This document provides definitions and key concepts related to pharmacology. It defines pharmacology as the study of drugs and their interactions with living organisms. It discusses the history and important figures in pharmacology. Key terms like pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, adverse effects, and indications are defined. The document also covers the sources of drugs including plants, animals, minerals, microorganisms and synthesis. It discusses nomenclature systems for drugs including chemical, generic and brand names. Common herbal medicines used in India are also highlighted.

1. By
Dr. Manoj Kumar Assistant
Professor Department of
Pharmacology Adesh Medical
College & Hospital Ambala Can’t

2. I. Important definitions:
Pharmacology:
Science that deals with the study of drugs &
their interaction with living organisms
 Includes history, source, physico-chemical
properties, dosage forms, routes of
administration, absorption, distribution,
metabolism, excretion, mechanism of action,
clinical uses & adverse effects of drugs
2
Greek: Pharmacon-drug logos-discourse

3. Oswald Schmiedeberg
“Father of Modern Pharmacology”
Dr. Rama Nath Chopra
“Father of Indian Pharmacology”
3

4. Drug
Drug is any substance used for the purpose of
diagnosis, prevention, treatment of a disease
According to WHO: Drug is any substance or product
that is used or is intended to be used to modify or explore
physiological systems or pathological states for the benefit
of the recipient
4

5. PHARMACOKINETICS
- What the body does to the drug
- It includes Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism,
Elimination
PHARMACODYNAMICS
- Study of mechanism of drug action i.e. what drug does to
the body
- Includes effect of drug & its mechanism of action
5

6. Adverse effects
Any response to the drug which is noxious or unintended occurring
in dose used in men for diagnosis, prevention, control or cure of a
disease. E.g. Insulin: Hypoglycemia, Furosemide: Hypokalemia
Indications:
These are the uses of the drug
Contraindications:
These are the conditions where drug should not be used
DRUG INDICATION CONTRAINDICATION
Aspirin Headache Peptic Ulcer
Warfarin Myocardial Infarction Hemophilia
6

7. Pharmacovigilance
“Science & activities relating to the detection,
assessment, understanding & prevention of
adverse effects or any other drug related
problems”
7

8. Clinical pharmacology
 Scientific study of drugs (both old and new) in human
 Includes:
 Pharmacodynamic & pharmacokinetic investigation in
healthy volunteers & in patients
 Evaluation of efficacy & safety of drugs
 Comparative trials with other forms of treatment
 Surveillance of patterns of drug use, adverse effects etc
8

9. Chemotherapy
 Treatment of systemic infection/malignancy with specific drugs that
have selective toxicity for the infecting organism/malignant cell with
no/minimal effects on the host cells
Pharmacy
 Art & science of compounding & dispensing drugs or preparing
suitable dosage forms for administration of drugs to human or
animals
Toxicology
 Study of poisonous effect of drugs & other chemicals (household,
environmental pollutant, industrial, agricultural, homicidal) with
emphasis on detection, prevention & treatment of poisonings
9

10. Pharmacopoeia
 Contain description of chemical structure, molecular
weight, physical & chemical characteristics, solubility,
identification and assay methods, standards of purity,
storage conditions and dosage forms of officially approved
drugs in a country
 They are useful to drug manufacturers & regulatory
authorities
 E.g. Indian (IP), British (BP), European (Eur P), United
States (USP) pharmacopoeias

11. Pharmacogenetics
- Study of genetic basis for variability in drug response
Pharmacogenomics
- The use of genetic information to guide the choice of
drug & dose on an individual basis

12. ESSENTIAL DRUGS (WHO 1975)
“Drugs that satisfy healthcare needs of the majority of
population and which should, therefore, be available at all
time, in adequate amounts and in appropriate dosage
forms”
12

13. Essential Medicine List
 1st edition in 1977
 This has been revised from time to time and the current is
with the title “National List of Essential Medicines
NLEM 2022.
 NLEM 2022 contains 384 drugs

14. II. Source of Drugs

15. Source Plant Drug Use
Leaf Digitalis Digoxin CHF
Bark Cinchona Quinine Malaria
Fruit Opium Morphine Analgesic
PLANT SOURCE
Digitalis purpurea
(foxglowe)
Digitalis
Cinchona pubescens
Quinine
Opium seed
Morphine

16. Vinca rosea Vinka alkaloids
(Anti cancer)
Rauwolfia serpentina (INDIA)
Reserpidine (Antihypertensive agent)
Atropa
belladonna
Anti cholinergic
drug used in
OPC Poisoning
Nicotiana
tobaccum
Nicotine

17. ANIMAL SOURCE
 Obtained from animal
Drug Animal
Heparin Leech
Insulin Pork pancreas
Thyroxin Thyroid
MINERAL SOURCE
• Use in pharmacotherapy
Mineral Use
Ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) Anaemia
Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) Purgative
Aluminum Hydroxide Antacid

18. MICROORGANISM SOURCE
 From Bacterial, Fungi, Moulds
 Used to kill Microorganisms.
Drug Microorganism
 Penicillin Penicilium notatum
 Griseofluvin Pencillin grisofullivum
 Streptomycin Streptomyces griseus
Human Source
• HCG Pregnant women
• Menotrophin Post Menopausal women urine
• Regular insulin Human

19. SYNTHETIC
 Presently majority of drugs are obtained synthetically
 Some of drugs which are earlier obtained from plant today
synthesized in lab
Advantage
 Quality can be controlled
 Process is easier and cheaper
 More potent and safer
 Large scale production
 Eg: Meperidine (Analgesic), Diphenoxylate (Antidiarrheal)

20. Semi-synthetic
 Mainly obtained by changing the chemical structure of natural
obtaining drugs
 Eg: Atropine bromide, Penicillin substrates (by changing –R side
chain)
Genetically engineered drugs
• Relatively new methodology involves the blending of
discoveries from molecular biology, rDNA technology, DNA
alteration, Gene splicing, immuno pharmacology
Eg.: Hepatitis-B, Insulin (Human insulin of rDNA techniques)

21. .

22. Nomenclature of drugs
 A drug usually has three names:
1. Chemical Name
2. Generic (Non-Proprietary/ Approved) Name
3. Brand (Proprietary/ Trade) Name

23. 1. Chemical Name:
 This name is given on the basis of chemical structure
of the drug and helps in knowing its chemical
properties.
e.g. 1-(Isopropylamino)-3-(1-naphthyloxy) propan-2- ol for
propranolol.

24. 2. Generic Name:
(Non-Proprietary/ Approved name)
 It is the name accepted by a competent scientific body/authority
 Two councils, British Approved Name (BAN) & United
States Adopted Name (USAN) assign Generic/ Non-
Proprietary Name to a drug
 Usually same all over the world
 Allocated in such a way that similar drugs indicate
relationships among them (eg. Norfloxacin,
Ciprofloxacin, Pefloxacin, all are fluoroquinolones)

25. 2. Generic Name (Cont…..
 Almost all drugs have ONLY ONE Generic/Non Proprietary
Name,
 Few exceptions of having different names according to BAN/
USAN Councils are
 Paracetamol/ Acetaminophen
 Adrenaline/ Epinephrine
 Noradrenaline/ Norepinephrine
 Lignocaine/ Lidocaine
a) Easier to identify main drug anywhere in the world in
comparison to its brand name
Advantages

26. Advantages….
b) Economical than brand names as expenditures by
manufacturers for their sales promotion are nil or
minimum
c) In case of any drug toxicity/ poisoning, it is easy to
find offending compound if prescribed by generic
name, and management can be initiated without any
delay
d) Easy to remember in comparison to many brand
names of a drug from different manufacturers

27. Disadvantages
a) Drugs with narrow therapeutic index (phenytoin, digoxin)
may have different bioavailability from different
manufacturers. So, it is not advisable to change brand of a
drug if patient's illness is well controlled with that
particular brand
b) In case of Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs), Generic
names of individual drugs may be lengthy & unsuitable.
e.g. Co-trimoxazole for FDC of Trimethoprim &
Sulfamethoxazole
c) Some patients may have firm faith in a particular brand
which may affect therapeutic outcome also many times

28. 3. Brand Name:
(Proprietary/ Trade name )
 It is assigned by manufacturer & acts as his trademark for a
particular formulation of a particular substance. Most of
the prescribers prefer to prescribe a drug by its Brand
Name.
 One drug can have many Brand/ Proprietary/ Trade Names
depending upon the numbers of manufacturers
 More costly than their Generic/ Non-Proprietary Names

29. E.g of different names of paracetamol are:
 Chemical Name : N-acetyl-para-aminophenol
 Generic (Non-Proprietary) Name: paracetamol/
Acetaminophen.
 Brand (Proprietary/Trade) Name: Sometimes same
drug from the same manufacturer may have different
Brand Names also e.g. Crocin and Calpol
manufactured by Glaxo Smithkline; Fevago, paracip,
Parafast and Parafizz by Cipla. Other brand is
Pyrigesic by East India.

30. Confusing Names
 These are also known as Lookalike sound-alike (LASA)
drugs. Good coordination between brain & fingers is
required while writing the name of a drug as drugs of
totally different groups can have similar Generic/ Non-
proprietary and Brand/ Proprietary/ Trade Names.
 Generic/ Non-Proprietary similar Names
 Cotrimoxazole (antibacterial), Clotrimazole (antifungal)
and Carbimazole(antithyroid).
 Buspirone (anxiolytic) and Bupropion (atypical
antidepressant).

31. Brand/ Proprietary/ Trade similar Names
e.g.
 Eltroxin (Thyroxin used for hypothyroidism) and
Althrocin (Erythromycin used as antimicrobial).

32. Prescription and non-prescription drugs
 majority of drugs including all antibiotics must be sold in
retail only against a prescription.
- These are called ‘prescription drugs’ and in India they
have been placed in the schedule H of the Drugs and
Cosmetic Rules(1945)
 few drugs like simple analgesics (paracetamol, aspirin),
antacids are considered relatively harmless, and can be
procured without a prescription.
- These are ‘non-prescription’ or ‘over-the-counter’ (OTC)
drugs; can be sold even by grocery stores.
32

33. Orphan Drugs
 These are drugs or biological products for diagnosis/treatment/
prevention of a rare disease or condition, or a more common disease
(endemic only in resource poor countries)
for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of
developing and marketing it will be recovered from the sales of that
drug.
 sodium nitrite, fomepizole, liposomal amphotericin B,
miltefosine, rifabutin, succimer, somatropin, digoxin
immune Fab (digoxin antibody), liothyronine (T3)
33

34. Exercise No 1. Identify generic and brand names
with quantity of active ingredients mentioned on
the following medicine strip.

35. Exercise No 2. Identify generic and brand names
encircled and marked as ‘a’ & ‘b’ in the following
medicine strip.

36. Aloe vera Ginkgo biloba

37. Herbal drugs
 Preparations made from part / parts of plants, e.g. roots, stems,
barks, leaves, flowers or seeds, & are used for prevention or
treatment of diseases.
 WHO: Herbal medicines include raw-plant materials, processed
plant materials, as well as medicinal herbal products.
Azadirachta indica (Neem)
Allium sativum
(Garlic)

38. Some important medicinal plants:
S.No
Medicinal plant Relevant features Major area of clinical use
1 Withania somnifera Ashwagandha;
Indian ‘ginseng’
Manage stress, anxiety,
insomnia, to lower blood sugar and blood
lipids; phytoestrogen
2 Zingiber officinalis Ginger; active
principle is Gingerol
Digestive, carminative, appetite stimulant,
antiemetic; also as spice
3 Allium sativum Garlic To lower blood lipids, for cold symptoms,
as antioxidant, antihypertensive,
antiplatelet
4 Curcuma longa Turmaric/ Haldi;
Active principle
curcumin
Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant
5 Aloe vera Moisturizer, antiageing, on burns,
flavouring agent, to treat constipation, as
antioxidant

39. 6 Oscimum sanctum Holi basil, Tulsi Immunomodulator, adaptogen, for
symptoms of flu, colds, asthma, fever,
as antioxidant
7 Phyllanthus emblica Amla, Indian
gooseberry,
Myrobalan
Restorative, antioxidant, anti-ageing, to
treat symptoms of cold, vitiligo,
osteoarthritis, to lower blood lipids
8 Azadirachta indica Neem, Margosa For acne, eczema; as antiseptic,
antiageing, antioxidant, antimalarial, to
treat worms, rheumatism
9 Ginkgo biloba - Cognition enhancer, antioxidant
10 Panax ginseng Ginseng To reduce stress & promote relaxation,
improve mental & physical
performance, boost energy; also
immunomodulator & to lower blood
sugar