1. SOURCES OF DRUGS
Satish Shamrao Meshram
Assistant Professor
Kamla Nehru College of Pharmacy, Butibori
Email.id satish.meshram@gmail.com
Contacted on:8975866806

2. Sources of Natural Drugs

3. Plant source
Plant Sources is the oldest source of drugs.
Almost all parts of the plants are used i.e. leaves, stem, bark, fruits and
roots.
Only a small percentage of the total species have been studied scientifically
for the presence of any therapeutic activity and isolation of the responsible
bioactive compound
Majority of the natural drugs from plant sources are derived from
Spermatophytes (seed bearing plants).
.

4. Thy phyla Angiospermae is the dominant one while the phyla
Gymnospermae yields few useful drugs such as Turpentine oil, Colophony,
ephedrine etc.
Male Fern from Pteridophyta provides Taenicide (tape worm killing) agents
In Angiospermae.
 Dicotyledon plants provide more drugs than the Monocotyledon plants
which yield limited drugs such as Squill, Lemon grass oil, Aloes etc.
Examples of drugs obtained from plants include Quinine, Atropine, Cocaine,
Morphine, Codeine, Ergotamine, Reserpine, Caffeine, Sennosides,
Glycyrrhizin, volatile oils, fixed oils etc

5. Animal Source
Gelatin is obtained from ox and sheep.
Wool fat from sheep.
 Beeswax from honeycomb.
Cochineal from insects are some examples of drugs obtained from land
animals.
Spermaceti, Shark liver oil, Cod liver oil, halibut liver oil are some of the
drugs obtained from marine animals.

6. Microbial Sources
Microbial Sources: Well-known antibiotics produced by a group of
microorganisms known as actinomycetes yielding antibiotics such as
actinomycin, amphotericin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, kanamycin,
neomycin, gentamicin, streptomycin and tetracycline.
 Aspergillate group of fungi produce antibiotics such as penicillin,
griseofulvin and cephalosporin.
Among the bacteria, genus Bacillus produces antibiotics such as polymyxin B
and bacitracin.
Ergot alkaloids also are obtained from a resting stage of a fungus.
Algae are source of limited number of drugs such as Agar and Alginate

7. Mineral Sources
Mineral Sources: Several silicates such as Kaolin, Bentonite, Diatomite and
compounds of Na, K, Al, Ca, Mg etc. are obtained from Mineral sources
including Sulphur and Iodine.

8. Biotechnology source
Recombinant DNA technology involves cleavage of DNA by enzyme restriction
endonucleases.
The desired gene is coupled to rapidly replicating DNA (viral, bacterial or
plasmid).
Important example is Human insulin is produced by modification of porcine
insulin or by bacteria using recombinant DNA technology.
Few others include Somatotrophin, Erythropoietin, Human blood coagulation
factors etc.
Scopolamine, Podophyllotoxin, Paclitaxel, Rosmarinic acid, Vanillin and
Shikonin are some of the examples of compounds produced from plant cell
cultures.

9. Different source of drug summaries
Source Example
1.Plants Cinnamon, digitalis, saffron and clove
2.Animal Beeswax, cantharides, cod liver oil
3.Mineral Chalk, bentonite, asbestos, talc, kaolin
4.Microbial source Penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline
5.Biotecnology Somatotrophin, Erythromycin, Human Blood coagulation factors
6.Allergens Pollen grains ,mold spores
7.Immunizing agents Vaccine, sera.