Crude drugs are plant or animal drugs that contain natural substances that have undergone only the processes of collection and drying. The term natural substances refers to those substances found in

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

that have not had man-made changes made in their molecular structure. They are used as

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

for humans and animals, internally and externally for curing

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

s, e.g., Senna and

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly nat ...

. A crude drug is any naturally occurring, unrefined substance derived from

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

inorganic In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemist ...

sources such as plant, animal, bacteria, organs or whole organisms intended for use in the

diagnosis Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine "cause and effect". In systems engin ...

cure A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...

, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans or other animals.

Morphology or organoleptic characters of crude drugs

Identification of the crude drug by organoleptic characters is one of the important aspects of pharmacognostical study. Morphological study follows a special terminology which must be known to a pharmacognostist. The morphological terminology is derived from botany and zoology, depending upon the source of the crude drug. In general, color, odor, taste, size, shape, and special features, like touch, texture, fracture, presence of trichomes, and presence of ridges of crude drugs are studied under morphology. Aromatic odor of umbelliferous fruits and sweet taste of liquorice are the example of this type of evaluation. The study of form of a crude drug is ''morphology'', while description of the form is ''morphography''. However, shape and size of crude drugs as described in official books should only be considered as guidelines and may vary depending upon several factors. For example, color of the crude drug may fade if it gets exposed to sunlight for very long duration or if, the drug is not stored properly. Depending upon the condition under which the drug is growing or cultivated, i.e., availability of proper irrigation, fertilizers or even high temperature, may influence the size may be available and the crude drugs if grown in adverse conditions may be of small size. Color of the flowers as in case ''Catharanthus roseus'' and ''Catharanthus alba,'' presence of thorns in case of ''Asparagus recemosus'' and absence in ''Asparagus officinalis'', arrangement of flowers in case of ''Withania semnifera'' or ''Witharia coagulens'' can help in differentiating the varieties of the same plant. Arrangement of cracks and wrinkles in case of stem bark of varieties of Cinchona bark, or the color of aloe can separate in varieties. The adulteration of seed of Strychnos nux-vomica with the seed of Strrychnos nux-blanda or Strychnos potatorum, caraway with Indian dill, Alexandrian senna with dog senna or palthe senna are identified by morphological means. In case of a cellular products (Unorganized Drugs), form of the drug depends totally on the method of preparation of the drug. Thus, gum acacia is found in the form of ovoid tears, while tragacanth is marketed as vermiform ribbon with longitudinal striations.

Overview

Crude drugs are unrefined

medications A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

in their raw or natural forms. Prior to the 1950s, every pharmacy student learned about crude drugs in

pharmacognosy Pharmacognosy is the study of medicinal plants and other natural substances as sources of drugs. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of dru ...

class. Pharmacognosy is the study of the proper

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

harvesting Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor- ...

and uses of the raw medications found in nature. Raising, harvesting and selling crude drugs was how many large pharmaceutical companies started out. Companies such as

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...

sold crude drugs to pharmacists to save them time and money, but the early pharmacy graduate would know how to raise their own crude drugs if need be.

Evaluation

To evaluate means to identify it and to determine its quality and purity, the identity of a drug can be established by actual collection of the drug from a plant or animal that has been positively identified. The evaluation of drug involves a number of methods that may be classified as follows: # Organoleptic and morphological evaluation: Evaluation by means of organs of senses; knowing the color, odor, taste, size, shape and special features like texture. # Microscopic: For identification of the pure powdered drug. This method allows more detailed examination of a drug and their identification by their known histological characters. Microscope by the virtue of its property to magnify, permits minute sections under study to enlarge so that leaf constants, stomatal index, palisade ratio can be determined. # Biologic: Pharmacological activities of drugs are evaluated by bioassays. When the estimation of potency of crude drug or its preparations are done by means of measuring its effect on living organisms like bacteria, fungal growth, or animal tissue, it is known as biological effect of the drug, compared to the standard drug. By these methods, a crude drug can be assessed and further clinical trial can be recommended. # Chemical: Chemical assays are best to determine potency and active constituents. It comprises different test and assays. The isolation, purification and identification of active constituents are the methods of evaluation. Quantitative chemical test such as acid value, saponificaion value etc are also covered under these techniques. # Physical: Physical constants are applied to active principles. These are helpful in evaluation with reference to moisture content, specific gravity, density, optic rotation etc.

History

The usage of crude drugs dates to

prehistoric times Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

. Traditional medicine often incorporates the gathering and preparation of material from natural sources, particularly herbs. In such practice, the active ingredients and method of action are largely unknown to the practitioner. In recent history, the development of modern chemistry and application of the scientific method shaped the use of crude drugs. Eventually, the use of crude drugs reach a zenith in the early 1900s and eventually gave way to the use of purified active ingredients from the natural source. Currently the use and exploration of crude drugs has again gained prominence in the medical community. The realization that many completely unknown substances are yet to be discovered from crude drugs has created a new interest in pharmacognosy and has led to many medical breakthroughs. In 1907, the

Pure Food and Drug Act The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, also known as Dr. Wiley's Law, was the first of a series of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administratio ...

was implemented and standardization of crude drugs took place. Often the USP would specify what percentage of active ingredient was needed to claim a crude drug met USP standards. An example of standardization would be as follows (from the

United States Pharmacopeia The ''United States Pharmacopeia'' (''USP'') is a pharmacopeia (compendium of drug information) for the United States published annually by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (usually also called the USP), a nonprofit organization that ...

):2007 USP

''
Opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...
is the air-dried milky exudate obtained by incising the unripe capsules of
Papaver somniferum ''Papaver somniferum'', commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable orname ...
Linne or its variety album De Candolle (Fam. Papaveraceae). Opium in its normal air-dried condition yields not less than 9.5 percent of anhydrous
morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...
.''

Use in Chinese medicine

Crude medicine (), (also known as crude drug in the

Chinese materia medica Chinese herbology () is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A ''Nature'' editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that t ...

) are bulk drugs from the Chinese materia medica basic processing and treatment.

References