A drug of preparation made from a plant or plants and used to prevent and treat diseases and ailments or to promote health and healing.
Phytomedicine obtained from herbal sources are in great demand in the developed world as they are able to cure many infectious diseases. These plant based drugs provide outstanding contribution to modern therapeutics.
The natural medicine are attracting renewed attention from both practical and scientific view points. They have proved their efficacy for primary health care because of their safety and lesser side effects.
They also offer therapeutics for age-related disorders like memory loss, osteoporosis, immune disorders, etc. The newfound popularity is due to their almost miraculous success with cases which were given up as hopeless by the allopathic doctors as side-effect free treatment.
The world is now moving towards herbal medicine or phytomedicines that repair and strengthen bodily systems (especially the immune system, which can then properly fight foreign invaders) and help to destroy offending pathogens without tosic side effects.
Opium the latex of Papaver somniferum used by ancient Sumarians. Egyptians and Greeks for the treatment of headaches, arthritis and inducing sleep.
Codeine, Morphin
Atropa belladona, Hyascyamus niger etc., important drugs in Babylonium folklore.
Atropine, Hyoscyamine
Crude drug (astringent yellow) derived from Ephedra sinica, used by Chinese for respiratory ailments since 2700 BC.
Ephedrine
Cinchona spp, used by the Peruvian Indians for the treatment of fevers
Quinine
Brazilian Indians and several others South American tribes used root and rhizomes of Cephaelis spp to induce vomiting and cure dysentery.
Emetine
Use of Colchicum in the treatment of gout has been known in Europe since 78 AD
Colchicine
Digitalis leaves were being used in heart therapy in Europe during the 19th century.
Digoxin
People on all continents have used hundreds to thousands of indigenous plants for treatment of ailments since prehistoric times
Role of phytomedicine in human society
Cellular structure present
Organized drug
Part of plant, animal-like, fruits, seeds, and roots etc
Organized drugs
To study them properly, T.S or L.C is taken and study under microscope
Organized drugs
Solid in nature
organized drug
Cellular structure is absent
unorganized drug
obtained from parts of plant and animal by extraction, distillation incision, expression or exudates, secretion etc
unorganized drug
Studies include physical constituents like density, viscosity, refractive index, optical rotation, and chemical test
unorganized drug
solid, semisolid, or liquid
unorganized drug
Example of organized drug
clove, fennel, dill, digitalis
Example of unorganized drugs
lemon oil, starch, catechu
Any substance or drug (crude or prepared), which is included in the issue of pharmacopoeia of a country and is officially used for therapeutic purposes
official drugs
Used in treating cancer diseases
Whole plant Catharanthus and their active constituents (vincristine and vinblastine)
Used as narcotic
Latex of fruit of poppy plants (Papaver sp.) and its active constituents (Morphine)
Used as stimulants
Caffeine from the seeds of coffee plants and Thiamine from leaves of tea plants
A drug, which has once been recognized as a drug in the pharmacopoeia, but not included in the issue of the pharmacopoeia or any official drug literature