PHARMACOGNOSY &

PHYTOCHEMISTRY

Lyra June M. Sarker

PHARMACOGNOSY Materia medica Study of crude drugs obtained from

plants, animals and mineral kingdom and their constituents

An applied science that deals with the biologic, biochemical and economic features of natural drugs and their constituents

PHARMACOGNOSY C.A. Seydler, a medical student at Halle,

Germany in 1815; wrote his doctoral thesis titled Analectica Pharmacognostica

Physician J.A. Schmidt (Vienna) used the term in his Lehrbuch der materia medica in 1811, to describe the study of medicinal plants and their properties

PHARMACOGNOSY Latin words:

pharmakon (drug)gignoso (to acquire knowledge of)

Greek words:pharmakon (drug)gnosis (knowledge)

Knowledge/science of drugs

CRUDE DRUGS Vegetable or animal drugs that consist

of natural substances which after collection are subjected only to drying or making them into transverse or longitudinal slices or peeling them in some cases

May also be obtained by simple physical processes like drying or extraction with water

Plant exudates such as gums, resins and balsams, volatile oils and fixed oils

EXAMPLES: Aloe – dried juice of leaves of Aloe sp. Opium – dried latex from poppy

capsules Black catechu – dried aqueous extract

from the wood of Acacia catechu

DEFINITION OF TERMS: Natural substances – substances found in

nature that comprise whole plants and herbs and anatomic parts thereof

Crude – any product that has not been advance in value or improved in condition by shredding, grinding, chipping, crushing, distilling, evaporating, extracting, artificial mixing with other substances or by any other process or tx beyond what is essential to its proper packing and to the prevention of decay or deterioration pending manufacture

DEFINITION OF TERMS: Derivatives/extractives(chief constituent) –

chief principles separated by various means of extraction

Solvent/menstruum – liquid/liquid mixture used to extract active principles

Marc – the undissolved portion of the drug that remains after the extraction process is completed

Extractive – usually a mixture of subs which is the product of the extraction process

DEFINITION OF TERMS: Geographic source/habitat – the region in

which the plant or animal yielding the drug grows

Indigenous – plants growing in their native countries (Pinus palustris – southern US)

Naturalized – plants that grow in a foreign land or in a locality other than their native homes (Datura stramonium – introduced in the US from Europe)

Commercial origin of a drug – production and channels of trade

PREPARATION OF DRUGS FOR THE COMMERCIAL MARKET Collection – most advantageous

collection time is when the part of the plant that constitutes the drug is highest in its content of active principles and when the material will dry to give the maximum quality and appearance

Harvesting – hand labor (digitalis) / with the use of mechanical devices

PREPARATION OF DRUGS FOR THE COMMERCIAL MARKET Drying – removes sufficient moisture to ensure

good keeping qualities and to prevent molding, the action of enzymes/bacteria, and chemical or other possible changes

- fixes the constituents, facilitates grinding and milling, and converts the drug into a more convenient form for commercial handling

- control of temp and regulation of air flow- by the sun/ artificial heat- “curing” - special drying process for

natural prods (vanilla), fermentation or sweating processes are necessary to bring about changes in the constituents

PREPARATION OF DRUGS FOR THE COMMERCIAL MARKET Garbling – final step in the preparation

of a crude drug; consists of the removal of extraneous matter(other plant parts, dirt, adulterants)

Packaging, storage and preservation – should provide ample protection and economy of space

- must maintain a high degree of quality of the drug

ANIMAL DRUGS Produced from wild (whale, musk, deer) Fished (cod and halibut) domesticated animals (hog, sheep,

cattle) –lanolin and milk prods, hormones, endocrine prods, and some enzymes

Wild insects (cantharides) Cultivated (honeybee)

CLASSIFICATION OF DRUGSAccording to: their morphology The taxonomy of the plants and animals

from which they are obtained Their therapeutic applications Their chemical constituents

MORPHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION Drugs are arranged accdg to their

morphological or external characters of the plant parts or animal parts, i.e. which part of the plant is used as a drug

A: More helpful to identify and detect adulteration

More convenient for practical study especially when the chemical nature of the drug is not clearly understood D: there is no correlation of chemical

constituents w/ the therapeutic actionsRepetition of drugs or plant occurs

ORGANIZED DRUGS obtained from the direct parts of the

plants and containing cellular tissues (rhizomes, barks, leaves, fruits, entire

plants, hairs and fibers)

ORGANIZED DRUGS: WOODS Sandalwood Quassia Red sandalwood

ORGANIZED DRUGS: LEAVES Digitalis Eucalyptus Gymnema Mint Senna Spearmint Squill Tulsi Vasaka Coca

Buchu Hamamelis Hyoscyamus Belladonna tea

ORGANIZED DRUGS: BARKS Arjuna Ashoka Cascara Cassia Cinchona Cinnamon Kurchi Quillia Wild cherry

ORGANIZED DRUGS: FLOWERING PARTS Clove Pyrethrum Saffron Santonica Chamomile

ORGANIZED DRUGS: FRUITS Amla Anise Bael Bahera Bitter orange peel Capsicum Caraway Cardamom Colocynth Coriander

Cumin Dill Fennel Gokhru Hirda Lemon peel Senna pod Star anise Tamarind vidang

ORGANIZED DRUGS: SEEDS Bitter almond Black mustard Cardamom Colchicum Ispaghula Kaladana Linseed Nutmeg Nux vomica Physostigma

Psyllium Stophanthus White mustard

ORGANIZED DRUGS: ROOTS AND RHIZOMES Aconite Ashwagandha Calamus Colchicum corm Dioscorea Galanga Garlic Gention Ginger Ginseng Glycyrrhiza Podophyllum

Ipecac Ipomoea Jalap Jatamansi Rauwolfia Rhubarb Sassurea Senega Shatavari Turmeric Valerian squill

ORGANIZED DRUGS: PLANTS AND HERBS Ergot Ephedra Bacopa Andrographis Kalmegh Yeast Vinca Datura Centella

ORGANIZED DRUGS: HAIR AND FIBERS Cotton Hemp Jute Silk Flax

UNORGANIZED DRUGS prepared from plants by some

intermediate physical processes such as incision, drying or extraction with a solvent and not containing any cellular plant tissues

(aloe juice, opium latex, agarm gambir, gelatin, tragacanth, benzoin, honey, beeswax, lemon graass oil, etc.)

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: DRIED LATEX Opium Papain

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: DRIED JUICE Aloe Kino

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: DRIED EXTRACTS Agar Alginate Black catechu Pale catechu pectin

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: WAXES Bee3swax Spermaceti Carnauba wax

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: GUMS Acacia Guar gum Indian gum Sterculia Tragacanth

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: RESINS Asafoetida Benzoin Colophony Copaiba Guaiacum Guggul Mastic Coal tar Tar Tolu balsam Storax sandarac

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: VOLATILE OIL Turpentine Anise Coriander Peppermint Rosemary Sandalwood Cinnamon Lemon Caraway Dill Clove

Eucalyptus Nutmeg camphor

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: FIXED OILS AND FATS Arachis Castor Chalmoogra Coconut Cottonseed Linseed Olive Sesame Almond Theobroma Cod liver

Halibut liver Kokum butter

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: ANIMAL PRODUCTS Bees wax Cantharides Cod-liver oil Gelatin Halibut liver oil Honey Shark liver oil Shellac Spermaceti wax Wool fat Musk

lactose

UNORGANIZED DRUGS: FOSSIL ORGANISM & MINERALS Bentonite Kaolin Kiesslguhr Talc

TAXONOMICAL CLASSIFICATION Classified accdg to kingdom,

subkingdom, division,class, order, family, genus and species

A: helpful for studying evolutionary developments

D: does not correlate in between the chemical constituents and biological activity of the drugs

CLASS Angiospermae (Angiosperms)

plants that produce flowers Gymnospermae (Gymnosperms)

Plants which do not produce flowers

SUBCLASS Dicotyledonae (Dicotyledons, Dicots)

plants with two seed leaves Monotyledonae (Monotyledons,

Monocots) plants with one seed leaf

SUPERORDER A group of related plant families,

classified in the order in which they are thought to have developed their differences from a common ancestor

SUPERORDERS IN THE DICOTS Magnoliidae Hamamelidae Caryophyllidae Dilleniidae Rosidae Asteridae

SUPERORDERS IN THE MONOCOTS Alismatidae Commelinidae Arecidae liliidae

ORDER

Each superorder is further divided into several orders

The names of the orders end in -ales

FAMILY

Each order is divided into families These are plants with many botanical

features in common, and are the highest classification normally used.

A widely accepted system is that devised by Cronquist in 1968, which is only slightly revised today

The names of the families end in –aceae

SUBFAMILY

The family may be further divided into a number of subfamilies, which group together plants within the family that have some significant botanical differences.

Subfamilies end in -oideae

GENUS

Part of the plant name that is most familiar; the normal name that you give a plant

Papaver (poppy) Arachis (peanut)

SPECIES

Level that defines an individual plant The name will describe some aspect of

the plant – the color of the flowers, size or shape of the leaves, or it may be named after the place where it was found.

Should be written after the genus name, in small letters

PHARMACOLOGICAL/THERAPEUTIC CLASSIFICATION

Grouping of drug according to their pharmacological action or of most important constituent or their therapeutic use

More relevant and mostly followed method A: 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

D: Drugs having different action on the body get classified separately in more than one group that causes ambiguity and confusion

Cinchona – antimalarial (quinine) antiarrhythmic(quinidine)

PHARMACOLOGICAL CATEGORY:Drugs acting on G.I.T.

Carminative Fennel, Cardamom, Mentha

Emetic Ipecac

Antiamoebic Kurchi, Ipecac

Laxative Agar, Isabgol, Banana

Purgative Senna, Castor oil

Cathartic

Bitter (stomachic, febrifuge, bitter tonic, & for digestive disturbances)

Senna

Cinchona, Quassia, Gentian

PHARMACOLOGICAL CATEGORY

Drugs acting on Respiratory System

Antitussive Opium (codeine)

Bronchodilators

Expectorant

Ephedra, Tea

Vasaka, Liquorice, Ipecac

PHARMACOLOGICAL CATEGORY

Drugs acting on Cardiovascular System

Cardiotonic Digitalis, Strophantus, Squill

Cardiac depressant Cinchona, Veratrum

Vasoconstrictor Ergot

Antihypertensive Rauwolfia

PHARMACOLOGICAL CATEGORYDrugs acting on Autonomic Nervous System

Adrenergic Ephedra

Cholinergic Physostigma, Pilocarpus

Anticholinergic Datura, Belladonna

PHARMACOLOGICAL CATEGORYDrugs acting on Central Nervous System

Central analgesic Opium (morphine)

CNS depressant Belladonna, Opium, Hyoscyamus

CNS stimulant Tea, Coffee

Analeptic Nux vomica, Camphor, Lobelia

PHARMACOLOGICAL CATEGORYAntispasmodic Datura, Hyoscyamus,

Opium, Curare

Anticancer Vinca, Podophyllum, Taxus

Antirrheumatic Aconite, Colchicum, Guggal

Anthelminthic Quassia, Vidang

Astringent Catechu, Myrobalans

Antimalarial Cinchona, Artemesia

PHARMACOLOGICAL CATEGORYImmunomodulatory Ginseng,

Ashwagandha, Tulsi

Immunizing agent Vaccines, Sera, Antitoxin

Drugs acting Skin Membrane

Beeswax, Wool fat, Balsam of Tolu, Balsam of Peru

Chemotherapeutic Antibiotics

Local anesthetic Coca

CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION

Crude drugs are classified depending upon the active constituents

Irrespective of the morphological or taxonomical characters, the drugs with similar chemical constituents are grouped together

A: it is a popular approach for phytochemical studies

D: ambiguities arise when particular drugs possess a number of compounds belonging to different groups of compounds.

CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATIONChemical Constituent Group

Alkaloids Cinchona, Datura, Vinca, Ipecac, Nux vomica

Glycosides Senna, Aloe, ginseng, Glycyrrhiza, Digitalis

Carbohydrates and its derivatives

Acacia, Tragacanth, Starch, Isabgol

Volatile oil Clove, Coriander, Fennel, Cinnamon, Cumin

Resin and Resin Combination

Benzoin, Tolu Balsam, Balsam of Peru

Tannins Catechu, Tea

Enzymes Papain, Casein, Trypsin

Lipids Beeswax, Kokum butter, Lanolin