Pharmacology Learning Outcomes

By
▪ After today’s session YOU will be able to
Dr. Muneeb ▪ Define Pharmacology and its various branches

Pharmacology
▪ Define basic terminology used in Pharmacology
▪ Enlist the sources of drugs and briefly describe each of them with examples

Introduction
Definitions and Drug
sources
Dr. Syed Muneeb Anjum (Ph.D.)
IPS, UVAS University of Veterinary and
Animal Sciences 1 2

Definitions
▪ Pharmacology
▪ The study of the interaction of chemicals with living systems
▪ Pharmacology is the study of substances that interact with the living system through chemical processes especially by
binding to regulatory molecules and activating or inhibiting normal body systems (Ketzung)
▪ Study of the effects of drugs on the function of living systems (Rang & Dale)
▪ Medical Pharmacology
▪ Use of chemicals in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, especially in humans
▪ Therapeutics
▪ Application of pharmacological information together with knowledge of the disease for its prevention, mitigation or cure
▪ Drug
▪ Substances that act on living systems at the chemical level (Ketzung)
▪ Chemical substance of known structure, other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when
administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect (Rang & Dale)
▪ Derived from word “Drough” meaning “Dry herb”
▪ Drug is a biological or biochemical agent used for diagnosis, prevention, treatment and mitigation or palliation (to
relieve pain) of disease
▪ Drug is an active ingredient in natural source
Definitions
▪ Pharmacokinetics
▪ What the body does with drug. it describes the effects of the body on drugs, e.g., absorption, excretion etc.
▪ Pharmacodynamics
▪ Reflects to the actions of the drug on the body, e.g. mechanism of action and therapeutic and toxic effects
▪ Toxicology
▪ Area of pharmacology concerned with the undesirable effects of chemicals on biologic systems
▪ Pharmacogenetics (effects of single gene)
▪ The study of genetic differences that affect an individual's response to drugs (Alfirevic and Pirmohamed, 2016)
▪ Study of genetic influences on responses to drugs, Originally it was the study of familial idiosyncratic drug reactions
▪ Pharmacogenomics (whole genome)
▪ The use of genetic information to guide the choice of drug therapy on an individual basis e.g. genetic polymorphism
of drug metabolizing enzymes or receptors – individualized doses
▪ Pharmacovigilance
▪ The science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or
any other drug-related problem (WHO, 2015)
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 Definitions
▪ Pharmacoeconomics
▪ Identifies, measures, and compares the costs and consequences of drug therapy to healthcare systems and society
▪ Branch of economics that uses cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, cost-minimization, cost-of-illness and cost-utility
analyses to compare pharmaceutical products and treatment strategies (Arenas-Guzman et al., 2005)
▪ Clinical Pharmacology
▪ Scientific study of drugs in human volunteers and patients to generate data for optimum use of drugs and the
practice of “evidence based medicine”.
▪ Orphan drugs
▪ Drugs or biological products for diagnosis/treatment/ prevention of a rare disease or condition, or a more common
disease (endemic only in resource poor countries)
▪ Essential (Drug) medicines (WHO defined)
▪ Those drugs that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population (National Essential Medicines List (NEML))
▪ Drug vs Medicine
▪ The term ‘drugs’ is being also used to mean addictive/abused/illicit substances → Not true
▪ Medicines → Pharmaceutical preparations used in clinical healthcare practice

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Sources of drugs Sources of drugs

▪ Natural Substances that act on
▪ Animal sources
▪ Plants, animals, micro-organisms, marine sources, minerals biologic systems at the ▪ Animal body secretions, fluids or glands
▪ Synthetic chemical (molecular) ▪ Insulin, heparin, adrenaline, thyroxin, cod liver oil, musk, beeswax, enzymes, and antitoxins sera
▪ Synthetic, Semi-synthetic, Bio-synthetic level and alter their ▪ Microbial sources
functions ▪ Several life-saving drugs have been historically derived from microorganisms
▪ Plants
▪ Examples include penicillin produced by Penicillium chrysogenum,
▪ Centuries old → used as drugs or sources of drugs → Leaves initially The soil bacterium Streptomyces griseus was the

Streptomycin from Streptomyces griseus,

source of the first aminoglycoside, streptomycin.
▪ A.W. Rakosy/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

▪ Crude drug → Plant part used itself → powder, boiled concoctions etc
▪ Chloramphenicol from Streptomyces venezuelae,
▪ other parts of plants (e.g., barks, fruits, roots, stem, wood, seeds, blossoms, bulb etc.
▪ Neomycin from Streptomyces fradiae,
Plant part Drugs ▪ Bacitracin from Bacillus subtilis etc.
Leaves Digoxin, digitoxin (from Digitalis purpurea/foxglove plant); atropine (from Atropa belladonna)
▪ Xanthan (polysaccharide gum secreted by Xanthomonas campestris) etc
Flowers Vincristine, vinblastine (from Vinca rosea)
Fruits Physostigmine (from Physostigma venenosum/calabar bean)
▪ Marine source
Seeds Strychnine (from Nux vomica); physostigmine (from Physostigma venenosum/calabar bean) ▪ Coral, sponges, fish, and marine microorganisms produce biologically potent chemicals with interesting anti-
Roots Emetine (from Cephaelis ipecacuanha); reserpine (from Rauwolfa serpentina) inflammatory, anti-viral, and anticancer activity
Bark Quinine (from Cinchona); atropine (from Atropa belladonna) ▪ Curacin A from marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscule, Eleutherobin from coral Eleutherobia sp., Discodermolide from
Stem Tubocurarine (from Chondrodendron tomentosum) marine sponge Discodermia dissoluta, etc. show potent anti-tumour activity

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▪ Mineral Sources (Metallic, Non-Metallic) ▪ Semi-synthetic Sources
▪ Trace elements → Homeostasis maintenance → deficiency may result in disease ▪ Semi-synthetic drugs are neither completely natural nor completely synthetic
▪ Ferrous sulphate in iron deficiency anaemia; ▪ Hybrid and are generally made by chemically modifying substances that are
▪ Magnesium sulphate as purgative; available from natural source to improve its potency, efficacy and/or reduce side
▪ Magnesium trisilicate, aluminium hydroxide and sodium bicarbonate as antacids for hyperacidity and peptic ulcer; effects
▪ Zinc oxide ointment as skin protectant, in wounds and eczema; ▪ The nucleus of drug obtained from natural source is kept intact but the chemical
▪ Gold salts (solganal, auranofin) as anti-inflammatory and in rheumatoid arthritis; structure is altered.
▪ Selenium as anti-dandruff ▪ Examples of semi-synthetic medicine include heroin from morphine, bromo-
scopolamine from scopolamine, homatropine from atropine, ampicillin from penicillin
▪ Synthetic/chemical derivatives
▪ Biosynthetic sources (genetically engineered drugs)
▪ At present, majority of drugs used in clinical practice are exclusively prepared synthetically in pharmaceutical and
chemical laboratory ▪ Drugs developed by mixing discoveries from molecular biology, recombinant
DNA technology, DNA alteration, gene splicing, immunology, and immune
▪ One of the earliest synthetic drugs was sulphonamide
pharmacology
▪ Other examples include acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin or ASA), oral antidiabetics, antihistamines, thiazide diuretics,
chloroquine, chlorpromazine, general and local anaesthetics, paracetamol, phenytoin ▪ Drugs developed using living organisms with the help of biotechnology or genetic
engineering are known as biologics, biopharmaceuticals, recombinant DNA
▪ Synthetic drugs generally have higher yields expressed products, bioengineered, or genetically engineered drugs
▪ High quality, purity and low cost
▪ Examples include recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine, recombinant insulin and others.

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References
▪ Aguwa, C. and Akah, P. (2006). How Drugs Act. In C. Aguwa and J. Ogbuokiri (Eds.), A Handbook of Pharmacology
for Nursing and Allied Health Professions (pp. 2-7). Nigeria: Africana First Publishers Limited.
▪ Alamgir, A. (2017). Therapeutic Use of Medicinal Plants and Their Extracts: Volume 1. Switzerland: Springer
International Publishing AG
▪ Kishore, K. and Krishan, P. (2009). Pharmacology of Recombinant or Genetically Engineered Drugs. Journal of
Young Pharmacists, 1(2):141-150.

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