Definition of pharmacognosy
- Pharmacognosy is "Systematic study of crude drug" Obtained from natural origin like plants, animal and minerals.
CRUDE DRUGS
- These are those drugs, which are obtained from natural source like plants, animal and minerals.
Eg. :- Tulsi leave (used for cough treatment and cold remedies).
SCOPE OF PHARMACOGNOSY
1. It helps in identification of crude drugs.
2. It has a wide and broad scope in field of pharmacy. It help in study of :-
- Phytochemistry
- Pharmacology
- Botany
- Quality control
- Chemotaxonomy, etc
3. Analysis/Isolation of phytochemical.
- Morphine extracted from the plant opium, also studied on their clinical uses.
4. Preparation of general tonic and stimulate.
- It helps to increase immunity such as Ashwagandha, Tulsi, etc.
5. Natural products act as a model for synthesis of new drugs.
- Eg. :- Morphine act as a model for large group of potent analgesic drugs.
6. Structure activity relationship (SAR)
- It can be used to predict biological activity from molecular structure.
7. Preparation of herbal formulation.
- Churnas, asvas, leha, etc.
8. Cultivation and collection of medicinal plants.
- Clove, cinchona, senna, opium, etc.
