EVALUATION OF DRUGS

PHA6117 LABORATORY
PHARMACOGNOSY
 PHARMACOGNOSY

• applied science that deals with biochemical, biological and

economic features of biological products and its origin

• deals with medicinal plants in their crude form

 EVALUATION OF DRUGS

identification and determination of quality and purity

 METHODS OF EVALUATION
1. Organoleptic – Macroscopic
- use of senses
2. Microscopic
3. Biological
4. Chemical
5. Physical
 METHODS OF EVALUATION
1. Organoleptic
2. Microscopic
– identification of pure and powdered drug
3. Biological
4. Chemical
5. Physical
 METHODS OF EVALUATION
1. Organoleptic
2. Microscopic
3. Biological
- use of living organisms to determine
pharmacologic activity
4. Chemical
5. Physical
 METHODS OF EVALUATION
1. Organoleptic
2. Microscopic
3. Biological
4. Chemical
- best method of determining official potency
5. Physical
 METHODS OF EVALUATION
1. Organoleptic
2. Microscopic
3. Biological
4. Chemical
5. Physical
- application of physical constants to
achieve principles of drug
ORGANOLEPTIC EVALUATION

Macroscopic characteristics of drugs

• Shape and Size

• External Color and Internal Markings
• Fracture and Internal Colors
• Odor and Taste
 Terms used for describing drugs
from different parts of the plants
A. From Underground Parts

rhizome roots bulbs corms tubers

 I. Occurrences

1. entire plant
2. in longitudinal slices
3. in oblique or transverse slices
4. cut in small cubical pieces
5. broken into pieces
 II. According to shape

cylindrical subcylindrical conical fusiform

 II. According to shape

ovoid pyriform terete disc-shaped

 III. According to size

- length or diameter, in mm or cm
- if conical, diameter of both wide and narrow parts
IV. According to external color

- white
- yellowish brown
- yellowish gray
- reddish orange
- brownish black
- gray (from clay dust)
 V. According to external markings
1. furrows – alternating ridges and valleys
which are more or less parallel, well-
defined and usually due to shrinkage of the
internal parts caused by drying
2. wrinkles – fine or delicate furrows
3. annulations – transverse ring-like markings
4. fissures – splits extending into the tissues
 V. According to external markings
5. nodules – rounded outgrowths on
the surface
6. projections – such as roots, stem-
bases and buds
7. scars – such as leaf scars, stem-
base scar, root scar, bud scar,
bud-scale scar
 VI. Fractures
Terms in describing fractures
1. Complete – breaking clean across
2. Incomplete – breaking only part way across
3. Short – a clean smooth break with a quick snap
 VI. Fractures
Terms in describing fractures
4. Fibrous – a slow giving break with
resistance and with projection of
fibers from broken surfaces
5. Splintery – breaking irregularly
across into pieces with larger and
smaller projecting edges and
splinters
 VI. Fractures
Terms in describing fractures
6. Brittle – easily broken usually into many pieces when
dropped into a hard surface
7. Tough – breaking with difficulty
8. Weak – breaking with little effort
 VI. Fractures
Terms in describing fractured surface
1. Even – a smooth surface
2. Uneven - an irregular broken surface
3. Granular – grain-like appearance
4. Hard – compact surface
5. Horny – horn-like surface
 VI. Fractures
Terms in describing fractured surface
6. Mealy – powdering due to abundance
of starch
7. Resinous – smooth glossy surface
8. Conchoidal – resinous surface with
curved convex and concave fashion
9. Waxy – dull wax-like surface
 Bark
woody exogenous stem or root that lies
outside of the cambium ring

Occurrences:
1. flat or transversely curved pieces
2. single quills
3. double quills
 Bark
two surfaces: outer and inner

external color: varies from brownish

gray to brownish black
internal color: lighter than outer,
some almost white
 Bark
Characteristic
markings on outer
surface:

1. lenticels
2. lichens with
apothecia
 Bark
Characteristic
markings on outer
surface:

3. corky ridges
4. fissures
5. adhering mosses
 Bark

Fracture

1. short and weak

2. tough and fibrous
 Wood
woody exogenous stem or root that lies
inside of the cambium ring

Two parts:
1. Sapwood
2. Heartwood
 Wood

Sapwood Heartwood
• portion of the wood which • inner layers of wood
lies near the cambium ring • ceased to function in the
• still functions in the transportation of sap
vegetative process • highly colored (Red
• usually white Saunders)
Wood
 Wood
Occurrences

1. chips
2. rasping
3. shavings
 Wood
Markings

1. usually striated from fibers

2. porous (from trachea)
Leaves and Leaflets
External markings

1. venation – arrangement of
veins in leaves
2. texture of the leaf
3. hairs or other characteristics of
upper and lower surfaces
Flowers

include flower heads

and floral parts
such as stigmas and corollas
Fruits and Seeds
Usual forms

1. globular
2. ellipsoidal
3. ovoid
4. reniform
5. conical
 Crude drugs
• items which do not possess a definite histological
structure
• products formed in the metabolic processes of
plants
• pathological products or have undergone some
special pharmaceutical or physical treatment
 Crude drugs

gums inspissated juices

resins latex
gum-resins tars
mucilages extracts
oleoresins
 Crude drug
Occurrences
1. tears – small rounded masses formed naturally as
the exudation hardens
2. angular masses – broken up material that has
hardened in the container
3. agglutinized masses – harden portions massed with
soft material
 No morphological characteristics

volatile oils, fixed oils, glycosides, alkaloids, etc.

considered from the chemical standpoint

Miscellaneous Group
Usual forms

1. starches
2. excrescences
3. trichomes
4. sclerotia
5. diatoms frustules
 Odor
either distinct or indistinct
depends on amount of volatile constituents it contains

General terms
aromatic alliaceous
balsamic camphoraceous
spicy terebinthinate
 Taste

• particular sensation excited by certain substances

when in contact with special organs in portions of the
epithelial layer of the mouth

• quality or savor of the substance

 Taste
Classification according to taste

1. possess true taste

2. no taste
3. characteristic odor
4. distinctive sensation to tongue
 Taste
I. True Taste II. No Taste

1. acid or sour tasteless or insipid

2. saline or salty
3. saccharine or sweet substances insoluble
4. alkaline in saliva
5. bitter
 Taste
III. Characteristic Odor
Agreeable Disagreeable

1. aromatic 1. camphoraceous
2. balsamic 2. terebinthinate
3. spicy
 Taste
IV. Distinctive sensation to tongue
1. mucilaginous – produce a soft, slimy feeling
2. oily - produce a bland, smooth feeling
3. astringent – produce contraction of tissues of mouth,
causing a puckering feeling
4. pungent – produce warm heating sensation
5. acrid – produce unpleasant, irritating, tingling sensation
6. nauseous – tend to excite vomiting