Introduction to

Pharmacology ll
Objectives
• Enlist the different sources of drugs.
• Describe FDA teratogenic risk categories.
• Describe drug’s nomenclature.
• Define pharmacopoeia.
• Enlist different types of pharmacopoeias.
• Describe the important information given in the
pharmacopoeias.
Pharmacology & Drug

• It is the Science that deals with the study of the

interaction between drugs and living organisms.

• Drug: Broadly defined as any chemical agent that

affects living protoplasm
• A Drug is “ any substance or product that is used or
intended to be used to modify or explore physiological
systems or pathological states for the benefit of
recipients”
Sources
•Natural

•Synthetic

•Semi-synthetic
Natural
1. Vegetable sources
2. Animal sources
3. Microbiological sources
4. Mineral sources
1. Vegetables / Plants
Oldest source
All parts including
leaves,
seeds,
flowers,
roots,
bark, etc.
e.g.,

• Belladona leaves
• Ephedra
• Cinchona bark
• Digitalis leaves
• Nux vomica seeds
• Senna seeds & fruits
• Poppy Folweres
Drugs / Chemicals derived

• Ephedra (Ephedrine)
• Belladona (Atropine )
• Fox Glove (Digitalis )
• Nux Vomica (Strychnine)
• Poppy (Morphine, Papaverine)
• Cinchona (Quinine, Quinidine )
• Garlic (Allicin,
Organosulpher comp)
2.Animal Sources

Active Principles are:

• Proteins
• Oil & fats
• Enzymes
• Hormones
Their semi-synthetic derivatives are: e.g.
• Insulin(the pancreases of cows and pigs.)
•Hormones (Sex Hormones)
•Throid extract
•Heparin(Beef lung or pig intestine)
•Vaccines
•Vitamins (Cod Liver Oil)
3. Minerals Sources
Metals,
Metalloids,
Non metal substances and
their compounds
have been used as drugs.
e.g.,
• Mercury was earliest for
syphilis
• Iron for anemia
• Iodine for goiter and
antiseptic
• Calcium
• Zinc
• Copper
• Sodium
• Potassium
5.Microbiological Structures
e.g., from bacteria
Antibiotics and vitamins
• Penicillin was 1st to be identified
• now many useful semi-synthetic
penicillins have been produced.
MICROBIOLOGICAL
( Biotechnology)
• Enzymes
• Antibodies
• Growth factors
• Hormones
• Regulatory proteins
2. Synthetic Sources
• prepared in pharmaceutical
industry
• Organic , Inorganic,
combinations.
• >90% are synthetic, e.g.,
• Nitrous oxide, Chloroform.
Ether, Chloral Hydrate were
earliest.
• Antipyretics, Sulphonamides,
Antihistamines etc.
3.Semi synthetic
• Produced by Natural substance alteration: examples
include
• Penicillin G from penicillin
• Procain Penicillin from penicillin
• Homatropine from atropine
• Diacetylmorphine from morphine
Genetic engineering
• It involves the isolation, manipulation and reintroduction of DNA into
cells or model organisms, usually to express a protein.
• The aim is to introduce new characteristic or attributes
• Since a protein is specified by a segment of DNA called a gene, future
version of that protein can be modified by changing the genes’s
underlying DNA
• One way to do this is to isolate the piece of DNA containing the gene,
precisely cut the gene out, and then reintroduce (splice) the gene into
a different DNA segment.
• Examples of the drugs obtained from such a source include Human t-
PA (Alteplase), Reteplase, Human growth hormone (somatropin), LH
(Lutropin), FSH (Follitropin alfa and beta), TSH (Thyrotropin alfa)
DRUG NOMENCLATURE
• A drug generally has three categories of names:
(a)Chemical name
- It describes the substance chemically,
- e.g. For Propanolol
- 1-(Isopropylamino)-3-(1-naphthy loxy) propan-2-ol.
- This is cumber some and not suitable for use in prescribing.
- A code name, e.g. RO 15-1788 (later named flumazenil) may be
assigned by the manufacturer for convenience and simplicity before
an approved name is coined.
(b) Non-proprietary name
It is the name accepted by a competent scientific
body/authority,
e.g.
the United States Adopted Name (USAN) by the USAN
council.
Similarly, there is the British Approved name (BAN) of a
drug
• The non proprietary names of newer drugs are kept uniform by an
agreement to use the Recommended International Nonproprietary
Name (rINN) in all member countries of the WHO.
• The BAN of older drugs as well has now been modified to be
commensurate with rINN.
• However, many older drugs still have more than one non-proprietary
names,
• e.g. ‘meperidine’ and ‘pethidine’ or ‘lidocaine’ and ‘lignocaine’ for the
same drugs.
• Until the drug is included in a pharmacopoeia, the nonproprietary
name may also be called the approved name.
• After its appearance in the official publication, it becomes the
official name.
(c) Proprietary (Brand) name
• It is the name assigned by the manufacturer(s) and is his property or
trade mark.
• One drug may have mul tiple proprietary names, e.g. ALTOL,
ATCARDIL, ATECOR, ATEN, BETACARD, LONOL, TENOLOL, TENORMIN
for atenolol from different manufacturers.
• Brand names are designed to be catchy, short, easy to remember and
often suggestive, e.g. LOPRESOR suggesting drug for lowering blood
pressure.
• Even the same manufacturer may market the same drug under
different brand names in different countries.
Teratogenicity
It refers to capacity of a drug to cause foetal abnormalities when
administered to the pregnant mother.
Drugs can affect the foetus at 3
stages—
• (i) Fertilization and implantation—conception to 17 days—failure of
pregnancy which often goes unnoticed.
• (ii) Organogenesis—18 to 55 days of gestation— most vulnerable
period, deformities are pro duced.
• (iii) Growth and development—56 days onwards — developmental
and functional abnorma lities can occur, e.g. ACE inhibitors can cause
hypoplasia of organs, specially lungs and kidneys; NSAIDs may induce
premature closure of ductus arteriosus.
Drug Compendia
• Pharmacopoeias and Formularies are broughtout by the Government
in a country, hold legal status and are called official compendia.
• In addition, some non-official compendia are published by
professional bodies, which are supplementary and dependable
sources of information about drugs.
Pharmacopoeias
• They contain description of
• chemical structure,
• molecular weight,
• physical and chemical characteristics,
• solubility, identification
• and assay methods,
• standards of purity,
• storage conditions and
• dosage forms of officially approved drugs in a country.
• They are useful to drug manufacturers and regulatory authorities, but not to
doctors, most of whom never see a pharmacopoeia.
• Examples are Indian (IP), British (BP), European (Eur P), United States (USP)
pharmacopoeias.
Formularies
• Booklet form, listing indications, dose, dosage forms,
contraindications, precautions, adverse effects and storage of
selected drugs available for medicinal use in a country.
• Drugs are categorized by their therapeutic class and clinical conditions
in which they are used generally preceeds specifics of individual drugs
• Some rational fixed-dose drug combinations are included.
• Brief guidelines for treatment of selected conditions are provided.
• While British National Formulary (BNF) also lists brand names with
costs
• The National Formulary of Pakistan(NFP)
Martindale: The Complete Drug
Reference (Extrapharmacopoeia)
• Published every 2–3 years by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of
Great Britain
• this non-official compendium, updated compilation of unbiased
information on medicines used/registered all over the world.
• It includes new launches and contains pharmaceutical,
pharmacological as well as therapeutic information on drugs, which
can serve as a reliable reference book.