include: Steroids,
triterpenoids, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids,
saponins, glycosides, anthroquinnones, tannins, etc.

• Monograph: The descriptive material pertaining to any drug,

therapeutic agent included in the pharmacopoeia is known as the
monogram. The monogram of a drug includes the following
information on the drug: Official title, synonyms, definition,
description, collection or preparation, identity tests, tests for
adulterants, method of assay, storage, uses and doses.
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Pharmacognosy and Modern Medicine

• Simultaneous chemistry, advancement in the field of

biochemistry, biosynthesis and pharmacology has
developed pharmacognosy.
• Various active compounds have been isolated from
plants which are used in modern medicine.
• With the advancement of synthetic organic chemistry
most of the active constituents of plants have been
synthesized.
• More than 100 plants are used in modern medicine in
various parts of the word.

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 Important Active Constituents of Plants used in Medicine

Active constituents Plants Pharmacological activity

Morphine, Codeine, Papaver somniferum L. Sedative, smooth muscle relaxant
Papaverine

Quinine, Quinidine Cinchona sp. Antimalarial, antiarrthythmic

Hyoscine, Atropine Datura sp., Parasympatholytic

Digitoxin, Digoxin Digitalis lanata Cardiotonic

Reserpine, Rescinamine Rauwolfia sp. Hypotensive, vasodialator

Vincristine, Vinblastin Catharanthus roseus Anticancer

Caffeine Camellia sinenssis CNS stimulant

Cocaine Erythroxylum coca Anaesthetic

Ephedrine Ephedra sp. Sympathomimetic

Pilocarpine Pilocarpus jaborandi arasympathomimetic

Steroid hormones Solanum sp. Anti-inflammatory, antiarthriytic

Sennosides Cassia angustifolia Laxative

Classification of Drugs

1. Alphabetical classification
2. Morphological classification
3. Taxonomical classification
4. Chemical classification
5. Pharmacological classification
6. Chemotaxonomical classification

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1. Alphabetical Classification: The alphabetical classification
system is the arrangement of crude drugs is done alphabetically by
their latin and English name. The Pharmacopoeias and reference
books categorizing the crude drugs as per this system are:
 Indian Pharmacopoeia
 British Pharmacopoeia
 British Herbal Pharmacopoeia
 European Pharmacopoeia etc.

Example: Acacia, Benzoin, Cinchona, Senna, Zedoary.

Merits
1. The system is easily and quick use
2. These avoid confusion .
3. Location, tracking and adding drugs entries can be done easily.
Demerits: Alphabetical classification system of drugs lacks
relationship with the previous drugs entries.

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2. Morphological Classification: The arrangement of crude drugs is
done according to the plants parts like leaf, barks, flower, fruit, seed etc.
Drug based on this classification system are classified into:
Organised drugs: The drugs are obtained directly from the plants parts and
contain cellular tissue, Rhizomes, barks, leaves etc. Example: Root:
Rauwolfia, aconite, ginger; Bark: Cinnamon, Cinchona; Fruit: Amla, Bahera,
Capsicum; Leaf: Digitalis, Senna, Tulsi, coca; Wood: Sandal wood.
Unorganised Drugs: These drugs are prepared from plants through
Intermediate physical process like incision, drying or Solvent extraction.
These drugs cannot contain cellular plant tissue. Example: Dried juice (Aloe
juice), Dried extract (agar), Dried latex (Opium latex), Honey, (Bee wax) etc.
Merits
1. Identification and detection of adulteration using this system is not
difficult.
2. Practical study by this classification is more
Demerits
3. The chemical constituents have no correlation with the therapeutics
action
4. Repetition of drugs or plants may appear.
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3. Taxonomical or Biological Classification: In this system
crude drugs are arranged according to the natural groups (e.g.
Families) of their source. For example: All the drugs obtained from
Solanaceae are grouped together as Solanaceous drugs. Tropane
alkaloids are the main constituents of Solanaceous drugs.
Family Drug
Solanaceae Solanaceous drugs. eg. Tropane alkaloids
Umbelliferae Umbelliferous drugs. eg. Volatile oils

Merits: Evolutinary development are understood under

taxonomical classification.
Demerits
1. It fails to recognized organized & unorganized form of crude
drugs.
2. Chemical nature % therapectic significance of crude drugs
is also not included.
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4. Chemical Classification: In this classification crude drugs are
put together which are contain the similar chemical constituents.

Family Drug
1. Carbohydrates - Dextrose, fructose,
a) Monosaccharidase galactose
b) Disaccharide - Sucrose, Lactose, Maltose
c) Polysaccharide gum mucilages - Starch
cellulose - Acacia, Tragacanth
- Plantago seed
- Cotton

2. Tanins Amla, Bohera, Ashoka bark

3. Volatile oil Clove oil, rose oil, tulsi etc

Merits: Phytochemical studies are well performed through this system.

Demerits: Confusion occurs when a drug contain many compounds
belonging to different groups.

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5. Pharmacological Classification: In this classification drugs
are placed together which show the similar Pharmacological/
Therapeutical effect.

Categories Drug
Central nervous system - Opium
- Tea
-Nuxvomica
Purgatives - Senna
-Aloe
-Castrol oil
- Plantago husk

Merits: The classification system aids in recommending substituents

of an unavailable drugs.
Demerits: Drugs with different action on the body get classified into
many groups thus create confusion.

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 6. Chemotaxonomical Classification:
• Chemotaxonomy relates the positin of plants and uses chemical
knowledge to biological evolution and relationships.
• Plants can also classified using their chemical charecteristics.
• Applying chemistry to taxonomy is known as chemotaxonomy.
• At the present time chemotaxonmy is also described as
chemical plant taxonomay, chemosystematics, and plant
chemistry.
• This classification can be done on the basis of the distribution of
chemical like carbohydrates, lipids, and primary and secondary
metabolism. eg: alkaloids, glycosides.
Merits: This classification system is recent and provide better
understanding of the relation ship between chemical constituents, their
biosynthesis, and action
Demerits: It is complex to recognize the chemical in plants Hence it is
also a time consuming process.

Applied Pharmacognosy Week 1 Dr. Mohamed Babiker