Modern Concept of Pharmacognosy

Pharmacognosy has always been a translational or interdisciplinary science, and as the breadth of this subject area has expanded, phytochemistry and phytochemical analysis have become essential components.

And through perseverance and the provision of effective vetting assays directed toward physiologically relevant molecular targets, molecular biology is becoming essential to medicinal plant drug discovery. Modern pharmacognosy also encapsulates these relevant new areas into a distinct interdisciplinary science.

The emphasis and focus of study in pharmacognosy have shifted dramatically from drug identification, such as the isolation of active constituents, too, more recently, biological activity investigation.

Ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, and ethnopharmacology research have become key pharmacognosy components.

Pharmacognosy is the study of crude remedies of plant and animal origin and their authentication and quality control, based on macroscopic and microscopic examination of raw drugs. In 1811, Schmidt, an Austrian physician, developed the word “pharmacognosy,” which Seydler utilised in Analecta Pharmacognostica in 1815.

The Evolution of Pharmacognosy

Pharmacognosy, like every scientific field, has also evolved over the years. It can thus be defined as that of the science of biogenic or naturally sourced drugs, pharmaceuticals, and poisons, as well as various modern analysis tools to authenticate and quality control crude drugs, purified active extracts, fractions, and components, or even medicinal foods. Pharmacognosy has progressed from the extraction, characterisation, and evaluation of bioactivity of active chemicals in medication research to crude medicine manufacture.

The Contemporary Period of Pharmacognosy

The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as “the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological features of medications, drug substances, or prospective pharmaceuticals or drug substances of natural origin, as well as the quest for innovative drugs from natural sources.” The modern study of natural substances produced from plants, bacteria, fungi, and marine animals is pharmacognosy.

The Significance of Pharmacognosy

Traditionally, pharmacognosy was acknowledged as an important component of drug discovery processes and pharmacy education; however, the introduction of new wonder medications manufactured in the laboratory has resulted in a fall in its usage.

Many scientists have recently recognised that indigenous knowledge about the therapeutic properties of several plants should never be lost since it provides valuable insight into the creation of new medications. Artemisinin, for example, is an old Chinese malaria treatment derived from the Artemisia annua or qinghaosu tree.

Phytotherapy and phytopharmaceuticals represent the reverence for traditional knowledge. Plant products are widely used to cure ailments in South American countries, China, and India, wherein billions are invested in pharmacognosy research to develop and commercialise natural therapeutic medications.

Other nations should investigate the use of medicinal plants in combating currently incurable and/or life-threatening illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, HIV, chronic pain, and malaria. Several natural medicines are now being studied in clinical studies.

Chemistry of natural goods

• Digoxin is a cardiac glycoside derived from the foxglove plant, Digitalis lanata

• Digoxin is frequently used to treat a variety of cardiac problems

• Bioassay-guided fractionation is a typical protocol for isolating a pure chemical agent from natural sources. It entails separating extracted components based on the differences in their physicochemical properties and assessing bioactivity, accompanied by the next round of separation and assaying

Such work is often begun once a certain crude drug formulation (normally created by solvent extraction of the natural material) is judged “active” in a specific in vitro assay. If the ultimate objective of the investigation is to determine which of the scores or hundreds of chemicals is responsible for the observed in vitro activity, the approach to that goal is rather simple. 

Conclusion

Pharmacognosy refers to the science of isolating medicinal elements from components available in nature. Due to the development of modern medicine, this science declined with time. However, greater importance is being given to developing natural medicine these days. Pharmacognosy is a growing field that will make headway shortly as the focus on natural medicine continues to grow.