Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy — BP105T Unit 1 Notes (B.Pharm 1st Year)
Subject: Pharmacognosy
BP105T — Pharmacognosy: Unit I (Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy) Quick Overview This unit lays the foundation of Pharmacognosy — what it is, where drugs come from, how humanity discovered landmark medicines, and how drugs are officially classified and documented. Every exam (semester, GPAT, NIPER, RRB) tests this unit heavily because it separates students who memorise from those who understand the discipline's logic. Core Concepts 1. Definition, History, Present Status, Scope & Development Definition (PCI-aligned): Pharmacognosy is the study of crude drugs of natural origin (plant, animal, mineral, marine, microbial) — their history, sources, physical and chemical characters, methods of cultivation, collection, preparation for market, and identification. Era Key Developments Ancient Ayurveda, Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita; Egyptian Ebers Papyrus (1550 BC); Greek Dioscorides' De Materia Medica 19th Century Coined by C.A. Seydler (1815) in Analecta Pharmacognostica ; Schmidt (1850s) popularised the term 20th Century Shift from crude drugs to pure active constituents (alkaloids, glycosides); rise of phytochemistry 21st Century Metabolomics, DNA barcoding, tissue culture, bioprospecting, reverse pharmacognosy Scope today: Quality control of herbal medicines Standardisation of crude drugs Drug discovery from natural sources Conservation and sustainable utilisation of medicinal plants Regulatory affairs (AYUSH, FDA, EMA) 2. Sources of Drugs Source Examples Key Notes Plants Quinine (Cinchona), Morphine (Papaver), Digoxin (Digitalis) Largest source (~80% of all drugs) Animals Insulin (pancreas), Heparin (liver), Cod liver oil, Honey, Beeswax Usually obtained as by-products Microbial Penicillin (Penicillium), Streptomycin (Streptomyces), Cephalosporin (Cephalosporium) Fermentation technology; antibiotics dominate Marine Cytarabine (sponge), Ecteinascidin-743 (tunicate), Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) Emerging source; "blue pharmacy" Mineral Kaolin, Talc, Bentonite, Iodine, Iron salts Used in traditional systems (Rasa Shastra) Plant Tissue Culture Shikonin (Lithospermum), Taxol (Taxus), Ginsenosides (Panax) Solves over-harvesting; bioreactor-based production 3. Historical Milestones in Drug Discovery Drug Source Discoverer / Year Significance Morphine Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) Sertürner, 1804 First pure alkaloid isolated; proved plants contain active chemicals, not just "vital forces" Quinine Cinchona bark Pelletier & Caventou, 1820 First effective antimalarial; enabled colonial expansion into tropics Aspirin Willow bark (salicin → salicylic acid) Hoffmann (Bayer), 1897 First synthetic modification of a natural product; prototype NSAID Warfarin Sweet clover (Melilotus) Link, 1940s Originally a cattle poison; became life-saving anticoagulant Penicillin Penicillium notatum Fleming, 1928; Chain & Florey, 1940 First antibiotic; revolutionised infectious disease treatment Cephalosporin Cephalosporium acremonium Brotzu, 1945; Newton & Abraham, 1953 Broader spectrum than penicillin; β-lactam antibiotic class Taxol (Paclitaxel) Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) Wani & Wall, 1962; approved 1992 First billion-dollar anticancer from plant; supply crisis drove tissue culture research Artemisinin Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood) Tu Youyou, 1971; Nobel 2015 Revolutionary antimalarial; saved millions of lives in Africa/Asia Memory hook: The story arc moves from plant alkaloids (morphine, quinine) → s ynthetic modification (aspirin, warfarin) → microbial antibiotics (penicillin, cephalosporin) → modern bioprospecting (taxol, artemisinin). 4. Pharmacopoeias — Official Standards Pharmacopoeia Region / Authority Focus Key Features Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) India / CDSCO Allopathic drugs + some herbal monographs Mandatory for drug manufacture/sale in India; latest IP 2022 British Herbal Pharmacopoeia (BHP) UK Herbal medicines exclusively Monographs on quality, purity, strength of herbal drugs USP — Herbal Medicines & Dietary Supplements USA Dietary supplements, botanicals Not as strict as prescription drugs; DSHEA 1994 framework Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API) India / Ministry of AYUSH Ayurvedic single drugs & formulations Part I (single drugs), Part II (formulations); essential for AYUSH practice Unani Pharmacopoeia of India (UPI) India / Ministry of AYUSH Unani (Greco-Arabic) medicines Standardises materia medica used in Unani system American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) USA Botanicals with therapeutic monographs Includes clinical data, not just quality standards 5. Official vs Non-Official; Codified vs Non-Codified Term Definition Examples Official drugs Included in a recognised pharmac
