What is Chemical Pharmacognosy?

Pharmacognosy concept is mostly used by all pharmaceutical companies for screening, characterizing and producing newly advanced to treat diseases in human beings. Read on to know more.

The term "Pharmacognosy" has been derived from the Greek words, "pharmakon" meaning drug, and "gnosis" meaning knowledge. Having represented the Science classical field, the concept of Pharmacognosy has been under a constant and significant change in recent years. Today, it represents a highly interdisciplinary science and being one of the five major areas of pharmaceutical education.

Pharmacognosy refers to the natural drugs obtained from organisms like most plants, microbes, and even animals. Today, several important drugs like that of morphine, galanthamine, atropine, etc. are said to originate from the natural sources that are considered as an effective molecular model in discovering the drug. Medicines that are traditional also form a part of pharmacognosy and that still most of the third world countries are dependent on herbal medicines. As a result of playing a crucial role in drug discovery, the concept of pharmacognosy remains quite popular within pharmaceutical sciences.

History of Pharmacognosy

We, humans, have been producing medicines from plants as well as other organisms for centuries now, and hence this concept of pharmacognosy is considered as the most ancient brand of pharmacy. Producing drugs from plants is also mentioned in some ancient texts. In fact, it can be stated that no one nation could dominate medicine production using plants as well as organisms; rather it is a global practice. Only the ingredients would vary from one another depending on what was available to people in from their environment.

The link between Pharmacology and Medicinal Chemistry

• Plant drugs that are newly discovered are being converted into medicines as purified phytochemicals. This concept of Pharmacognosy is essentially the reason for the advanced medicines evolution, and crude drugs are useful in the preparation of galanicals or act as a source of therapeutic metabolites.
• Phytopharmaceuticals which is synthesized drugs are converted into suitable dosage forms where the crude drugs act as intermediates.
• To summarize, pharmacognosy becomes an important link between pharmaceuticals and basic science and that of ayurvedic and allopathic system of medicine.

Pharmacognosy in Present Scenario

Even today, Pharmacognosy is considered a relevant science in discovering future medicines, being a more active field in the USA as well as Japan. All researchers are increasingly encouraged to be careful about the ethical issues related to the use of natural products as medicines. It is important to consider the aspect of conservation of various plant species to ensure that these do not become endangered or extinct. In addition, there should be increased quality control for ensuring that right plant species are identified for medicinal purposes and that drugs that are made from them are adequately pure for human use. It is suggested that periods of review are put in place to properly identify risks of long-term use of natural medicines and assess their toxicity. Medicines that are made from natural means are also often prescribed by people outside of pharmaceutical organizations, which means that advice that is given may not necessarily be accurate or pure.

Importance of Pharmacognosy

Traditionally, pharmacognosy was regarded as one of the key aspect of drug developing processes as well as pharmacy education, but with time this was neglected with the advent of latest advanced drugs synthesized in the research laboratory. However, several scientists now do recognize that indigenous knowledge of medicinal virtue from plants should not ever get lost as this is the greatest insight into several new drug developments. Say, for example, artemisinin from the ginghaosu tree or Artemisia annua is recognized as an ancient Chinese drug for malaria. The use of plant products to treat illness is well known in South American nations, China, and India where billions of dollars are spent on pharmacognosy research to identify and market natural medicinal drugs. The importance of medicinal plants should also be studied in other countries in order to fight currently untreatable, life-threatening diseases such as Alzheimer’s, HIV, chronic pain, and malaria. Several natural drugs are under investigation in clinical trials, at present.

Role of Pharmacognosy in Drug Development

Pharmacognosy concept is mostly used by all pharmaceutical companies for screening, characterizing and producing newly advanced to treat diseases in human beings. It is often the case that naturally occurring medicines cannot be produced in mass, hence they need to be studied for developing synthetic biosimilars. Synthetically producing these compounds permit modifications that can be made such as increasing the bioavailability, altering pharmacokinetics and also increase in efficacy. Such modifications transform a crude inactive species of plant into a powerful drug, like that of some anticancer drugs. It also needs a working knowledge of quality control to ensure correct identification and purity of the drug as well as accurate testing of its efficacy and safety.

The concept of Pharmacognosy involves the botanical knowledge for classifying and naming the plant species, understanding its genetic pattern as well as cultivation, and also chemical knowledge for isolating, identifying, and quantitatively assessing the bioactive compounds in the plant sources. It also needs a working knowledge of quality control to ensure correct identification and purity of the drug as well as accurate testing of its efficacy and safety.

 Job Prospects of Pharmacognosy

Qualified and trained Pharmacognists serve as medical practitioners in the Indian system of medicines. Government of India appoints doctors for the Indian system of Medicines under the aegis of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy). Different State governments likewise select doctors for branches of AYUSH frequently. Research & Medical Institutes, pharmaceutical companies such as Ranbaxy & Cipla, drug Inspection organizations, food & cosmetic industries, etc. recruit such professionals.

M. Pharm. in Pharmacognosy: Eligibility

Candidates wishing to apply for the course need to have completed Bachelor of Pharmacy from a recognized university, with a minimum aggregate score of 50%.

Top Recruiting Companies 

Ranbaxy, Panacea Biotech, Dupont, Cipla Nestle, Himalaya, Biocon, Dr. Reddy’s Lab, Aimil, Wockardht, Dabur, Marion Biotech, Intas, Mankind Pharma, Lupin, Glenmark, Bharat Biotech, Shanta Biotech, Eli lily, Reliance Life Sciences, Monsanto, etc.

Average Starting Salary: The average annual salary offered to such qualified Pharmacists in India ranges between INR 3, 60,000 and 9, 50,000.