Phytochemistry & Pharmacognosy 1 BIPH 3228

Course description:

The course covers the Medicinal plants and natural products, their classification, geographical distribution, cultivation, collection and preparation, drying, processing and storage, standardization, adulteration of crude drugs. Detection, major active constituents and use of medicinal plants. Macro- and micro-morphological characteristics of certain organized drugs, including Pharmacopoeial monographs. Natural products: biosynthesis, chemistry and pharmaceutical/medical utilization. Metabolism of major/pharmaceutically relevant components in plants and ecologic factors of development. The course enhances the knowledge of the student of different pathways of primary and secondary metabolism in plants. Environmental and genetic factors affecting variability of plant constituents. Secondary metabolites important in medicinal plants: their occurrence, chemical nature, and main actions on the body in nutrition and medicine. Biosynthetic pathways of formation, identification, assay and therapeutic significance of organic acids, polysaccharides, phenols, tannins, lignans, salicylates, coumarins, quinones, glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, phytosterols, essential and fixed oils and resins. Nitrogen containing natural compounds: alkaloids, peptides, proteins, toxins, enzymes (their chemistry, biochemistry, pharmaceutical/medical utilization).

Course Aims:

  • Provide the chemistry and biology of natural products; carbohydrates, anthraquinone glycosides, Cardiac glycosides, Saponins, Falvonoids, Glucosinolates, Cyanogenic glycosides, Bitter principles, Plant polyphenols, and their applications in therapeutics.
  • Provide the different methods of preparation, isolation and identification of these compounds from their natural sources by chemical and chromatographic methods as well as their application in medicine.
  • Provide the fundamentals of plant taxonomy based on floral structure.

Course outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:  
  • Give an account on the chemistry, biological activity of carbohydrates, glycosides, tannins, bitter principles.
  • Describe the mechanism of action of these biologically active components and their structure activity relationship.
  • Explain a method for separation the biologically active principles from their extract.
  • Recognize or draw the chemical structures of such biologically active compounds.
  • Know the fundamentals of plant taxonomy based on floral structure.