Adulteration and misidentification of herbal drugs can cause serious health problems to consumers. The first step in quality control of medicinal plants is ensuring the authenticity of the desired species for intended use, with anatomical study playing a critical role in identifying and authenticating medicinal plants. A product of numerous years of experience and research, Indian Herbal Drug Microscopy is a vital resource for identifying and evaluating Indian medicinal plants. Comprised of four concise and comprehensive chapters, the book presents stepwise procedures for sectioning of plant material, histo-chemical staining techniques, and the anatomy of forty well-known and medicinally important plants, including Arjuna, Ashoka, Ashwagandha, Cinchona, Cinnamon, Ginger, Kurchi, Rauwolfia, Turmeric, Tulsi, and Vasaka. The book is also supplemented with color photographs and hand-drawn microscopic images. Written by authorities in the field, Indian Herbal Drug Microscopy is a valuable guide for herbal drug microscopy of Indian medicinal plants.
Powdered Crude Drug Microscopy of Leaves and Barks investigates various microscopic techniques used in the examination of structural and cellular features in order to determine their botanical origin. These methods are useful in identifying species with similar morphological characters. Today, there is a variety of methods available to authenticate herbal drugs, ranging from simple morphological examination to physical and chemical analysis, and DNA molecular biology. Due to cost, powder microscopy is the most practical method for primary authentication. Botanical microscopy is a unique, valuable, rapid and cost-effective assessment tool, and plays an important role in the authentication and assessment of medicinal plants. This book is an essential resource for students and researchers involved in the study of plants and natural products, as well as professionals in industries manufacturing plant-based products for use during quality control and assurance steps. - Provides a fundamental understanding of the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of crude drugs, including photographs of herbs in their raw and powder forms. - Presents specific characteristics and sub-features for identifying barks and leaves, including stone cells, calcium oxalate crystals, starch grains, medullary rays, fibres, sclereids, cork, isolated oil cells, tubular lactiferous canals, phloem parenchyma, masses, rhytidoma, parenchyma and secretory canals. - Includes specific characteristics for identifying leaves, such as epidermis, stomata, trichomes, calcium oxalate crystals, fibres, cell contents, cystoliths, lamina, starch grains, tracheids, lactiferous canals and xylem vessels. - Demonstrates how the specificity of characteristics for a particular bark or leaf in powder form can lead to its authentication. - Features standard operating protocols for preparation of slides and lab samples using industrially operated grinders to observe general as well as distinguishing microscopical characters of barks and leaves.
A collection of test procedures for assessing the identity, purity, and content of medicinal plant materials, including determination of pesticide residues, arsenic and heavy metals. Intended to assist national laboratories engaged in drug quality control, the manual responds to the growing use of medicinal plants, the special quality problems they pose, and the corresponding need for international guidance on reliable methods for quality control. Recommended procedures - whether involving visual inspection or the use of thin-layer chromatography for the qualitative determination of impurities - should also prove useful to the pharmaceutical industry and pharmacists working with these materials.
This volume focuses on the importance of therapeutically active compounds of natural origin. Natural materials from plants, microbes, animals, marine organisms and minerals are important sources of modern drugs. Beginning with two chapters on the development and definition of the interdisciplinary field of pharmacognosy, the volume offers up-to-date information on natural and biosynthetic sources of drugs, classification of crude drugs, pharmacognosical botany, examples of medical application, WHO ́s guidelines and intellectual property rights for herbal products.
Quality Control and Evaluation of Herbal Drugs brings together current thinking and practices for evaluation of natural products and traditional medicines. The use of herbal medicine in therapeutics is on the rise in both developed and developing countries and this book facilitates the necessary development of quality standards for these medicines.This book elucidates on various challenges and opportunities for quality evaluation of herbal drugs with several integrated approaches including metabolomics, chemoprofiling, marker analysis, stability testing, good practices for manufacturing, clinical aspects, Ethnopharmacology and Ethnomedicine inspired drug development. Written by Prof. Pulok K Mukherjee, a leader in this field; the book highlights on various methods, techniques and approaches for evaluating the purity, quality, safety and efficacy of herbal drugs. Particular attention is paid to methods that assess these drugs' activity, the compounds responsible and their underlying mechanisms of action. The book describes the quality control parameters followed in India and other countries, including Japan, China, Bangladesh, and other Asian countries, as well as the regulatory profiles of the European Union and North America. This book will be useful in bio-prospecting of natural products and traditional medicine-inspired drug discovery and development. - Provides new information on the research and development of natural remedies - essential reading on the study and use of natural resources for preventative or healing purposes - Brings together current thinking and practices in quality control and standardization of herbal drugs highlighting several integrated approaches for metabolomics, chemo-profiling and marker analysis - Aids in developing knowledge of various techniques including macroscopy, microscopy, HPTLC, HPLC, LC-MS/MS, GC-MS etc. with the development of integrated methods for evaluation of botanicals used in traditional medicine - Assessment of herbal drugs through bio-analytical techniques, bioassay guided isolation, enzyme inhibition, pharmacological, microbiological, antiviral assays and safety related quality issues - References global organizations, such as the WHO, USFDA, CDSCO, AYUSH, TCM and others to serve as a comprehensive document for enforcement agencies, NGOs and regulatory authorities
The advent of electron microscopes has opened up new vistas in the field of science. The ultrastructural morphological evidence offered by electron microscope to substantiate and support other findings is highly rewarding. This book gives a comprehensive overview of the principle and operations of the electron microscope. Numerous electron micrographs have been provided to acquaint the reader with the appearance of highly magnified features seen through the EM. This book would definitely create “a feel for this subject” particularly among those who want to use this technique for their research work.
Designed to cover the core subject of pharmacognosy offered to undergraduate students of pharmacy, this book presents the theoretical concepts in a lucid style. Its in-depth coverage of topics quintessential to the Indian plant drug sector makes the book unique, as does its exposition on herbal cosmetics and quality control of herbal drugs. The book abounds with a rich pedagogy that enables effortless recapitulation of the subject.
The Himalayan Region is a mega hot spot for biological diversity. It supports over 1,748 plants species of known medicinal value. This title focuses on origin and distribution of Himalayan herbs, their medicinal potential, industrial significance, and research advancements pertaining to molecular breeding and omics-based approaches. Discusses evolved secondary biochemical pathways often in response to specific environmental stimuli Reviews conservation efforts Presents an in-depth analysis of 12 key species