Classification, Identification and

Chemical constituents of medicinal plants

Presented by,
Mahesh Kadagi
Sr.MVSc

TO,
Dr.Shridhar.N.B
Asst.professor
Dept of Pharmacology and Toxicology
CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS
 Early man classified plants before he had a written
language.
 Certainly he ate plants, or parts of them, used them for
shelter, and from them prepared weapons for slaughter and
defense.
 Man talked about these plants. Names for them were a
prerequisite to communication and since many kinds of
plants were involved, he must have classified them as well
as identified and named them
Botanical Taxonomy

 The word taxonomy itself comes from the Greek taxo, to

put in order, or arrange.

 These scientific names hold considerable power, as well as

being a universal language with which to communicate
about particular plants among different cultures
 The scientific or botanical name of a plant is the
means by which we give it its unique place in the
scientific and biological world.

 Plant classification is the placing of known plants into

groups or categories to show some relationship.

 Scientific classification follows a system of rules that

standardizes the results, and groups successive
categories into a hierarchy
Plant taxonomy has two aims:

1. To identify all the kinds of plants;

2. To arrange the kinds of plants into a scheme of

classification that will show their true relationships
History
 The first attempt to classify all the plants known was about
300 BC by Theophrastus, the great student of Aristotle.

 He classified plants by their habitat or form--the trees were

grouped together, the shrubs, the undershrubs, herbs, and
so forth.

 He also recognized more specific botanical characteristics

such as ovary position.

 His work, History of Plants, is the oldest botanical work in

existence.
 The system of Theophrastus was refined only a little by
other Greek botanists and herbalists

 Dioscorides (first century A.D.) was a military physician

under Emperor Nero of Rome.

 The Codex of herbal, prepared in 512 A.D from his work

was still used until the 16th century
Carolus Linnaeus
 Carolus Linnaeus is probably the
single most dominant figure
in systematic classification.

 People sent him plants from

all over the world, and he would
devise a way to relate them.
 At the age of thirty-two he was the author of fourteen
botanical works.

 He introduced the binomial system of classification

 He classified every plant known to him, and for the

first timel gave each plant a binomial
 THE BINOMIAL SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION

This system is binomial (has two parts), consisting of

genus and species, both of which are expressed in Latin.

This binomial system was a vast improvement over

same of the old descriptive names for plants used
formerly.
Coffea arabica

The genus or generic name is a noun which usually

names some aspect of a plant, such as Coffea, the
Latinized form of the Arabic word for beverage, kahwah.
 The species or specific name is usually an adjective

that describes the genus. In the case of coffee, the species

is arabica, indicating that the plant was thought to
originate in Arabia.
 The coffee plant botanical name, Coffea arabica, refers
to only one plant and cannot be confused with any
other. Its botanical name is unique to that particular
plant the world over.
 
 Linneaus's book Species Plantarum (The Species of
Plants), published in 1753, continues to influence the
naming of plants today.

It is the starting point for checking whether a name

has been used previously to insure that each plant is
given a unique name.

The earliest name for a plant is usually the official

name should a dispute arise.
WHAT THE NAMES MEAN
 The genus and species names often tell something
about the plant.
 They can describe the appearance of the plant, reflect
the common name of the plant, indicate a chemical
present in the plant, tell how the plant tastes or smells,
or describe how the plant grows.
 The genus or species name can honor someone, a
botanist, a person in power, someone historically
prominent.
 The name can reflect the country or origin of a plant.
 For example, Erythroxylum coca,
the plant from which we derive
cocaine, is named after erythro
meaning red and xylo meaning
wood, literally "red stem." (Coca,
the species name, is the common name
of the plant.)
 The jaborandi tree Pilocarpus jaborandi has a genus
name which indicates that the alkaloid pilocarpine can
be extracted from the plant.

 The species name jaborandi means "one who makes

saliva or one who spits," referring to the use of the
plant as an expectorant
 Plant classification is very difficult. Plant species can
resemble one another quite closely; plants can
sometimes interbreed within species or across species,
producing hybrids and varieties that complicate
classification.

 A case in point is the cinchona tree, a plant

instrumental in world history as a result of its alkaloid
derivative, quinine, which helped to reduce the
incidence of the terrible disease malaria.
 The cinchona tree, with its many species and hybrids and
varieties within species, has resisted absolute classification.

 It's ambivalent ways have left botanists puzzled as to the

exact number of species which exist.

 In fact, one species grouping of cinchona has been labeled

'Cinchona officinalis.‘
 Officinalis (meaning 'of the workshop') is a common
species name used for many medicinal plants, particularly,
it seems, under the trying circumstances of difficult
taxonomy
 HOW ARE PLANTS CLASSIFIED?
 Science classifies living things in an orderly system through
which they can be readily identified.
 Living things are grouped into categories of increasing size,
based upon relationships within those categories.
Plant Kingdom Ranking would look like this:

 Taxonomic ranks-
 Kingdom: Plantae
 Division:
 Class
 Order:
 Family:
 Genera :

 
 Angiospermae (Angiosperms) Plants which produce flowers

CLASS

Plants which don't produce

Gymnospermae (Gymnosperms)
flowers

SUBCLASS
Dicotyledonae (Dicotyledons,
Plants with two seed leaves
Dicots)

Monocotyledonae
Plants with one seed leaf
(Monocotyledons, Monocots)
 ORDER Each class is further divided into several Orders. The names of the Orders
end in -ales
FAMILY Each Order is divided into Families. These are plants with many botanical
features in common, and is the highest classification normally used. At this
level, the similarity between plants is often easily recognizable by the layman
The names of the Families end in -aceae

SUBFAMILY
The Family may be further divided into a number of sub-families, which group
together plants within the Family that have some significant botanical
differences. The names of the Subfamilies end in -oideae

TRIBE
A further division of plants within a Family, based on smaller botanical
differences, but still usually comprising many different plants. The names of the
Tribes end in -eae

SUBTRIBE

A further division, based on even smaller botanical differences, often only

recognizable to botanists. The names of the Subtribes end in -inae
GENUS
This is the part of the plant name that is most familiar. The plants in a
Genus are often easily recognizable as belonging to the same group.

SPECIES
This is the level that defines an individual plant. Often, the name will describe
some aspect of the plant - the colour of the flowers, size or shape of the leaves,
or it may be named after the place where it was found. Together, the Genus and
species name refer to only one plant, and they are used to identify that particular
plant
The name of the species should be written after the Genus name, in small letters,
with no capital letter

VARIETY
A Variety is a plant that is only slightly different from the species plant, but the
differences are not so insignificant as the differences in a form. Usually
abbreviated to var. The name follows the Genus and species name
FORM
A form is a plant within a species that has minor botanical differences, such as
the colour of flower or shape of the leaves. The name follows the Genus and
species name, with form (or f.) before the individual variety name.
CULTIVAR A Cultivar is a cultivated variety, a particular plant that has arisen either
naturally or through deliberate hybridisation, and can be reproduced to produce
more of the same plant.
The name follows the Genus and species name
 Category Scientific Name Common Name

CLASS Angiospermae Angiosperms

SUBCLASS Dicotyledonae Dicotyledons

SUPERORDER Magnoliidae Magnolia Superorder

ORDER Ranunculares Buttercup Order

FAMILY Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

SUBFAMILY Ranunculoideae Buttercup Subfamily

TRIBE Ranunculeae Buttercup Tribe

GENUS Ranunculus Buttercup

SPECIES (Ranunculus) flammula Lesser Spearwort

(Ranunculus flammula) subsp.
SUBSPECIES Lesser Spearwort
flammula
(Ranunculus flammula subsp. Narrow-leaved Lesser
VARIETY
flammula) var. tenuifolius Spearwort
IDENTIFICATION OF PLANTS
 All known plant species have names. It is often
necessary to identify an unknown plant, that is, to
determine the species to which it belongs and thus its
name.

 Identification assumes that the plants have already

been classified and named.

 When you identify a plant, you are basically asking:

"Of all known species, which one most closely
resembles this individual ?"
 Professionals identify plants by keying.

 This is a stepwise process of elimination that uses a

series of paired contrasting statements, known as a
dichotomous key.

 Keying is like a trip down a repeatedly forking road:

If at the first fork you turn right, you cannot possibly
reach any of the towns that lie along the left fork.

 Each successive fork in the road eliminates other

towns, until you finally reach your destination.
 When keying, the user begins by reading the first pair
of statements (called a couplet).
 For example, a key may begin by asking the user to
decide between "plants woody" and "plants not
woody."
 If the unknown is woody, all non woody species are
immediately eliminated from consideration.
 Successive couplets will eliminate further possibilities
until only one remains, which is the species to which
the unknown must belong.
 The advantage of this procedure is that the user must
only make one decision at a time, rather than mentally
confusing with long lists of features of many possible
candidates.
 Once the plant has been keyed, it is necessary to
confirm the identification.
 Most books that include keys also include detailed
descriptions; some also include illustrations of all or
selected species.
 If the specimen that was keyed matches the appropriate
description and/or illustration, the identification may
be assumed to be correct.
 The specimen that was keyed can be compared to
previously identified specimens of the species as a
further check of the identification
 Although plant classifications are based upon
information from many disciplines, including
genetics, chemistry, and molecular biology,
identification almost always relies on readily
observed structural features, both vegetative and
reproductive.
 For this reason, it is essential that specimens for
identification be as complete as possible.
 Those of small plants should include not only all
aboveground portions but also the roots.
 For large woody plants, a fully expanded twig of
the current season will suffice.
 In all cases, specimens must include reproductive
structures (i.e., flowers, fruits, seeds).
 Features that are not represented in the physical
specimen (e.g., height or girth of trees, features of
the bark, colors or odors that fade in drying)
should be noted at the time of collection.
 An excellent bibliography of appropriate keys for
plants of all parts of earth is provided by Frodin
(1983).
 As for personal requirements, the most important is a
critical eye, that is, the ability to observe carefully and
to correctly interpret what is observed.
 This requires some familiarity with both plant
structures and the terminology used to describe them.
 A comprehensive resource for this topic is Radford's
introductory textbook (1986). Above all, as with most
skills, there is no substitute for plenty of practice.
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS

 All plants produce chemical compounds as part of their

normal metabolic activities. A plant is a storehouse of
hundreds of chemicals of diverse biological activities.

 Most of the chemicals present in the plants are

harmless and are necessary for the survival of both the
plant and animal kingdoms.

 These are arbitrarily divided into primary metabolites

and Secondary metabolites
 Primary metabolites- The pathway of metabolism
that are essential to life are known as primary
metabolism and compounds (such as glucose, amino
acids etc.) which are directly involved in these
pathways are referred to as primary metabolites such as
sugars and fats, found in all plants

 Secondary metabolites-compounds other than the
primary metabolites are also produced by plants
through secondary pathways
 However, the functions of these secondary metabolites
(e.g. alkaloids, glycosides etc.) are not clearly
understood and they do not appear to be essentially
related to the sustenance of life. These compounds not
essential for basic function.

 The chemical profile of a single plant may vary over

time as it reacts to changing conditions.

 It is the secondary metabolites and pigments that can

have therapeutic actions in humans and Animals,which
can be refined to produce drugs.
 The functions of secondary metabolites are varied.
 For example, some secondary metabolites are toxins
used against predators, and others are pheromones
used to attract insects for pollination.
 Phytoalexins protect against bacterial and fungal
attacks.
 Allelochemicals inhibit other plants that are
competing for soil and light.
 Plants upregulate and downregulate their biochemical
paths in response to the local mix of herbivores,
pollinators and microorganisms.
 The word drug itself comes from the French word
Drogue - which means 'dried plant'.

 Some examples are inulin from the roots of dahlias,

quinine from the cinchona, morphine and codeine from
the poppy, and digoxin from the foxglove.

 The active ingredient in willow bark, once prescribed

by Hippocrates, is salicin, which is converted in the
body into salicylic acid.
 The discovery of salicylic acid would eventually lead
to the development of the acetylated form
acetylsalicylic acid, also known as "aspirin".

 The word aspirin comes from Latin, genus Spiraea,

with an additional "A" at the beginning to
acknowledge acetylation, and "in" was added at the
end for easier pronunciation.

 "Aspirin" was originally a brand name, and is still a

protected trademark in some countries.
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS

On the basis of their chemical nature, the plant

chemicals may be categorised as follows:

A) Alkaloids
B) Phenolics
C) Terpenes
D) Glycosides
E) Proteinaceous compounds
F) Organic acids
G) Resins and resinoids.
 
Alkaloids
 Alkaloids contain a ring with nitrogen, insoluble in
water.
 Many alkaloids have dramatic effects on the central
nervous system.
 Caffeine is an alkaloid that provides a mild lift but the
alkaloids in datura cause severe intoxication and even
death.
 Not all, but many of the plant alkaloids produce
significant pathophysiological effects on human and
animal health.

 Some of the important alkaloids present in the plant

Type of alkaloid Examples

Tropane or atropine like Atropa belladona , datura,Hyoscyamus

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids Senecio,Crotolaria,Heliotropium

Pyridine/piperidine alkaloid CONIUM(Hemlock), lobelia(Indian tobacco)

 

Pyrrolidine-pyridine Nicotiana sp.(Tobacco)

Purine alkaloids Coffea sp.(Coffee) Theobroma sp. (Cocoa)

Quinoline alkaloids Cinchona sp. (Quinine tree)

Isoquinoline alkaloids Papaver somniferum (Opium)

Phenolics

 Phenolics contain phenol rings.

 The anthocyanins that give grapes their purple color,

the isoflavones , the phytoestrogens from soya and the
tannins that give tea its astringency are phenolics.
Terpenes
 Terpenes are substances biosynthesized by plants and
contain the branched 5-carbon skeleton of isoprene.
 On the basis of number of isoprene units present in the
structure of the molecule, Terpenoids are built up from
terpene building blocks.
 Each terpene consists of two paired isoprenes. The
names monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes and
triterpenes are based on the number of isoprene units.
 The fragrance of rose and lavender is due to
monoterpenes.
 The carotenoids produce the reds, yellows and oranges
of pumpkin, corn and tomatoes.
Glycosides

 Glycosides are ether-like combinations of sugars with

other organic structures (non-sugar aglycone or genin).

 Glycosides are relatively inactive, but when separated

from the sugar moiety, the genin or aglycone becomes
more active.

 During digestion in animals, separation of aglycone takes

place due to hydrolysis of the bond between the sugar
and aglycone.
Ex: Cadiac Glycosides- Digoxin from Digitalis
 Oubain from Strophanthus
Proteinaceous compounds
 Generally, proteins are harmless and often beneficial
agents.
 Plant proteins in general and reserve proteins of seeds
in particular are an important source of food.
 After ingestion, proteins get hydrolysed through
various enzymatic reactions in the gastrointestinal tract
and the amino acids are absorbed into the system for
protein biosynthesis in the body.
 However, there are a number of proteins, peptides or
amines which are of toxicological importance
ORGANIC ACIDS
 Some of acids accumulated by plants, particularly in
their fruits e.g.malic acid,tartaric acid,citric acid,
ascorbic acid

Resins and resinoids

 Cannabis sativa- tetrahydrocannabinol

 Hypericum perforatum- hypericin
 Examples of plants used as medicine

 Few herbal remedies are effectively demonstrated

positive effect on humans and animals

 But many of the studies cited refer to animal model

investigations or in-vitro assays only and therefore
cannot provide more than weak supportive evidence.
 Aloe vera has traditionally been used for the healing of
burns and wounds. A systematic review states that the
efficacy of aloe vera in promoting wound healing is
unclear, while a later review concludes that the
cumulative evidence supports the use of aloe vera for
the healing of first to second degree burns

 Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus) may reduce

production cholesterol levels according to in vitro
studies and a small clinical study.
 Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) leaf has drawn the
attention of the cosmetology community because it
interferes with the metalloproteinases that contribute to
skin wrinkling.

 Black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) may have a role in

preventing oral cancer
 Garlic(Allium sativum) may lower total cholesterol
levels

 Ginger (Zingiber officinale), administered in 250 mg

capsules for four days, effectively decreased nausea and
vomiting of pregnancy in a human clinical trial
 Honey may reduce cholesterol may be useful in wound
healing
 Rauvolfia Serpentina, high risk of toxicity if
improperly used, used extensively in India for
sleeplessness, anxiety, and high blood pressure
 Peppermint oil may have benefits for individuals with
irritable bowel syndrome
 Willow bark (Salix alba) can be used for a variety of
anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial purposes due to
presence of salicylic acid and tannins.