2. Definition :
They are vegetable or animal drugs that consist of natural
substances that have undergone only the processes of
collection and drying.
Crude Drugs
Sources of Crude Drugs:
•Plant sources : e.g. Senna, Digitalis, Datura, Cascara,
Cinchona, Clove, Opium, etc.
•Animal sources: e.g. cochineal, cantharidin, honey,
cod liver oil, musk, thyroxin, etc.
•Marine sources: e.g. sponges, red algae, agar, etc.
•Mineral sources: e.g. talc, kaolin, kieselguhr, etc.
3. Crude Drugs
Uses
1. As drugs for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, e.g.
morphine, atropine, digoxin, hormones, antibiotics, etc..
2. As pharm. aids in pharm. industry, e.g. suspending &
emulsifying agents, suppository bases, binders, excipients,
sweetening & colouring agents, etc
3. In cosmetics as flavouring & colouring agents, etc.
4. In culture media for the propagation of M.O. in microbiology
laboratories & biotechnology.
5. General uses e.g. in food industries: as dusting
powders, as indicators and in perfumery.
5. The systems of classification of crude drugs may be aimed
accordingly as follows :-
a. Alphabetical : Although they are simple and suitable for quick
references, It gives no indication of interrelationships between drugs e.g.
Pharmacopoeias.
b. Taxonomical :classification according to Classes, orders, families,
genera and species.
c. Morphological : Drugs are divided into groups such as : leaves,
flowers, fruits, seeds, herbs and entire organisms, wood, barks, rhizomes &
roots
d. Pharmacological or therapeutic : This involves the grouping
of drugs according to the pharmacological action of their most
important constituents or their therapeutic uses, e.g cardiotonic drugs
e. Chemical : groups according to their principal chemical
constituents.
6. A. Collection,
B. drying and
C. storage of drugs
Production of Crude drugs
A. Collection of crude drugs :
It has been found that active constituents in plants vary in amount and nature
throughout the year.
Effect of time of year
Time of the day
Stage of maturity and age
B. Drying of Crude Drugs
Reasons of Drying:
- To decrease size and Facilitate powdering.
- Prevent enzyme action, microbial growth and
degradation of active constituents.
7. Methods of drying:
1. Drying in open air
2. Artificial oven drying :.
3. Vacuum drying
4. Lyophilization
C. Storage of Crude Drugs:
During storage, Drugs are affected by light, moisture,
temp., air oxygen (physicochemical) and by fungi,
bacteria, worms, insects and mites (biological)
Long storage is not recommended, due to
deterioration.
Therefore, drugs should be stored in sealed
containers in cool dark places
8. Evaluation of Crude Drugs
Means to identify and to determine quality,
safety and purity.
1. It has to be certain of identity of the
collected plant from proper source by matching to authentic plant
sample
2. Preparation by proper cleaning, drying and garbling.
3. Proper preservation of cleaned, dried, pure
drug against contamination.
9. Evaluation of drugs involves the following methods:
1. Organoleptic
2. Microscopic
3. Chemical
4. Physical
Chromatography (TLC, PC and GC) is really a finger
print technique, where the individual substances to
which the activity is due, can be tested rapidly.
10. The Importance or the Value of Crude Drugs
Products :
Some medicinal plants and their drugs have a high efficiency for some
diseases especially :
Digitalis plants and their drugs (Digoxin and Digitoxin) which are used in
healing heart diseases .
Catharanthus plants and their drugs (Vincristin and Vinblastin ) are used to
healing Cancers diseases .
Some natural sources supply basic compounds that can be modified their
structure to form other compounds have less tonic by chemical methods ex
:Morphine Codeine
In most times used chemically drugs for healing diseases led to
produced complicates in the work of different systems of the body .
Therefore used the natural sources and their drugs are favorite from
the chemically drugs to healing the diseases .
11. Some natural sources provide a number of very useful drugs
which are difficult to produce commercially and economically
by synthetic or chemical
Natural compounds can be used as models or prototype for
synthetic some drugs having pharmacological activities similar
to original
Examples : The compound Salicin ( alcoholic glycoside )
obtained from Salix steam bark .
