Classification of DONO

• DONO


  Drugs of natural origin
• The most important natural sources of drugs are higher plant, microbes, and animals, and marine organisms. Some useful products are obtained from minerals that are both organic and inorganic in nature.
• In order to pursue (or to follow) the study of the individual drugs, one must adopt some particular sequence of arrangement, and this is referred to a system of classification of drugs
• A method of classification should be:

  simple, easy to use, and free from confusion and ambiguities
• Classification of DONO

  1. Alphabetical Classification
  2. Taxonomical Classification
  3. Morphological Classification
  4. Pharmacological Classification
  5. Chemical Classification
  6. Chemotaxonomical Classification
  7. Serotaxonomical Classification
• simplest way of classification of any disconnected items.

  alphabetical Classification
• Crude drugs are arranged in alphabetical order of their Latin and English names (common names) or sometimes local language names (vernacular names)
• Some pharmacopoeias, dictionaries, and reference books which classify crude drugs according to alphabetical classification:

  1. Indian Pharmacopoeia
  2. British Pharmacopoeia
  3. British Herbal Pharmacopoeia
  4. European Pharmacopoeia
  5. United States Pharmacopoeia and National Formulary
• Merits of Alphabetical Classification

  • Easy and quick to use
  • No repetition of entries and devoid of confusion
  • Location, tracing and addition of drug entries is easy
• Demerits of Alphabetical Classification


  No relationship between previous and successive entries
• All plants possess different morphological, microscopical, chemical, embryological, serological, and genetic characteristics. In this classification, the crude drugs are classified according to kingdom, subkingdom, division, class, order, family, genus, and species

  Taxonomical Classification
• Drugs are arranged according to the morphological or external characteristics of the plant parts or animal parts. Examples, which part of the plant is used as a drug.


  Morphological Classification
• Grouping of drug according to their pharmacological action or their therapeutic use

  Pharmacological Classification
• The crude drugs are classified upon the active constituents

  Chemical Classification
• Irrespective of the morphological or taxonomical characters, the drugs with similar constituents are grouped.

  Chemical Classification
• Relies on the chemical similarity of a taxon, it is based on the existence of a relationship between constituents in various plants.

  Chemotaxonomical Classification
• Latest system of classification that gives more scope for understanding the relationship between chemical constituents, their biosynthesis and their possible action.

  Chemotaxonomical Classification
• Merits of Taxonomical classification

  Helpful for studying evolutionary developments
• Demerits for taxonomical classification


  Does not correlate in between the chemical constituents and biological activity on drugs
• Merits on morphological classification

  More helpful to identify and detect adulteration. More convenient for practical study especially when the chemical nature of the drug is not clearly understood.
• Demerits of morphological classification 


  No correlation of chemical constituents with the therapeutic actions. Repetition of drugs or plants occurs.
• Merits of Pharmacological classification

  Can be used for suggesting substitutes of drugs, if they are not available at a particular place or point of time.
• Demerits of pharmacological classification 


  Drugs having different action on the body get classified separately in more than one group that causes ambiguity and confusion.
• Merits of chemical classification 


  It is a popular approach for phytochemical studies
• Demerits of chemical classification

  Ambiguities arise when particular drugs possesses a number of compounds belonging to different groups of compounds.
• Taxonomical Classification

  Subkingdom

  Superdivision

  Division

  Class

  Subclass

  Order

  Family

  Genus