1. Name of the Topic : Definitions of Herbal Medicine, Herbal Medicinal products with
sources of herbs, Different steps involved in Herbal drug processing
Examination: 1st Continuous Assessment (1st CA)
Name: Suvojit Basak
Roll Number: 35601921045
Registration Number: 213560201910045
Semester: 6th
Year: 3rd
Subject: Herbal Drug Technology
Paper Code: PT 612
Academic Session: 2023-2024
Global College of Pharmaceutical Technology
(A Unit of National Centre for Development of Technical Education)
2. Definitions of Herbal Medicine, Herbal Medicinal products with sources of herbs, Different steps involved in Herbal
drug processing
• Herbal Medicine:
- These consist of medicinal plants or any parts of plants usually in unprocessed or crude forms which have medicinal value. They include different parts of
plants like entire aerial part, flowers, fruits, seeds, bark, leaves, roots, rhizomes etc.
- It includes modern standards of testing and their therapeutic activity may be known or unknown.
- It is also known as ‘Herbalism’ or ‘Phytomedicine’.
Ex- A tincture made from ginger to relieve an upset stomach.
• Herbal Medicinal Products:
- These are medicinal products which contain exclusive herbal drugs or herbal drug preparations which are made from one or more herbs.
- They may contain excipients in addition to natural originated active ingredient.
- It include various herbal formulations like tablets, capsules, semisolid dosage forms etc.
3. • Source of herbs :
Herbs or medicinal plants can be obtained from two sources.
a. Wild sources
b. Cultivated sources.
• Wild sources :
Herbs are obtained from the wild sources such as forests, plains, river banks etc. And they are found in wild forms & grow themselves without any
type of care.
- Wild plants also have active constituents and sometimes new variety is produced.
- Collection of herbs from wild sources is suitable for plants which are abundant in nature and easily available.
Advantages : 1. Less time consuming. 2. Less cost of labour
3. Economical
Disadvantages : 1. Quality of plants can not be predicted due to various environmental changes.
2. The plants will not be uniform in growth and yielding characteristics.
3. Modern scientific techniques cannot be applied to increase the yield as well as quality.
4. • Cultivated sources :
Herbs are obtained from cultivated sources which are modern scientific techniques like tissue culture, hybridization and mutation to grow herbs.
- These herbs are grown with proper care by human. Care is taken towards soil, climate, rainfall, temperature, fertilizers etc.
Advantages: 1. Quality and purity is ensured. 2. Better yield leads to more profit
3. Ensure regular supply of raw material. 4. Application of modern scientific techniques are possible.
Dis advantages: 1. It is a costly process.
2. Needs well trained labour.
• Different steps involved in Herbal drug processing :
Herbs are subjected to various stages starting from their selection, identification, cultivation, collection, storage and processing until the final
product is formed.
Steps involved in processing of Herbal drugs :
Selection of
Herb
Identification
&
Authentication
Cultivation of
Herbs
Collection of
Herbs
Processing of
Herbal raw
material
5. 1. Selection of Herb :
• Selection of specific species of herb for cultivation should be selected after proper literature review by using various official books and journals.
• The species or botanical variety selected for cultivation should be same as specified in the pharmacopoeia and national documents.
• In case of newly introduced medicinal plants the variety selected for cultivation should be identified and documented.
• The criteria used for selection of plant for investigation depends upon the studies to be performed on plant species such as- ecological, botanical, taxonomical etc.
2. Identification & Authentication :
• The selected plant material should be identified before cultivation. Some methods used for it are-
• Botanical identity : The species, subspecies, genus, variety etc. of the plant for cultivation should be verified from a qualified botanist or institute and recorded. The specimens also
studied for morphological and microscopical description by comparing with standards of various official books.
• Specimens identity : In case of a plant with medicinal properties whose identity is not known, a specimen of the plant should be submitted to a regional national herbarium for
identification and documentation.
• Seeds & other propagation materials : The suppliers of seeds and other propagation materials should specify all the necessary information relating to the identity, quality as well
as their breeding history. The seeds and propagation material should be free from contamination and diseases in order to promote healthy plant growth cultivation of medicinal
plants.
3. Cultivation of Herb :
• Cultivation of medicinal plants require intensive care and management as various factors such as environment, soil, irrigation, pests play a vital role during cultivation of plants.
• These factors vary from one plant to another.
• For cultivation a scientific documented method should be followed. If no data available, traditional methods should be adopted and a systematic method should be developed
through research.
6. • Good agricultural collection practice (GACP) and conservation agriculture (CA) should be followed ,which aims to improve, conserve and make more efficient use
of natural resources.
• Mostly three methods are used for herbs cultivation –
i. Seed propagation ( sexual method )
ii. Vegetative propagation ( Asexual method )
iii. Micro propagation ( Plant tissue culture )
4. Collection of Herb :
• For the collection of medicinal plants a proper time should be selected.
• Herbs are selected for collection at a stage when they could yield maximum amount of chemical constituents.
• A skilled, experienced labor should be employed as they are trained to identify and select the herbs at a proper stage.
• The age of the plant also plays a vital factor for their selection.
• Diseased plants should be rejected.
5. Processing of Herbal raw material :
• This involves various stages from which the crude drugs undergo after harvesting.
• It can be classified into primary and secondary processing.
7. A. Primary Processing : It include a simple procedure by which the herbs are prepared by like sorting of different parts, washing, drying etc.
I. Grabbling (Sorting) : In this process dirt and impurities like soil, dust, insects, dead tissue, non medicinal plants are separated out from raw material. This process
ensures the purity and cleanliness of raw material.
II. Washing : After grabbling this process is performed to clean the herbal raw material well to remove the traces of the remaining soil, dust and other impurities from
the surface. Scrubbing & brushing with clean water is necessary in this process.
III. Parboiling (Blanching) : In this process they are put under boiling water for a short period. This process is also useful for removing outer coats & covering
materials of Herbs.. This process improve storage life of the herbs.
IV. Leaching : Removal of impurities from raw material by subjecting the raw material under running water called leaching. Leaching for long duration may lead to
excessive loss of other ingredients so time of leaching should be controlled.
V. Drying : After washing of raw material, they must be dried immediately to remove moisture and prevent microbial contamination. Drying may be done by –
Drying under sunlight, drying under shade, by applying artificial heat.
B. Secondary Processing : The secondary processing vary from herb to herb depending on nature of chemical constituents and therapeutic properties. It includes
process like –
I. Cutting/ Sectioning : After drying, the herbal is cut & sectioned into smaller sizes because small sizes are convenient for storage as well as for extraction process.
II. Aging/ Sweating : Aging refers to storing the new material for a specified time after harvesting. It is generally done under sunlight or under shade for up to a year.
III. Baking/ Roasting : It is a process of heating the herbal material in ovens. The temperature and duration for baking vary from herb to herb until it develops a
specific color.
IV. Boiling/ Steaming : In this process the drug is cooked in water or any other liquid solvent such as vinegar, urine, milk etc. It minimized the side effects & enhances
the therapeutic effect of herbal material.
8. V. Stir Frying : It is a process in which the herbal material are put in a pot of frying pan and continuously stirred for a specific period under heat until the external
color changes.
VI. Fumigation : Sometimes the harvested raw materials are subjected to fumes. Fumigation with Sulphur dioxide is commonly employed for some medicinal herbs
for the purpose of preserving color, improved appearance, bleaching and preventing the growth of insects and moulds.
