Midterm Assessment

PHR 113
Pharmacognosy

Lecturer: Junayet Hossain Khan (JKH)

08.04.2021

Name: Afsana mimla

ID:2021847649
Section:02
 Case study 1

Answer to question no.1

Identification of the cause of the problems:

Problem (A): Precipitation remains after shaking because of lack of dispersion. It happens when
solute and solvent both are heterogenous. If this happens, the solution doesn’t mix partially or
adequately mixed. Another reason behind this is the size of the powder is bigger.

Problem (B): Sticking to one another after production. It is also known as twining. This is
because coating or granules do not dry properly—another reason may be improper granules
lubrication.

Problem (C): Tablet remains the same even after a one-hour stomach environment. Because of
disintegrant in the tablet. The reason behind disintegration dissolution is excess usage of the
binder.

Answer to question no.2

Solution of the problem (A):

● We need to use a suspending agent that will help to activate the pharmaceutical agent.
● Using a suspending agent will help pharmaceutical ingredients to stay suspended.
Another benefit of this is, it easily re-mixes after shaking.
● Making powder size smaller than solute's particles
● If possible, try to use homogenous solute and solvent.
Example: kaolin, bentonite. And the saline solution is a homogenous mixture.

Solution of problem B :
● Giving the tablet coating to dry properly.
● During the manufacture of tablets, they are using lubricant to prevent clumping of all
the active more minor dientpreventpreent sticking.
Example: giving enough time after coaching, stearic acid.

Solution of problem C:
 ● Using less binder or change the binder. And be aware of disintegrating binders to
not use too much; instead, we should use alternative.
Example: Gelatine, cellulose.
Answer to question no.3

The three solution agents which are used in problem A, B and C are :
¡. Suspending agent
¡¡. Lubricants
¡¡¡. Disintegrate

● Benefits of suspending agent: Suspension can increase a drug's chemical stability.

The bioavailability of a drug in suspension is greater than that of other dosage types.
Controlling the duration and onset of action is possible.
● Benefits of lubricant: Lubricants help to minimize friction between the tablet and the
die metal surface, lowering the ejection force and ensuring that the tablet is expelled
cleanly and without cracking or breakage.
● Benefits of Disintegration: For the vast majority of strong dosage types,
disintegration is also a pharmacopeia testing necessity. It offers important safety
information on drug bioavailability in the body.

Case study 2
Answer to question no.1

Possible candidates for first research ( improving tone of heart muscles) :

Some drug-like, Digitalis and squill can be used for this research.
DRUG1: Squill
Plant origin : Urginea maritima
Botanical source :
Squill consists of the sliced and dried fleshy scale leaves of the bulb of Urginea moritima
Plant origin :
Active chemicals :
Squill contains a number of cardiac glycosides, which include scillaren A ( crystalline) and
scillaren B ( amorphous)
Uses :
It's a heart muscle stimulant and powerful expectorant. It improves the tone of the heart
muscle of weak hearts and in the treatment of chronic bronchitis and coughs. Other uses
include emetic and diuretic as well.

DRUG2: Digitalis
Plant origin : Digitalis purpurea
Active chemicals :
It contents 35 cardioactive glycosides including digitoxin, gitoxin, digoxin, gitaloxin, Digitalis
as well as saponins digitonin and oxidase enzyme.
Uses :
● Glycosides of Digitalis are used as cardio tonic in the treatment of congestive failure
of the heart. Contractility is increased by it and it also improves the tone of the
cardiac muscle.
● Cardiac tachycardia
● Atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat can lead to blood clots, stroke or even heart
failure)
● Atrial flutter ( in this situation heart does not pump blood very well when it's beating
too fast)

Possible candidates for second research ( constipation ) :

Some drugs like, Senna, Cascara bark, Aloe Vera can be used for this research.
DRUG1: Senna
Plant origin : Cassia Senna
Active chemicals: Sennosides A and B. Also free anthraquinone Glycosides rhein and aloe-
emodin are present.
Uses :
- it is popularly used as a purgative drug in the treatment of both casual and habitual
constipation
DRUG2: Aloe
Plant origin: Aloe Vera (commercially known as Aloe ferox or curacao)
Active chemicals :
The most important and principal constituents are
barbaloin and anthraquinone Glycosides. Others are iso-barbaloin, betabarbalion, Aloe-
emodin and a pale yellow volatile oil and resin.
Uses :
● It's a cathartic drug that is a valuable purgative in different forms of constipation,
particularly habitual constipation.
● Fresh juice OF Aloe is used for the treatment of burns. Abrasion and other Skin
irritations. also used for healing of wound and injuries
● Used as a pharmaceutical excipient in compound Benzoin Tincture.
Answer to question no.2

Experiment to prove that her drug actually works:

Step1: She needs to take some mice which are all similar in weight, gender and age.
Step 2: collect and note down the sample of blood and stool before giving all the mice any drug.
Step 3: Inject/feed those mice the desired drug which she wants.
Now here step 4 is also similar in both improving the tone of heart muscles and constipation.
For tone of heart muscles, she needs to collect blood again and check the ion level, potassium,
calcium, heart rate, and blood pressure.
She also needs to check muscle tone again.
For constipation, she has to collect the stool of those mice again. And check if it's dilute or not.
Also she needs to check the frequency of mice’s stool( time of stooling and if its continuous or
not).

Step 5: write down again all the results she got after giving those mice the drug. She also needs
to compare to before and after results of the drug.

If those drugs gives her desired positive result, she can go for next step.

She can perform the experiment step by step to get the best results and note down every single
change related to the drug for the best view of the result.

Case study 3

Answer to question no.1

Tannin is a compound that could be used to remove her dead skin left after the burn.

Answer to question no.2

● Tannins are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules, binding and precipitating

proteins, including amino acids and alkaloids. The tannins are a class of organic
compounds. Constricting and drying effect is present in tannins. They compress proteins
in the skin to create an invisible "film" that can degrade the skin to a small extent and
reduce the appearance of enlarged pores to the minimum.
● Tannic acid has also been used to treat burns caused by explosive explosives, mustard
gas, or lewisite due to its strong antimicrobial activity. As a result, when improving the
antioxidant effect while reducing the cell-killing effect, it is advised to carefully regulate
the concentration of tannic acid. Despite having lower antimicrobial activity than tannic
acid, ascorbic acid has a high antioxidant ability.

Answer to the question no. 3

In the production of a tan by UV exposure there are two separate mechanisms: To begin with,
UVA radiation causes oxidative stress, which causes established melanin to be oxidized,
resulting in rapid melanin darkening. Melanin (released from melanocytes where it has been
stored) can also be redistributed by UVA but its full volume is not affected. Skin darkening due
to UVA exposure does not increase melanin production or sunburn protection significantly. UVA
and UVB are commonly divided into ultraviolet tanning frequencies. Inhibition of extracellular
microbial enzymes, deprivation of the substrates needed for microbial development, or direct
action on microbial metabolism via inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation are some of the
mechanisms proposed so far to explain tannin antimicrobial activity.

Answer to question no. 4

Disadvantages to tannins:

● Absorption of iron is reduced: One of the most serious concerns about tannins is their
propensity to prevent iron absorption.
● May cause sickness: It can be nauseous. If you drink the tea on an empty stomach the
high tannins in the tea can cause nausea. People with more sensitive digestive systems
can be especially affected.