Transcript 1. Pharmacognosy, its main concept and tasks

Pharmacognosy, its main
concept and tasks. Storing up,
drying and preserving of
medicinal plants (herbs) and
their raw stuff
Plan
 1.
The notion of Pharmacognosy.
Historical information.
 2. Basic concepts and terminology of
Pharmacognosy.
 3. Chemical composition of medicinal
plants.
 4. Methods of pharmacognostical analysis
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Pharmacognosy is a science dealing with comprehensive
complex study of medicinal plants, medicinal raw materials of
both vegetable and animal origin, as well as products of their
primary processing.
 The term "pharmacognosy" is considered to be entered by
German scientist K. Zaydler in 1815.
 The term means word for word: pharmacon (Greek) -poison,
gnosis (Roman) - knowledge, studies, i.e. – studies about
medicines and poisons.
 The Greek "pharmakon" comes from the ancient Egyptian
"Pharmacy," which means “defender, healer." It was the name
of the god Toth in ancient Egypt. He was the patron of the
medical affairs.
 Pharmacognosy is "the doctrine of drugs and poisons." The
name wasn’t given accidentally. Paracelsus (1493-1541)
wrote: "Everything is a poison, nothing is deprived of
virulence and everything is a medicine. Only a dose makes a
substance either a poison or a drug."
Modern pharmacognosy
 Modern
pharmacognosy is a highly
specialized science dealing with biological,
biochemical and medicinal properties of
plants, natural raw material and its
products. The subject of study in
pharmacognosy are MP, MRM of
vegetable, rarer of animal origin.
Basic concepts and terminology
of Pharmacognosy
Medical plants (Planta
medicinalis)
 Medical
plants (MP) are plants (wild or
cultivated) used for medicinal purposes.
For example:
Mentha piperita -- Peppermint
Medicinal plant material (MPM)
 Medicinal
plant material (MPM) are
entire medicinal plants or their parts, used
in dried (sometimes in fresh) forms in
order to obtain medicinal substances,
plant drug preparations
(phytopharmaceutical) or other medicines,
permitted fore medicinal use.
For example: Menthae folium
Herbal medicines
Herbal medicines derived from specific parts of a
medicinal plant are known as herbal medicinal products
(HMPs), herbal remedies or phytomedicines. Herbal
medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal
preparations and finished herbal products.
Herbs include crude materials which could be derived
from lichen, algae, fungi or higher plants, such as leaves,
flowers, fruit, fruiting bodies, seeds, stems, wood, bark,
roots, rhizomes or other parts, which may be entire,
fragmented or powdered.
Crude drugs are vegetable or animal drugs that consist
of natural substances that have undergone only the
processes of collection and drying.
Medicinal products
Medicinal products are substances or
their mixtures of natural, synthetic or
biotechnological nature, used for
prophylaxis, diagnosis and treatment of
human diseases, or intended to change
the physiological state and functions of the
organism.
Medicinal plant products
Medicinal plant products may be divided into the
following groups:
1). crude products (powder, tea, herbal collections)
2). galenical and neogalenical
phytopharmaceuticals (hidroalcogolic tinctures,
fluid extracts)
3). primary processed plant products (volatile and
fixed oils, resins)
4). individual principles (alkaloids, glycosides).
Herbal materials
Herbal materials include, in addition to
herbs, fresh juices, gums, fixed oil,
essential oils, resins and dry powders of
herbs. In some countries, these materials
may be processed by various local
procedures, such as steaming, roasting or
stir baking with honey, alcoholic
beverages or other materials.
Biologically active substances
Biologically active substances affect the
biological processes in human and animal
organisms. Medicinal substances are the
biologically active substances that may change
the physiological state and function of the
organism, may have the prophylactic, diagnostic
or therapeutic effects and be used in
manufacturing of medicinal preparations. These
active constituents are differentiated from inert
constituents, which also occur in plant and
animal drugs.
Chemical composition of medical
plants
Substances of primary synthesis
Substances of primary synthesis are
formed in the process of assimilation, i.e.
transformation of substances entering the
organism from the outside, into the
substances of the organism itself (cell
protoplast , reserve substances, etc.). The
substances of primary synthesis include
amino acids, proteins, lipids,
carbohydrates, enzymes, vitamins and
organic substances.
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Substances of secondary synthesis are formed in plants
as a result of dissimilation. Dissimilation is the process of
dissolution of the primary synthesis of substances into
simpler substances, accompanied by energy. From
these simple substances emitted to the cost of energy
form the substance of secondary synthesis. For
example, glucose (the primary agent of synthesis)
dissociates into acetic acid, which is synthesized into
mevalonic acid and through the series of intermediate
products are formed all terpenes.
The substances of secondary synthesis include
terpenes, glycosides, phenolic compounds, alkaloids. All
of them are involved into metabolism and fullfil some
important functions for the plants.
Substances of secondary synthesis
Substances of secondary synthesis are formed in
plants as a result of dissimilation. Dissimilation is the
process of dissolution of the primary synthesis of
substances into simpler substances, accompanied by
energy. From these simple substances emitted to the
cost of energy form the substance of secondary
synthesis. For example, glucose (the primary agent of
synthesis) dissociates into acetic acid, which is
synthesized into mevalonic acid and through the series
of intermediate products are formed all terpenes.
The substances of secondary synthesis include
terpenes, glycosides, phenolic compounds, alkaloids. All
of them are involved into metabolism and fullfil some
important functions for the plants.
Standardization of medicinal
plant materials
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Standardization of medicinal plant materials is a
determination of identity, quality and other features by
their comparison with the standard requirement.
EU – Quality of Herbal Medicinal Products.
WHO – Quality Control Methods for Medicinal Plant
Materials.
Quality control methods (QCM) -- , controlling the
medicinal plant materials quality in pharmaceutical
industry in Ukraine, are the Pharmacopoeia
Monographs.
Pharmacopoeia Monograph establishes requirements
to a medicinal products, medical plant materials as well,
as their package, conditions of preservation, methods,
employed in evaluating medicinal prodacts
Pharmacopoeia Monographs of the State
Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine (SPU)

Pharmacopoeia Monographs of the SPU
(State Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine) for
medicinal plant materials comprise Ukraine and
Latin names of plant material; nominations of
used part; contents of active compounds;
morphological and microscopical characters of
MPM; chromatographic test for identity of
markers; quality tests (foreign matter; loss on
drying, or water content, total ash; ash insoluble
in hydrochloric acid; extractable matter);
techniques for quantitative determination of
major active principles.
Methods of pharmacognostical
analysis
 Methods
of pharmacognostical analysis is the
complex of methods allowing to determine the
identity, purity and quality of MPM; it
includes the macroscopic, microscopic and
phytochemical methods and commodity
research method (definition of numerical
parameters), sometimes the biological method.
Macroscopic analysis MPM
 Macroscopic
analysis is the study of
morphological signs of MRM with the
naked eye or with the help of magnifying
glass and the selection of diagnostic, i.e.
the specific features of this MRM.
Macroscopic analysis includes the study of
the appearance of raw material, the
measurement of its separate parts, the
performance of organoleptic samples.
Microscopic analysis of MPM
 Microscopic
analysis of MPM is the
study of the anatomic structure of raw
material and the identification of all variety
of diagnostic features. The specific
diagnostic features of the investigated
kind are listed in the particular PhA.