The term Pharmacognosy comes from two Greek words: “Pharmakon" meaning drug or medicine, and "gnosis" meaning knowledge or study. Pharmacognosy also defined as the systemic study of crude drugs obtained from natural origin like plants, animals, minerals, and microbes. Pharmacognosy defined as the branch of science which involves details study of drug obtained from natural origin including name, collection, cultivation, macroscopy, microscopy, physical property, chemical constituents, therapeutic action and uses. https://youtu.be/gxOVfntCCB8

1. PHARMACOGNOSY
Prepared by:
Ms. Shivanee Vyas
Assistant Professor
SVKM’s NMIMS, School of Pharmacy and Technology Management

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Definition: Pharmacognosy is defined as the systemic study of crude drugs along
with geographical source, history, method of cultivation, collection and preparation
for the market.
Pharmacognosy also defined as the systemic study of crude drugs obtained from
natural origin like plants, animals, minerals and microbes.
Drug: Any substance used in the treatment of disease or diagnosis is known as drug.
Diagnosis is the determination of nature of disease.
Crude drug: Crude drugs are the drugs which are obtained from the natural sources
like plants, animals, minerals & they are used as such as the occurs in nature without
any processing except drying & size reduction.

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• The term Pharmacognosy comes from two Greek words: “Pharmakon"
meaning drug ormedicine, and "gnosis" meaning knowledge or study.
• Pharmacognosy defined as the branch of science which involves details
study of drug obtain from natural origin including name, collection,
cultivation, macroscopy, microscopy, physical property, chemical
constituents, therapeutic action and uses.

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• Crude drugs are classified into 2 types:
S.No. Organized Drugs
c
Unorganized Drugs
c

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H

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 Charaka: He made 50 groups of 10 herbs. Each and every drug has medicinal
effects. Charka Samhita is the first recorded treatise which based on the practice
of Ayurveda.
 Sushruta (600 B.C.): He arranged 760 herbs in 7 different sets based on their
properties. Sushruta author of Sushrut Samhita in which surgery in Ayurveda.
He was consider as a “Father of surgical medicine/surgery”
Contribution of various scientist for development of pharmacognosy are
as follows:

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 Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) He worked on
Anatomy and physiology on circulatory and
nervous system. He prepared famous oath for
physician, which is still taken by the physician. He
was regraded as Father of Medicine”
 Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) He studied on classifying
plant and animal kingdom. He was regarded as
“Father of natural history.”
 Theophrastus (370-287 B.C.) He wrote about
plants and described medicinal uses of plants.

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 C.A. Seydler, German scientist (1815), Seydler was the
general scientist and wrote a titled Analectica
Pharmacognostica in 1815. In this book he used word
Pharmacognosy first time this word by combining two
Greek words, Pharnakon: Drug and genosis: study.
 Galen (131-200 A.D.) He was the Greek pharmacist. He
worked on extraction of chemical constituents from the
plants. He developed various methods of extraction. The
branch of pharmacy which deals with the extraction of
chemical constituents from plants and animals is called
as “Galenical Pharmacy” He was regarded as “First
Pharmacist”

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SCOPE OF PHARMACOGNOSY
Medicinal plants have great value in the treatment and care of disease.
1. Pharmacognosy is important branch of pharmacy which play an important role in
new drug discovery by using natural products.
2. It is an important link between allopathy and traditional system of medicine. It is a
part of medicine system which is affordable as for the common man.
3. More than 60% word population is still using natural products for their primary
health care needs.
4. Pharmacognosy includes knowledge about safe use of herbal drugs.
5. It is acting as bridge between pharmacology, medical chemistry and also
pharmaceutics.
6. By mean of pharmacognosy natural products can be dispensed, formulated and
manufactured in dosage forms acceptable to modern system of medicine.

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Indigenous systems of medicine or
Traditional system of medicine
1.Ayurvedic
2.Unani
3.Siddha
4.Homeopathy
5.Aromatherapy

11. Ayurveda System of medicine
• It is one of the oldest system of medicine in the world. Ayurveda is
based on the concept that everything in the universe is composed
of five basic elements space, air, energy, liquid and solid. They
exist in human body in combined forms like VATA (air) & PITTA
(energy and liquid) and KAPHA (solid and liquid).
• This vata pitta kapha together are called Tridosha (Three pillars of
life) when Tridosha are in balance with each other, it is called as
healthy condition while imbalance cause a pathological condition.
• An Ayurvedic practitioner will create a treatment specifically for
particular individual. The goal of the treatment is to cleanse the
body of undigested food.
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12. Unani System of Medicine
• Unani medicine, also called by various names in different parts of the
word such as Unani tibb, Arabian medicine, or Islamic medicine, a
traditional system of healing and health maintenance observed in South
Asia. The origins of Unani medicine are found in the doctrines of the
ancient Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galan.
• The Unani system of medicine aims at treating the causes of disease and
not its symptoms. For this purpose, history of the patient is recorded in
addition to his pulse and urine examination.
• The literature of the Unani system is mostly found in Arabic, Persian
and Urdu languages.
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13. Homoeopathic System of Medicine
• Homeopathy is a newer one and has been developed in eighteenth
century by “Samuel Hahnemann” a German physician and
chemist.
• In this system, the drug treatment is not specified, but the choice
of the drug depends on systems and the clinical condition of the
patient.
• Plants used in homeopathy are: Marigold, arnica, honeybees, nux-
vomica, ergot, ipecacunha.
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14. Siddha System of Medicine
• The term Siddha means achievement in which the practice of Bhakti and
Yoga.
• Like Ayurveda this system believes the role of three humours i.e. Vata,
pitta and kapha and all the objects in the universe are made up of five
basic elements earth, water, sky, fire and air.
• The identification of the disease is done through pulse reading, study of
voice, urine examination and status of digestive system and examination
of tongue.
• Medicines are: Abini (Papaver somniferum), Gomathai (Dhatura), Ethi
(Nux-vomica)
• Siddha Vaidya keeps the knowledge of thousands of herbs and their
effectiveness in specific composition and formulation.
• Kashayam (extracts); churnam (powders); tailams (medicated oils);
bhasmam (calx prepared by calcination); ghritam (medicated ghee).
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15. Aromatherapy
• It is one of the most ancient healing art in which aromatic substance,
scented massage, aromatic baths used.
• Different essential oils from various parts of plants are massaged into skin
to treat a range of disease to have an effect on the mind and emotions.
• They have been shown to heal wounds, treat acne, and other skin
problems, headache, stress, insomnia etc.
• Various essential oils used in aroma therapy are jasmine, lavender,
rosemary and sandalwood.
• Plant essential oils have therapeutic powers in addition to beneficial
fragrance, and have antiseptic action in different degrees.
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