PHARMACOGNOSY

_,..__...,.....______~,.,_._,_

Points to be covered in this topic

---..: □ DEFINITION
---..: □ HISTORY

----.: □ SCOPE AND DEVELOPMENT

---..: □ SOURCES OF DRUGS

---...: □ ORGANIZED DRUGS

...........: □ UNORGANIZED DRUGS

 INTRODUCTION TO PHARMACOGNOSY

(□ DEFINITION l
• Pharmacognosy is defined as the scientific study of the structural,
physical, chemical and biological characters of crude drugs along with
their history, cultivation, collection, preparation for the market and
preservation.
• Thus Pharmacognosy literally means to acquire knowledge about
drugs.
[□ HISTORY l
• The oldest lmown herbal docum.e nt of China
i Pen Tsao written by Shen Nung.
3000BC Pen-t-Sao • It believed that Pen Tsao is the oldest
document and contain 365 drugs in which
120 emperor, 120 minister and 125 servant
drugs.

• It consists of ma of as many as 800 formulae

1500BC Papyrus and about 700 crude drugs of the plant and
Ebers mineral origin.
• Books were written in Egypt

• The great Greek physician known as

460 - Hippocrates 'Father of Medicine' deals with the
360BC anatomy & physiology of human beings.

• The renowned philosopher is well known

Aristode for his studies on animal kingdom.
(Recorded 500 plants)

The ~reek philosopher known for his writings

372 - 37 BC on the plant kingdom.
 The Greek physician in 78 AD described
• OIOAD Dloacorldes several plants of medicinal importance in
'De Materia Medica'. (600 medicinal
plants)
The Greek pharmacist describes various
131 - 200AD Galen methods of extraction & preparation
containing active constituents of crude drugs.

1707-1778 SWede The great syst.ematist classified the plants

Linnaeus and introduced the system of naming the
plants known as the binomial system which
is still followed.

(d) DIOICOfdlN (I) . . . . &.--.

(MO • OIOAO) (1ffl • 1771AD)

[ □ SCOPE AND DEVELOPMENT l

• There is continuous increase in the demand of herbal products in many
countries due to safe use.
• India's have introduced Herbal pharmacopoeia's which contains
regulatory requirement.
• Pharmacognosy should posses the basic knowledge of botany and zoology.
• The knowledge of plant taxonomy, plant breeding and plant genetics is
helpful in the development of cultivation technology for medicinal plants.
• Chemotaxonomy - Based on modern ideas of classification.
• Plant tissue culture, biogenetic pathway, biochemistry, biochemical
engineering put new development in pharmacology.
• Pharmacognosy is an vital link between· pharmacology and medicinal
chemistry.
• Pharmacognosy is also an important link between ayurvedic a nd
allopathic medicine.
• The use of herbal drugs is increasing day by day and new plant drugs are
fin ding their way into medicine as purified phytochemicals.

.. l
Pla:r,.ts- Plant source is the oldest source of drugs. Most of the drugs in
ancient times were derived from plants. Almost all parts of the plants are
used i.e. leaves, stem, bark, fruits and roots etc.
For example leaves of Digitalis purpurea are the source of Digitoxin and
Digoxin, which are cardiac glycosides.

s. I SOURCES I
NO. OF DRUG EXAMPLE

• Alkaloids:- Nuxvomica, Opium, Cinchona, Ergot, Rauwolfia

• Glycosides :- Digitalis, Senna, Liquorice
• Lipid :-Castor oil, Kokum butter
1. PLANT • Volatile oil :- Clove, Fennel
• Tannins :- Myrobalan, Pale catechu
• Resins:- Colo phony, Jalap, Balsam of tolu
• Carbohydrate :- Acacia, Guar gum, Pectin

Animals- Pancreas is a source of Insulin, used in treatment of Diabetes. Sheep

thyroid is a source of thyroxin, used in hypertension. Cod liver is used as a
source of vitamin A and D. Cochineal (dried full grown female insects) consists
of carminic acid used as colouring agent for foods, drugs and for cosmetic
products.

s.
NO.
I SOURCES I
OF DRUG EXAMPLE

• Hormone 1- Thyroid, Conjugated Oestrogen, Insulin, Oxytocin,

Vasopressin, Gonadotropins
• Enzymes ,. Pancreatin, Trypsin, Chymotrypsin, Fibrinolysin,
2. ANIMAL
Pepsin, Hyaluronldase
• Vitamins 1 Cod liver oil,Sharkliver oil
111

• Carbohydrate :- Honey
Marine Sources- The greater part of the earth surface is covered by seas and
ocean, which contains about 5,00,000 species of marine organisms. Many of
these compounds have shown pronounced biological activity
s. SOURCES I
NO. j OF DRUG EXAMPLE

Antimicrobial agents:- Cephalosporins, Thelpin, Holotoxin,

Variabilin
Antiviral Agents :- Ara-a, Avarol, Eudostomin-a, Oppositol
AntiparasiticAgent :- DomoicAcid, a-kainic Acid, Bengamide-f,
Anticancer agent :- Sinularin, Crassin Acetate, Halitoxin,
3. Marine Asperidol
Anticoagulant :- Carrageenan, Fucoidan
Cardiovascular Agent :- Eledoisin, Octopamine, Tetramine
Saxitoxin, Laminine
Anti-inflammatory agent :- Manoalide ,Flexibility, Tetradoxin

Plant Tissue Culture- It is in-vitro cultivation of plant cell or tissue under

aseptic and controlled environmental conditions, in liquid or on semisolid well
defined nutrient medium for the production of primary and secondary
metabolites or to regenerate plant. Applications are Production of
Phytopharmaceuticals, Biochemical Conversions Clonal Propagation (Micro-
propagation), Production of Immobilized Plant Cell and Sources of drugs of
natural origin.

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(□ Organized and unorga~ized drugs ]
Organized drugs Unorganized drugs
They are the sources from plants They are the sources of plants
and ani1nals. ,animals and minerals.

They procured directly from the They are products of plants and
above Sources. animals and obtained by extraction,
distillation, incision methods.

They have proper cellular structures They do not have well defined
like, leaves, flowers, fruits, barks, cellular structure like gum, mucilage,
roots, woods etc resin etc.

They are identified by They are identified by organoleptic

morphological characters properties.

They are solid in nature. They are solid, semi-solid and liquid
in nature.

To study their characters, transverse To study their characters, physical

section is used for drugs under parameters like density, optical
microscope. rotation, viscosity, refractive index,
chemical tests are important.
•!• EXAMPLES OF ORGANIZED DRUGS :-
Leaves - Digitalis, Eucalyptus, Mint, Senna,
Spearmint, Squill, Tulsi, Vasaka, Coca, Buchu,
Hyoscyamus, Belladonna, Tea.
Fruits - Fennel, Coriander Hyoscyamus Belladonna
Barks - Cascara, Cassia, Cinchona, Cinnamon,
Cascara

Cinnamon
Root -Aconite, Ipecac Aconite
Seed - lsapghula, Nux-Vomica
Flowering parts Clove,
Pyrethrum, Chamomile

Pyrethrum Nux-Vomica

•:• EXAMPLES OF UNORGANIZED DRUGS :-

► Dried latex
• Latex is the milky sap of many plants that coagulates on exposure to air. It
is an emulsion or suspension in which the aqueous phase is composed of
mineral salts, proteins, sugars, tannins & alkaloids. The oily phase is
composed of oils, resins, etc.

✓ Latex is usually produced in laticiferous tissues which may be:

• Laticiferous cells
• Laticiferous tubes.
• Laticiferous vessels (originate from many cells); e.g. Opium

► Dried juices
These juices are got from fresh fruit. Mixing these juices with water, milk
or soda you'll have unforgettable refreshing drink
► Dried extracts
• This group includes drugs whi ch are prepared by evaporati ng the
aqueous decoction from parts of certain pJ.u1t s or arnnwls.
Examples of dried extracts are the following drugs:
1. Agar

2. Gelatin
3. Ga1nbar or catechu

Extraction Emulsions

Flaxseed Oil Cake Extract (FOCE)

Flaxseed Oil Cake

Spray drying
180°C
Flaxseed oil (10%/20°/o)+Maltodextrin + starch
• Oil stability
• PV and TBARS
• Color Storage time: 4 weeks
• ALA content
• Antioxidant activity: ABTS, DPPH . . . I

• Total Polyphenolics Content

• Total Free Amino Acids Content
• FTIR

► Gums and mucilage

• Gums and mucilage have similar
constitutions and on hydrolysis yield a ;
,.· --- :"' »:,., ...
. l.
# -~
mixture of sugars and uronic acids . .,4I·· "I
•,
It
• Gums are considered to be pathological ~~

...
products, while mucilage is formed by · .. • ....
•
normal metabolism . "4 ~.,.
 ► Oleoresins
• These are found in abundance in the trunk
of the trees in the resin ducts or in
rhizomes (ginger), fruits ( capsicum) and
other parts of the plants.
• They are insoluble in water, may be semi-
solid or solid.
• Many times they get associated with gums
or volatile oils.
Example - Copaiba, ginger

► Oleo-gum-resins
• Oleogum resins are naturally occurring
mixtures of resin, volatile oil and
gum.
• The example includes gum myrrh,
asafoetida, gamboge, etc.
• Oleogum resin ooze out from incisions
made in a bark and harden.
 UNIT-I
I ~LA:SSIFICATION (()F DRUGS

Points to be covered in this topic

..........: □ ALPHABETICAL
..........: □ MORPHOLOGICAL

......---.: □ TAXONOMICAL
- -----.: □ CHEMICAL

- -----.: □ PHARMACOLOGICAL

---~: □ CHEMO AND SEROTAXONOMICAL

 [ CLASSIFICATION OF DRUGS )

□ ALPHABETICAL

• In Alphabetical classification, the crude drugs are arranged in the

alphabetical order of their English and Latin names.
a. Indian pharmacopeia IP 1955 {Latin)
b. Indian pharmacopeia IP 1966 (English)
c. British pharmacopeia BP (English)
d. United States of pharmacopeia USP (English)
e. European pharmacopeia (Latin)
E..g. for alphabetical order of crude drugs- l "lo l>I .\ 'lo
PIIAR \ 1 \I ( )PO f:I. \
211, ..
A - Acacia, Agar, Amla, Ashoka, Aconite. Atjuna.
B - Benzoin, Bahera, Bentonite, Beeswax.
C - Cinchona, Chirata, Cinnamon, Cumin.
D - Dill, Datura, Digitalis
E - Ergot, Ephedra, Eucalyptus.
•!• Advantage -
• A simple and useful method for books and references like I.P; B.P; U.S.P.
• Tracking of crude drugs in easy way.
• Any addition of crude drug is very easy.
• This system is handling by any person. No need for technical person.

•!• Disadvantage -
1.This system does not provide any information for the scientific nature of
crude drugs.
2. In this classification original source is not clear.
3. Nature of drug is not clear either it is organized or un-organized.
□ MORPHOLOGICAL

• Morphological classification is based on the morphological or

external characters of the crude drugs.
• In this system the drugs are arranged according to the morphological or
external characters of the parts of the plants, which is used as a drug
like leaves, barks, fruits, seeds, flowers, etc.
In this system the crude drugs are further divide as-
1. Organised drug
2. Un-organized drug
► Organised drug- These drugs contains direct plant parts. These drugs
represent any part of plant with cellular structure like leaves, roots,
bark, seeds etc.
► Un-organized drug - These drugs are not direct parts of the plants but
they are prepared from plants. These drugs does not represents any part
of the plant without cellular structure like gums, resins, fat, waxes etc.
Example of Crude drugs under morphological classification:
• Seeds - Nux-vomica, Isabgol
• Leaves - Senna, Digitalis, Vasaka
• Barks - Cinchona, Kurchi, Cinnamon
• Roots - Rauwolfia, Aconite, Ipecac
• Rhizomes - Turmeric, Ginger
• Flowers - Clove, Saffron
• Fruits - coriander, fennel
• Gums - Acacia, Tragacanth
• Plant's exudates- Black catechu,Aloe.
•!• Advantage -
• This system is easy for the classification of crude drugs.
• Without knowing the chemical constituents, drugs are classified properly.
• This type of classification is useful in identifying the adulterants

•!• Disadvantage -
• 1. This system does not provide any information regarding chemical
constituents and therapeutic use of crude drugs.
• 2. It is difficult to recognize the organized or un-organized nature of
crude drugs.

□ Taxonomical
• Taxonomical classification is purely a botanical classification and is based
on the principles of natural relationship among organisms.
• The drugs are grouped in Kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus and
species.
Example:
Phylum - Spermatophyta
Class - Dicotyledons
Sub-class - Sympetalae
Order - Tubiflorae
Family- Solanaceae
Genus - Atropa, Hyoscyamus

•!• Advantage
• This system provide information about scientific nature of drugs.
• Majority of characters are easily studied.

•!• Disadvantage
• Drugs obtained from non living origin are not classified in this system
 □ Chemical Classification

• In this system of classification, drugs are arranged according to the

chemical nature of active constituents of the drugs.
• This classification is based on the chemical nature of the active
constituents or chemical constituents of drugs.

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS DRUG

Alkaloids Vinca, Datura, Lobelia

Resins Colophony , Benzoin

Tannins Catechu, Ashoka

Volatile oils Clove, Eucalyptus

Lipids Castor Oil, Beeswax

Proteins and enzymes Gelatin, Papain

•!• Advantage

• This type of classification is very easy for the study of chemical

constituents .
• On behalf of chemical constituents, medicinal use also studied.

•!• Disadvantage

• In this type of classification there is no proper placement for drugs

containing two different types of chemical constituents.
• The drugs of different origin are placed under similar chemical titles.
 - - -- -----

□ Pharrnacological
• This type of classification is based on the therapeutic effect or
pharrnacological action of crude drugs.
• This system of classification can be used for suggesting substitutes of
drugs if they are not available at a particular place or point of time.
PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTION DRUGS
Anti-inflammatory Turmeric, Mint, Aloe
Anti-amoebic Kurchi Bark, Ipecac
Anti-asthmatic Ephedra, Vasaka, l.obelia
Astringent Ashoka, Myrobalan
Anti-cancer Vinca, Taxus
DRUG ACTING ON G.I.T
Carminative Fennel, Cardamom, Mentha
Emetic Ipecac
Laxative Agar, Isabgol, Banana
Purgative Senna, Castor oil
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Expectorant Vasaka, Liquorice, Ipecac
Antitussive codeine

•!• Advantage
• In this classification if the chemical constituents of the drugs are not
lmown they can be classified properly on the basis of therapeutic effects
or pharmacological uses.
• Drugs with differ in mechanism of action but similar in pharmacological
action fall in same group.
•!• Disadvantage
• This classification is not provide information regarding morphology,
taxonomical status, chemical constituents of drugs.
• Does not provide any information regarding sources of drugs .
 □ Chemotaxonomic
• This system of classification applies Chemistry to systematics.
• It includes systematic study of the chemical variation between different
plant truca.
• It helps to understand the relationship between constituents in various
plants and the trucon they belong to. Certain plant families are even
characterized by the presence of certain chemical compounds.

Example - Tropane alkaloids are found in Solanaceae, rutin in Rutaceae etc.

•!• Advantages:
• It is simple method, in this system location, tracing and addition of the
drug is easy.
• No technical person is required for handling the system.

•!• Disadvantages:
• Scientific nature of the drug cannot be identified by this method, whether
they are organized or unorganized drug.
• This system does not help in distinguishing the drugs of plant, animal
and mineral source. ( Original source is not clear)

□ Serotaxonomical classification
• Serology is defined as that portion of biology, which is concerned with the
nature and interactions of antigenic material and antibodies.

• Smith (1976) defined it as "the study of the origins and properties of

antisera" When foreign cells or particles (antigens) are introduced into an
organism, antibodies are produced in the blood (antiserum).
•!• Advantages:
• It is simple method, in this system location, tracing and addition of the
drug is easy
• No technical person is required for handling the system.
•!• Disadvantages:
• Scientific nature of the drug cannot be identified by this method, whether
they are organised or unorganised drug.
• This system does not help in distinguishing the drugs of plant, animal
and mineral source.
 UNIT-I
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.

. ,DRUGS OF NATURAL ORIGIN'

Points to be covered in this topic
.......... □ ADULTERATION OF DRUG
.......... □ EVALUATION
► Organoleptic method
► Microscopic method
► Physical method
► Chemical method
► Biological method
.......... □ QUANTITATIVE MICROSCOPY
........... □ LYCOPODIUM SPORE METHOD
.......... □ LEAFCONSTANTS
......... □ CAMERA LUCIDA .
 QUALITY CONTROL OF DRUGS OF
NATURAL ORIGIN

□ ADUtTERATION OF DRUGS

• Adulteration is broadly defined as admixing or substitution of original or

genuine drugs with inferior, defective or otherwise useless, worthless or
harmful substance.
• It is a practice of substituting original crude drug in part or whole with
other similar looking substances.
• It also occurs due to spoilage and deterioration of drugs.
• The drug is said to be adulterated if it fails to confirm to the compendia!
standards of quality, purity and strength.

• Adulteration means deterioration, admixture, sophistication,

substitution, inferiority and spoilage.
•!• Deterioration : It refers to the change caused in drug quality.
•!• Admixture : It refers to addition of one or more items to the drug
either due to ignorance or carelessness.
•!• Sophistication : Intentional adulteration meant for material gains e.g
Crocus sativus is adulterated with Carthamus tinctorius.
•!• Substitution : Some other drug is presented as the original drugs e.g
Strychnos nux blanda and S. potatorum instead of S. nux vom ica.
•!• Inferiority : It Refers to any substandard drug and spoilage is due to the
attack of microorganisms.

Deterioration ·
e
 Admixttle Inferiority Sophistication

~~ ' ,
Com• substitution 1----.-~ Altentic ctUtJ .__._.. lmpirmeM
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1 of qualify
adutteration) " {

Spoilage Md deterioration
Substaxlard'aj(jterated d1JJ

► TYPE OF ADULTERATION

✓ Substitution with substandard commercial varieties: The adulterants

used here may resemble original crude drug by morphological, chemical
or therapeutic characters, but are substandard in nature and hence
cheaper in cost.
✓ Substitution with superficially similar inferior drugs:
• These inferior drugs used may or may not have any chemical or
therapeutic value as that of original natural drug.
• Due to their morphological resemblance to authentic drug, they are
marketed as adulterants.
✓ Substitution with artificially manufactured substances:
• It has been also observed that substances artificially prepared to
resemble original drug are used as substitutes.
• Generally, this practice is followed for much costlier drugs.
✓ Substitution with exhausted drugs:
• In this type, the same drug is admixed but is devoid of any medicinally
active constituents as they are already e~acted out.
• This practice is more common in case of volatile oil containing drugs like
fennel, clove, coriander, caraway etc.
• Sometimes, naturalcharacters of exhausted drugs like colour and taste are
manipulated by adding other additives and then it is substituted.

✓ Besides these common practices:

• sometimes other methods are employed like use of synthetic chemicals to
enhance the natural character
✓ Presence of vegetative matter from the same plant:
• Sometimes, the other miniature plants growing along with medicinal
plant are mixed with drug due to their resembling colour, odour and in
some cases constituents.
✓ Harmful adulterants:
• Several times, the wastes from market are collected and admixed with
authentic drugs.
• This is particularly noticed for liquids or unorganized drugs.
✓ Adulteration of powders:
• Besides the entire drugs, the powdered forms are frequently found to be
adulterated.

□ DRUG EVALUATION

• Drug evaluation means confirmation of its identity, determination of its

purity and quality and detection of nature of adulteration.
• It has been established that chemical constituents of a plant species vary
with respect to climatic and seasonal changes.

Different methods used are -

1. Organoleptic evaluation
2. Microscopic evaluation
3. Physical evaluation
4. Chemical evaluation
5. Biological evaluation
•!• Organolep tic evaluation
• It refers to the evaluation of drug through gross morphology like size and
shape of leaves, flower, bark, seed, fruits, woods etc and sensory
profile like colour, odour, taste, touch and texture of plant.
• Organoleptic evaluation means conclusions drawn from impressions on
organs of senses.
► leaves
Type of leaves . Simple and compound leave
_ __..-=--=--=--=--=-.---- ------- --
Shape of leaves Oval, Oblong, Round, Cordate, Linear,
Lanceolate, Ovate, Obovate.
Type of leaf apex Acute, Acuminate, Obtuse, Recurred
Type of leaf margin Entire, Serrate, Crenate, Sinuate, Dentate
Type of leaf base symmetrical , Asymmetrical, Cordate,
Decurrent
Type of venation of Parallel, Reticulate, Palmate, Reticulate
L.___4'1.--..

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Stcu-ahas,.cl

O•al Elliptical Deltoid

Fig. Shape of leaves

8 J t

Photo1 Photo 2
Simple leaf Compound leaf
'

Fig. Type of leaves

► Flowers
Type of inflorescence :-
Solitary, Cymose, Raceme,
f w
Solitary Raceme Corymb Spike
.r
c.[
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T.
Capitulum
~,
Spadix
Spike, Corymb, Capitulum ... .
-~ .
..
T r
.. ..
~ ~ • p ·V
Umbel Compound umbel Unlparous cyme Dichasial cyme
► Bark a z

Shape of bark .·- Flat, Curved, Recurred, Channeled quill, Double quill,
Compound quill

m e J ~ F\\
Flat Curved Recurved Channelled

Quill Double quill Compound quill

► Seed
Type of seed :- Globular, Spherical, Oval, Planoconvex, Reniform

t- -~ • ~1 ,#

,~ ·~-,--
FenugrNk Cilantro/
corlan~, ~inut
Kabull chkkp~.a/
Corn
pr!Nnzo be.an

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Yellow musurd

~
Cumin

Cow~.1

--~ .. "~ .....

Sorshum
Field pea
C.r•w•v
C.nol•
..-4'
J$ ~ G1Hn1ram/

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~dpepper c.,om muna be•n Rice Wild sunflowef

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Blackc.umln
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Wheat Bladeye oowpea
Chk•pea
 ► Odour and taste of somedrugs
• Camphor-aromatic odour,
• Ginger, capsicum-pungent odour
• Cardamom- green colour fruit
• Cinnamon- brown color bark
• Fractured surface- cinchona
• Lemon-sour taste
• Honey-sweet
•!• Microscopic evaluation
• This evaluation is also known as anatomical evaluation or histological
evaluation of crude drugs.

• This method can be used to identify the organized drug in powdered form
by their histological characters or anatomical cell or tissue arrangements.
• This evaluation also covers study of the constituents by application of
chemical method to small quantities of powdered drug.
Microscopic evaluation include
✓ Leaf constants
✓ Types of stomata
✓ Calcium oxalate crystals
✓ Trichome
✓ Stomata:
• Stomata are the minute epidermal opening present in the aerial part of the
leaves.
• Mainly it helps in gaseous exchange.
• It consists of two kidney shaped cells with middle tiny pore.
• Broadly four types of stomata viz. stomoos:,en

• Moss type, Gymnospermous, Gramineous type and Dicotyledonous type.

e.g. - Paracytic- Senna, Coca
Diacytic- Spearmint, Peppermint
Anomocytic - Buchu, Clove, Opium
Anisocytic - Vinca, Belladonna
Actinocytic - Blue berry, Sunken -ephedra
✓ Trichome:
• Trichomes are hair-like components, found on the epidermis of several
types of plant stems and leaves.
• Sometimes in seeds also observed (Nuxvomica).
• Generally they are colorless under microscope but lignified in case of Nux
von1ica .
• Covering trichomes (Unicellular and multicellular), glandular and
hydathodes.
• Multicellular covering trichomes are two types namely branched and
unbranched.
• Glandular trichomes: They are two types namely Unicellular and
multicellular
Examples:
• Unicellular covering trichomes: Senna, Nuxvomica, Cannabis, Lobelia
• Multicellular unbranched trichomes: Datura, Digitalis, Belladonna
• Multicellular Branched trichomes: Artemisia, Pyrethrum
• Unicellular glandular trichomes: Betel, Vasaka, Piper
• Multicellular glandular trichomes: Digitalis
• Hydathodes: Present in Piper betal

•!• Chemical evaluation

• It involves both qualitative and quantitative determinations of their active
principles.
• In this method characteristic qualitative chemical tests are employed to
identify crude drugs and their constituents.
• Quantitative chemical assays are used to determine their quality and
purity
• This method of evaluation is now widely used in the examination of crude
drugs for its accuracy and reliability
Generally it is completed in two parts -
1. Preliminary phyto-chemical screening
2. Particular chemical test for different phyto-constituen
Examples
• For alkaloids- Dragendroff's test, Mayer's test, Wagner's test
• For cardiac glycosides- Legal test, Baljet test, Killer Killiani test
• For steroids- Liebermann- Burchard reaction
• For carbohydrates- Molish test, Fehling solution test etc.
•!• Biological evaluation
This Biological evaluation of crude drugs is very useful in determining the
potency of drug sample. In this type of evaluation the extent of
pharmacological activity of the drug or its constituents is taken as the basis of
quality. Since living organisms or their isolated living tissues are used, this
method is also called the biological method or bioassay. Many drugs,
particularly the antibiotics, toxins and toxoids and also vitamins are assayed
by this method.
Examples
1. Analgesic activity is evaluated by Hot plate method, Tail flick method
2. Antipyretic activity is evaluated by Yeast induced pyrexia method
3. Anti-inflammatory activity is evaluated by Carageenan induced rat paw
edema
•!• Physical Evaluation
The Physical evaluation of crude drugs is accomplished by the determination
of various physical constants using various physicochemical techniques. The
common physical constants used to evaluate crude drugs and their extracted
chemical principles include specific gravity (particularly of the fats and
volatile oils and some crude drugs as Nutgalls), optical rotation (of some
alkaloids in solution and of volatile oils), refractive index (particularly of the
volatile and fixed oils), melting points (of isolated alkaloids and their
derivatives), ash values (of most crude drugs) and extractive values (of
most crude drugs).
Moisture content
Limit for moisture content:
 ALOES Not more than 10%
DIGITALIS Not more than 05%
ERGOT Not 1nore than 08%
ACACIA Not more than 15%
STARCH Not more than 15%
Ash content
• Physiological ash : Derived from plant tissue itself
• Non physiological ash : Consist of residue of extraneous matter sand ,
soil etc. adhering to the herb itself
• Total ash: Physiological Ash+ Non physiological Ash

Fluorescence analysis

HERBAL DRUG NATURE OF FLUORESCENCE

CINCHONA Purple blue
GENTIAN ROOT Whitish blue
IPOMOEA Deep purple-violet
QUASSIA Whitish blue
RHUBARB Violet

□ QANTITATIVE MICROSCOPY OF CRUDE DRUGS

► Lycopodium spore method:
• This method is use to identify the crude drugs when the chemical and
physical methods ar~ inapplicable.
• This method is also useful to detect the adulteration present in the crude
drugs containing starch grains.
Examples:
• The percentage purity of an authentic powdered ginger is calculated using
the following equation:
% purity= N x W x 94000 x 100 / S x M x P
Where,
N = Number of characteristic structures (starch grain) in 25 fields.
W = Weight in mg oflycopodium taken.
S = Number oflycopodium spores in the same 25 fields.
M = Weight in mgof the sample, calculated on the basis of sample dried at
105°C.
P = 2,86,000 in case of ginger starch grains powder.
Significance:
• Determination of foreign organic matter.
• Determination of percentage purity of drugs.
• Detection of adulterant
► Leaf constants:
1. Stomal Index:
• It is the percentage proportion of the number of stomata to the total
number of epidermal cells.
• Stomata} number varies considerably with the age of the leaf but stomatal
index is relatively constant for a given species.
Example: Atropa- 20.0-23.0 Oower epidermis)
2. Stomata number
Stomata! number is defined as the average number of stomata per sq
mm of epidermis of the leaf.
3. Palisade ratio
Numbers of palisade cell under each epidermal cell
4. Vein islet number
Number of vein islet per sq. mm of the leaf surface between midrib and
margin
5. Vein-termination
Number ofveinlettermination
per sq. mmof
the leaf between
midrib and margin
► Camera Lucida:
• It is an optical device or instrument in which rays oflight are reflected by a
prism to produce an image on a sheet of paper, from which a drawing is
made.
• It works on simple optical principle reflecting beam of light through a
prism and a plane mirror.
• There are two types of camera lucida namely Swift Ives and Abbe
model camera lucida.
• The Abbe camera lucida consists of a prism fitted over the eyepiece of the
microscope.
• A side arm is carrying a mirror that supported vertical over the tracing
paper
• In Swift Ives Camera lucida the plane mirror is replaced by a small right
angled prism.
• It is a small size and fitted over the eyepiece of the microscope with a
screw.

Principle:
During use, the light from the drawing board is reflected
by the plane mirror into the prism and further
reflected into the observer's eye that is seeing the
drawing paper and the pencil in the direction of the
stage of the microscope. The prism has a small opening
through which the observer is seeing the image of the
object. As a result, the superimposed image then
conveniently traces the microscopic object