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The term "Crude-Drugs" generally applies to the products of plants and animal oirgin found in raw form and
pharmaceutical products from mineral origin and not necessrily only the organic ones such as kaoline, bentonite, etc.
Crude
drugs are further grouped as ORGANISED (CELLULAR) or UNORGANISED (NON-CELLULAR) according to whether they contain a regularly
organised cellular structure or not.
1. ALPHABETICAL CLASSIFICATION:
Crude drugs are arranged according to thier
latin or english names alphabetically:
1. Indian Pharmacopoeia.
2. British Pharmacopoeia.
3. United States Pharmacopoeia
& National Formulary.
4. British Herbal Pharmacopoeia.
5. British Pharmaceutical Codex.
6. European Pharmacopoeia
(Latin Titles).
7. Encyclopedia of common Natural ingredients used in Drugs and cosmetics.
e.g.: Acacia, benzoin,
cinchona, dill, ergot, fennel, gentian, hyoscyamus, ipecacuanha, jalap, kurchi, liquorice, myrrh, Nux-vomica, opium, podophyllum,
quassia, rauwolfia, senna, uncaria gambier, vasaka, wool fat, yellow bees wax, zedoary.
2. TAXONOMICAL CLASSIFICATION:
The drugs are classified according to plants or animals from which they are obtained in Phyla, Orders, Families, Genera,
Species, Sub-species, etc.
This system of classification is criticised for its failure to recognize the organized and
unorganized nature of crude drugs and chemical nature of active constituents and therapeutic significance of crude drugs
Phylum
- Spermatophyta
Division - Angiospermae
Class - Dicotyledons
Order - Rosales
Family - Leguminosae
Sub-family
- Papilionaceae
Genus - Glycyrrhiza, Astragalus, Myroxylon
Species - Glycyrrhiza glabra, Astragalus gummifer,
Myroxylon
balsamum.
Phylum - Spermatophyta
Division - Angiospermae
Class - Dicotyledons
Sub-class - Sympetalae
Order
- Tubiflorae
Family - Solanaceae
Genus - Atropa, Hyoscyamus, Datura
Species - Atropa belladona, Hyoscyamus niger,
Datura
stramonium
3. MORPHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION:
The crude drugs are grouped according to the parts of the
plants or animal represented into organised and unorganised drugs.
Seeds - nux-vomica, strophanthus, isabgol, castor
Leaves - senna, digitalis, vasaka, eucalyptus
Barks - cinchona, kurchi, cinnamom, quaillia
Woods - quassia, sandalwood,
red-sanders
Roots - rauwolfia, ipecacuanha, aconite, jalap
Rhizomes - turmeric, ginger, valerian, podophyllum
Flowers
- clove, pyrethrum, saffron, artemisia
Fruits - coriander, colocynth, fennel, bael
Entire drugs- ephedra, ergot, cantharides,
belladonna
Dried latices- opium, gutta-percha, papain
Resins & resin
combinations - balsam of tolu, myrrh,
asafoetida, benzoin
Dried juices - aloes, kino, red gum
Gums - acacia, tragacanth, ghatti gum, guar gum
Dried
extracts-gelatin, catechu, agar, curare
This system of classifcation is more convenient for practical study; especially
when the chemical nature of the crude drug is not clearly understood.
4. CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION;
The crude drugs
are divided into different groups according to the chemical nature of their most important constituents.
Glycosides
- Digitalis, senna, cascara, liqourice
Alkaloids - Nux--vomica, ergot, cinchona, datura
Tannins - Myrobalan, pale
catechu, ashoka
Volatile - Peppermint, clove, eucalyptus, garlic
oils
Lipids - Castor oil, bees wax, lanolin,
cod liver
oil, kokum butter
Carbohydrates - Acacia, agar, guar gum, pectin, honey,
& derivatives isapghula
Resins & resin - Colophony, jalap, Balsam of Tolu
derivatives
Vitamins & - Yeast, Shark liver
oil, Oxytocin,
Hormones insulin
Proteins & - casein, gelatin, papain, trypsin
Enzymes
The chemical
classification of crude drugs seem to be the
preferred method of study, since therapeutic and pharamcological significance
is based on the chemical composition of crude drugs.
5. PHARMACOLOGICAL (THERAPEUTIC) CLASSIFICATION:
This system
of classification involoves the grouping of crude drugs according to the pharmacological action of their active constituents
or their therapeutic uses,
regardlesss of their morphology, taxonomical status, or chemical relationships.
The drugs
differing in mechanism of action but having same pharmacological effects are also grouped together, e.g.
bulk purgatives,
irritant purgatives, emollient purgatives
etc.
DRUGS ACTING ON GASTRO-INTESTINAL TRACT:
Bitters - Gentian, Quassia,
Cinchona
Carminatives - Dill, Mentha, Cardamom
Emetics - Ipecacuanha
Anti-amoebics - Kurchi, Ipecauanha
Bulk
laxatives - Agar, Isapghula, Banana
Purgatives - Senna, Castor oil
Peptic ulcer - Derivatives of Glycyrrhitinic acid
treatment ( Liqourice and Raw banana)
DRUGS ACTING ON RESPIRATORY SYSTEM:
Expectorant - Liqourice, Ipecacuanha,
Vasaka
Antiexpectorant - Stramonium leaves (Atropine)
Antitussives - Opium (Codeine, Noscapine)
Brochodilators
- Ephedra, Tea (Theophylline)
DRUGS ACTING ON CARDIO-VASCULAR SYSTEMS:
Cardiotonics - Digitalis, Squill, Strophanthus
Cardiac depressants - Cinchona (quinidine), Veratrum
Vaso-constrictors - Ergot (ergotamine), Ephedra
Antihypertensives
- Rauwolfia
DRUGS ACTING ON AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEMS:
Adrenergics - Ephedra
Cholinergics - Physostima, Pilocarpus
Anticholinergics - Belladona, Datura
DRUGS ACTING ON CNS:
Central analgesics - Opium (morphine)
CNS Stimulants
- Coffee ( caffeine)
Analeptics - Nux-vomica, Lobelia, Camphor
CNS depressants - Hyoscyamus, Belladonna, opium,
Hellucinogenics
- Cannabis, Poppy Latex
ANTISPASMODICS:
Smooth Muscle Relaxants - Opium, Datura, Hyoscyamus
Skeletal Muscle
Relaxants - Curare
ANTICANCER: Vinca, Podophyllum, Taxus, Camptotheca
ANTIRHEUMATICS: Aconite, Colchicum, Guggul
ASTRINGENTS: Myrobalan, Black Catechu
6. CHEMOTAXONOMIC CLASSIFICATION:
The character most often studied in
chemotaxonomy are secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical significance such as alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, etc. DNA
hybridization, amino acid sequencing in proteins, and
serotaxonomy are also gaining significance in this method of classification
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