NATURE OF THE DRUGS
All drugs are chemical entities with simple or complex molecules.
INORGANIC DRUGS
Some drugs are inorganic nature.
Eg:- Ferrous sulphate, Lithium carbonates, etc.
ORGANIC DRUGS
- Majority of drugs are organic compounds.
- Weakly acidic ( Aspirin, penicillin)
- Weakly basic ( Morphine)
- Non-electrolytes( Alcohols)
- Mostly drugs are normally solid, eg:- paracetamol, ampicillin etc. But sone such as ethanol, glycerol are liquid, and few like nitrous oxide are gaseous.
- The molecular weight of majority of drugs in the range of 100- 1000D.
ACCORDING TO THEIR ACTION
1. Preventive :-
Those drugs which used to prevent the cause of the disease.
2. Symptomatic:-
Those drugs which used to treat symptom of that disease.
3. Diagnostic:-
Those drugs which helps to determine the treatment or course of disease.
4. Curative:-
Those drugs which used in treatment of any disease.
5:- Health Maintenance:-
Those drugs which drugs help to maintain our health.
SOURCE OF DRUGS
1.PLANTS:-
- Many plants contain biologically active substance and are the oldest source of drugs .
2:- ANIMALS:-
- Though animals parts have been used as cured since early times.
- It is used for making vaccines.
- It is used of insulin for control diabetes.
Eg:- thyroxine, insuline, liver extracts ( vitamin B12)
3:- MICROBES:-
- Most antibiotics are obtained from fungi, bacteria, etc.
- some times vaccines are also produced by the use of microbes.
4:- MINERAL:-
- There are many more minerals which is used as a medicinal substance.
Eg:- Iron (anemia), Zinc ( wound healing), Iodine (antiseptic) , silver (immunity booster).
5. SYNTHETIC:-
- It is the largest source of medicine .
- It has the advantage of purity and uniformity of the product, they can be manufactured as per need.
Eg:- Fluoroquinolones, Bismuth iodine etc
6:- BIOTECHNOLOGY:-
- In which, combined biological organism with technology and generate new drugs.
Eg:- Peptides and proteins are now produced by recombined DNA technology.
- Human growth hormone.
- Human insulin etc
