Prof. Dr. Amani S. Awaad

Professor of PharmacognosyPharmacognosy Department,

College of Pharmacy Salman Bin Abdulaziz

University,

Al-Kharj. KSA.

Email: amaniawaad@hotmail.com

Pharmacognosy- 1

PHG 222

To know

meaning of word Pharmacognosy

History of pharmacognosy

Types of drugs derived from plants &

their details of description

"the entire knowledge of drug"

Introduction

What is The meaning of word Pharmacognosy?

Pharmakon

meaning a drug

or poison

gignosis

meaning to acquire

a knowledge

literally meaning

The Greek

Pharmacognosy is a multidisciplinary subject

The American Society of Pharmacognosy

defines pharmacognosy 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.

It is also defined as the study of crude drugs

Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines

derived from natural sources.

How can Pharmacognosy study the

medicines derived from natural sources.

3- Modern isolation techniques, Pharmacological

testing procedures to prepare purified substances.

Cultivation and propagation by tissue culture

2-The structural, physical, chemical and sensory

characters of crude drugs (plants, animal mineral

origin and living organisms).

1-Their history, methods of collection , handling proses

from the producer to the distributor or pharmacist and

Storage

Phytochemistry :

or natural product chemistry; a field closely related to organic chemistry, studying thechemical composition of living organisms. It is also closely connected to the process offinding new drug candidates from natural sources.

Would identifications

Ethnobotany or ethnopharmagocology;

Ethnobotany; refers to the study of plants by humans.

Ethnopharmagocology; study of the traditional use of plants in the society.

Phytotherapy;

study of crude drugs, i.e. extracts from natural sources in medical use

Crude drugs:

It is used for those natural products such as plants or part of plants,

extracts and exudates which are not pure compounds

History of pharmacognosy

1- Indian medicine Ayurveda, "life-knowledge

Ayurvedic medicine is a system of Hindu

traditional medicine of Vedic tradition native

to the Indian subcontinent

Ayurveda have been traced back to 5,000

BC, originating as an oral tradition and later

as medical texts

The collection of plant materials was done only by an innocent, pure, religious person.

The fresh plants were considered to be the most effective

The ancient Egyptians 3000 B.C. were experts in using drugs for curing diseases.

The healing of the sick was undertaken by priest doctor and pharmacist "Son" who prescribed and prepared medicines.

These were the Hieratic papyri, Ebers papyrus, the Gynecologic papyrus.

2- Ancient Egyptian

Egyptians (Ebers papyrus, 1550 BC)

3- Ancient china

In ancient china, Shennung, an emperor

was known to investigate on several

herbs. He wrote the first Pen Ts’ao

containing 365 drugs (2737 BC )by

examining various herbs, barks and roots

Their book includes many recipes for

every disease. Among the plants and

minerals highly esteemed for its magic

health including power were; Ginseng,

Rhubarb, Ephedra, Star Anise,

Pomegranate, Aconite.... Opium is a

very old Chinese drug for diarrhea and

dysentery.

• The Babylonian medicine was known (Laws of Hamorabi 1772 B.C.).

• the drugs used were mainly of vegetable origin.

• The drugs used include 250 materials of plant, and 180 materials of animal source. Many of these drugs were known to the ancient Egyptians.

4- The Babylonians

1- Hippocrates

Authors of antiquity (460-377 BC)

“The Father of Medicine”

4-Ancient Greece

The Hippocratic Corpus is a collection of

around seventy early medical works from

Alexandrian Greece. It is written in Ionic

Greek. The question of whether Hippocrates

himself was the author of the corpus has not

been conclusively answered, but the volumes

were probably produced by his students and

followers

the last important pillar in the millennium

of Greek domination of the medical world.

Physician to emperors as well as

commoners in the Roman Empire, Galen

(130-220 A.D.). Cupping was among the

forms of treatment which he advocated.

Pharmacy as well as medicine benefited

from his formulas, called "galenicals;" he

was a leader in the health sciences of his

day. Galen's teachings were accepted as

dogma by both teachers and practitioners of

medicine for fifteen hundred years.

4-Ancient Greece

2-Galen

a pillar of medicine

3-Dioscorides

(40-80 AD)“De Materia Medica”(600 medicinal plants)

The Greek Empire was followed by

that of the Romans Dioscorides who

was a Greek by birth he was the first

to describe drugs and his work "Greek

Herbal of Dioscorides" included 5000

medicinal plants in addition to animal

and mineral drugs.

4-Ancient Greece

• The Muslims were the first to establish hospitals, dispensaries and medicalschools in the world.

• "In the curative use of drugs," writes Philip K. Hitti, "some remarkableadvances were made at this time by the Arabs. It was they who establishedthe first apothecary shop, founded the earliest school of pharmacy andproduced the first pharmacopoeia."

• Several pharmacological books were written by Arabs.

• In Islamic writings were found the first beginnings of chemistry, thename of which is derived from an Arabic word "Kemia"; as were also suchfamiliar words alcohol and alkali.

• The Arabs added numerous new plants and medicaments to those alreadyknown to the Greeks and Romans.

• In their days, pharmacy attained its highest reputation and became anindependent branch of medicine.

• It is interesting to note that the first dispensary was opened in Baghdad,the center of trade in those days.

5- Islamic era

was first to describe measles and smallpox; to observe pupillary reaction to light; to use mercurial purgatives; and to publish a text on children's diseases. His teachings were highly regarded for many centuries

who was born at Rai in Persia was the director

of Baghdad hospital in the days of El-Mansour.

He published a famous book "Alhawi Kabeer”

The dispensary was made of Sandal wood and

named "Sandalia".

1-Rhazey (850-932 A.C.)

5- Islamic era

2-Ibn Sina(980-1037)

“القانون في الطب”

5- Islamic era

• Abu Al Hosayn Ibn-Sina (980-1037 A.C.) whose name was latinised to Avicenna. He was one of the most eminent and gifted Arabian physicians.

• His "Canoon Fi Elteb" has been described as the most famous medical text ever written and as having dominated the medical schools of Europe and Asia and served as the chief source of medical knowledge for 5 centuries, till the 15th century.

• was the best Arabian pharmacognosist and botanist and ranked with Dioscorides in that respect.

• His book "Jame-ul-Muffradat" “الجامع لمفردات األدوية واألغذية” contains

description of 2000 drugs.

• “الحكمهفردوس ” Ferdose Elhekmah

5- Islamic era

3-Ibn Al-Baitar

(1197-1248 A.C.)

(575-646)H

wrote a book named "TazkaretUli Al-Albab", now known as "Tazkaret Dawood Alantaki"which describes several hundred herbs besides drugs of animal and mineral origin.

6- Islamic era

4-Sheikh Dawood El-

Antaki

(1599 AC)

6-The era of European

An intellectual revitalization of Europe

started with the birth of medieval

universities in the 12th century.

The contact with the Islamic world in

Spain and Sicily, and during the

Reconquista and the Crusades, allowed

Europeans access to scientific Greek

and Arabic texts, including the works of

Aristotle, Ptolemy, Jābir ibn Hayyān,

al-Khwarizmi, Alhazen, Avicenna, and

Averroes

1-Entire organism (plant, animal, organism)

2-Part of an organism (a leaf or flower of a plant,

an isolated gland or other organ of an animal)

3-An extract or an exudate of an organism4-Isolated pure compounds

Can be :

Natural products

1-Herbal drugs, derived

from specific parts of a

medicinal plant

2-Compounds isolated from

nature

3-Nutraceuticals, or “functional

foods”

Types of drugs derived from plants

Natural products

Value of natural products

1- provide a number of extremely useful drugs that are difficult to produce commercially

by synthetic means.

2-Supply basic compounds that may be modified slightly to render them more effective or

less toxic.

3-Their utility as prototypes or models for synthetic drugs possessing physiologic activities

similar the originals.

4- Some natural products contain compounds that demonstrate little or no activity

themselves but which can be modified by chemical or biological methods to produce potent

drugs not easily obtained by other methods

COOH

HO

COOH

OH3C

O

H3C COOH

CH3

CH3

Salicylic Acid Aspirin

Ibuprofen

Baccatin III --------------- Taxol

1- Origin: including biological and geographical sources, a knowledge of the history and name of the drug.

2- Cultivation and preparation: including details of cultivation of the medicinal plants, methods of collection,

drying, packing and other treatment of the drug during its preparation for the market.

3- Characters: including the physical characters such as dimensions, surface characters, fracture and the sensory

characters such as colour, odour and taste. The histological characters which help in the identification of the drug

in powdered form, are of fundamental importance

4- Constituents and tests: constituents include both the reputed active constituents and also other constituents and

reserve food materials. Chemical identity tests are based on the nature of constituents.

5- Adulterants: including materials added fraudulently and matter which has become associated with the drug owing

to carelessness in handling during collection, preparation, packing and transport.

6- Evaluation: of the physical and chemical characters of the drug.

7- Uses: and application of the drug in medicine.

For detailed description of each individual drug the following points are to be considered

Natural products

1-OriginOf Drugs Derived from Plants

Origin: including sources(I) (biological, geographical and commercial) in addition to information (II)

(history and name of the drug)

1-Origin

Official and unofficial drugs: Drugs are either official or unofficial.

An official drug is one which is listed and described in a book

recognized by the government as the legal authority for standards

"Pharmacopoeia"

There are three sources,

a)The natural or biological origin.

b)The geographical origin.

c) The commercial origin.

I-Sources

a)The natural or biological originOrigin of

Drugs

Sources

biological

geographical

commercial

information

history

naming

The natural origin of a drug is the plant or animal

yielding it,

if a plant, botanical origin or botanical source

and if an animal, zoological origin or source.

The geographical source or Habitat is the region in which the plant or animal yielding the drug grows.

• Indigenous: Plants growing in their native countries e.g. Aconitum napellus of the mountainous regions of Europe, Hyoscyamus muticus of Egypt, Cannabis sativa of India.

• Naturalized: Plants are grow in a foreign land or in locality other than their native home.

Natural products Origin cont…

b)Geographical sources of drugs

c) The commercial origin

it is of interest in case of certain drugs. The commercial origin

of a drug refers to its production and its channels of trade.

II- Information

Plant Information mean

knowledge of the history and name of the drug

A) History of plants

Natural products Origin cont…

B)Name of the drug

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

MorphologicalChemical

Pharmacological &Therapeutic

II- Information. Cont…..

Natural products Origin cont…

II- Information Cont…..B)Name of the drug

Natural products Origin cont…

Alphabetical naming of Drugs of natural origin can be by using

either Latin or English names; the drugs are arranged in an

alphabetical order

1-Alphabetical

1. Indian Pharmacopoeia.

2. British Pharmacopoeia.

3. United States Pharmacopoeia & National

Formulary.

4. British Herbal Pharmacopoeia.

5. British Pharmaceutical Codex.

6. European Pharmacopoeia (Latin Titles).

7. Encyclopedia of common Natural ingredients

used in Drugs and cosmetics

e.g.: Acacia, benzoin, cinchona, dill, ergot,

fennel, gentian, hyoscyamus, ipecacuanha,

jalap, kurchi, liquorice,

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

Drugs with natural origin can be nomenclature by many methods

called The binomial system

It named after Carolus Linnaeus (mid-1700’)s was a Swedish biologist

who established a simple system for classifying and naming organisms.

He is considered to be “father” of modern taxonomy

Binomial nomenclature used

Genus species

Capitalize “Genus”, but NOT “species”

Underline when writing eg. Cinchona ledgeriana

Italicized in print eg. Cinchona ledgeriana

Natural products Origin cont…

II- Information. Cont…..2-Taxonomical

using one of the accepted systems of botanical classification; the drugs are

according to the plants from which they are obtained in phyla, class, orders,

families. Genera and species.

named after Charles

Ledger, who brought its

seed from Brazil 1865,.

B)Name of the drug

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

1- Some striking characteristics of the plant:

The species name is usually chosen to indicate some characters as:

a- Conium maculatum

(maculate = spotted) (stem with

reddish, spotted patches).

b- Glycyrrhiza glabra (glabrous =

smooth).

Refers to the fruit of this species which

is a smooth pod.

c- Hyoscyamus muticus

(muticus = short). The plant

being short.

d- Atropa belladonna (bella = beautiful,

donna = lady)

the juice of the berry placed in the eyes

causes dilatation of the pupils, thus giving

a striking appearace).

Natural products Origin cont…

II- Information. Cont…..2-TaxonomicalB)Name of the drug

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

2- A characteristic colour:

a- Piper nigrum (= black) b- Veratrum viride (= green)

c- Citrus aurantium

(= golden yellow)d- Digitalis purpurea

(= purple)

3- An aromatic plant or certain aroma:

b- Caryophyllus aromaticus

(refers to the aroma)

a- Myritaceae fragrans (having a

fragrant, nice aroma)

2-Taxonomical

Natural products Origin cont…

II- Information. Cont…..

B)Name of the drug

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

a- Cannabis indica

(growing in India)

5- A geographical source or history of a drug:

b- Triticum vulgaire (= wild)

4- A Pharmaceutical activity or an active constituents:

b- Strychnos nux vomica

(from two latin words, nut causing vomiting)

6- A general meaning or a special indication

b- Tamarinds indica (India)

a- Papaver somniferum

(sleep inducing)c- Ipomoea purga

(laxative).

a- Allium sativum (= cultivated)

2-Taxonomical

Natural products Origin cont…

II- Information. Cont…..

B)Name of the drug

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

The generic name may also allude to certain

characters of the plant :

Glycyrrhiza

from glucose= sweet,

riza = root.

Atropa

from Atrops, meaning

flexile, the name of the

Greek fate who cuts the

thread of life, alluding to the

poisonous characters of the

drugs.

2-Taxonomical

Natural products Origin cont…

II- Information. Cont…..

B)Name of the drug

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

2-Taxonomical

Natural products Origin cont…

II- Information. Cont…..

Family: Papaveraceae (a group of genera sharing certain traits)

Genus: Papaver (a group of species, in this case poppies,

which are closely related)

L.: indicates the botanist who provided the first scientific description of

the species and who assigned the botanical name

Species: somniferum, here meaning ‘sleep- producing’

Eg. Papaver somniferum L.Kingdom: Plantae

Order : Ranunculales

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

B)Name of the drug

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

II- Information. Cont…..

Natural products Origin cont…

B)Name of the drug3-Morphological

which means is the study of the physical form and external structure of plants

'shape 'the study of something'

The term morphology is Greek

Morphological

Organized Drug

Flowers fruits seeds leaves Barks

Rhizome & root drugs

Unorganized Drug

and groups as dried lattices, extracts, gums, resins, oils, fats

and waxes which

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

II- Information. Cont…..

Natural products Origin cont…

B)Name of the drug3-Morphological

Organized Drug

It is the essential reproductive organ of a plant.

For an inexperienced observer, two characteristics of a flower are

particularly noteworthy: the size and the color

Although the flowers are of great botanical importance, they are

only a minor source of drugs used in phytotherapy or

pharmacy

e.g. chamomile, Matricaria recutita L. (Asteraceae )

1. Flower

Flower fruit seed leaves Bark

Rhizome & root drugs

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

II- Information. Cont…..

Natural products Origin cont…

B)Name of the drug3-Morphological

The lower plants, such as algae, mosses and ferns, do not produce seeds

Gymnosperm and Angiosperm

2- Fruit and seed

Gymnosperm: they are characterized by seeds that

are not covered by a secondary outer protective

layer, but only by the testa – the seed’s outer layer

Angiosperm: the seeds are covered with a

specialized organ (the carpels) which in

turn develop into the pericarp.

Organized Drug

Flower fruit seed leaves Bark

Rhizome & root drugs

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

II- Information. Cont…..

Natural products Origin cont…

B)Name of the drug3-Morphological

3- Leaves

Flower fruit seed leaves Bark

Rhizome & root drugs

Organized Drug

The function of the leafs, as collectors of the sun’s energy and

its assimilation, results in their typical general anatomy with a

petiole (stem) and a lamina (blade)

Alternate Distichous Opposite Whorled

A key characteristic of a species is the

way in which the leafs are arranged on

the stem, they may be:

Alternate- Distichous- Opposite

Decussate- Whorled

Decussate

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

II- Information. Cont…..

Natural products Origin cont…

B)Name of the drug3-Morphological

3- Leaves Flower fruit seed leaves Bark

Rhizome & root drugs

Organized Drug

The form and size of leaves are

essential characteristics e.g. oval,

oblong, obovate, rounded, linear,

lanceolate, elliptic, spatulate,

cordate, hastate or tendril

The margin of the leaf is another

characteristic feature e.g. entire,

serrate, dentate, sinuate, ciliate

or spinose

Numerous drugs contain leaf

material as the main component.

e.g. Deadly nightshade, Atropa

belladonna L. (Solanaceae)

Natural

Drugs Naming

Alphabetical

Taxonomic

Morphological

Chemical

Pharmacological

&Therapeutic

II- Information. Cont…..

Natural products Origin cont…

B)Name of the drug3-Morphological

4-Bark

Flower fruit seed leaves Bark

Rhizome & root drugs

Organized Drug

5-Rhizome & root drugsThe bark as an outer protective layer

frequently accumulates biologically

active substances e.g.

Red cinchona, Cinchona

succirubra L. (Rubiaceae)

No stem-derived drug is currently of

major importance

Underground organs of only

a few species have yielded

pharmaceutically important

drugs .e.g. Sarsaparilla,

Smilax regelii (Smilacaceae)

Garlic, Allium sativum L.

(Liliaceae)

Aloe vera L.(Asphodelaceae)

6. The bulbs and exudates