Crude drug

Unrefined medications in their raw or natural forms Crude drugs are commercially available drugs derived from plant, animal, mineral, and microbial origin[clarification needed] that contain natural substances that have undergone only the processes of collection and drying.[dubious – discuss] The term natural substances refers to those substances found in nature that have not had man-made changes made in their molecular structure. They are used as medicine for humans and animals, internally and externally for curing diseases, e.g., Senna and Cinchona. A crude drug is any naturally occurring, unrefined substance derived from organic or inorganic sources such as plant, animal, mineral, bacteria, organs or whole organisms intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans or other animals. Overview 1916 Eli Lilly crude drug case for pharmacy students to study: contains 216 different specimens Crude drugs are unrefined natural medications in their raw forms. Prior to the 1950s, every pharmacy student learned about crude drugs in pharmacognosy class. Pharmacognosy is the study of the proper horticulture, harvesting and uses of the raw med