Pharmacology (from Greek φάρμακον, pharmakon, "drug"; and -λογία, -logia) is the

branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action.[1] More
specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and
chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function. If substances have
medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals. The field encompasses drug
composition and properties, interactions, toxicology, therapy, and medical applications
and antipathogenic capabilities. The two main areas of pharmacology are
pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. The former studies the effects of the drugs on
biological systems, and the latter the effects of biological systems on the drugs. In broad
terms, pharmacodynamics discusses the interactions of chemicals with biological
receptors, and pharmacokinetics discusses the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and
excretion of chemicals from the biological systems. Pharmacology is not synonymous
with pharmacy, which is the name used for a profession, though in common usage the
two terms are confused at times. Pharmacology deals with how drugs interact within
biological systems to affect function. It is the study of drugs, of the reactions of the body
and drug on each other, the sources of drugs, their nature, and their properties. In
contrast, pharmacy is a biomedical science concerned with preparation, dispensing,
dosage, and the safe and effective use of medicines.

Dioscorides' De Materia Medica is often said to be the oldest and most valuable work in
the history of pharmacology.[2] The origins of clinical pharmacology date back to the
Middle Ages in Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine, Peter of Spain's Commentary on
Isaac, and John of St Amand's Commentary on the Antedotary of Nicholas.[3] Clinical
pharmacology owes much of its foundation to the work of William Withering.[4]
Pharmacology as a scientific discipline did not further advance until the mid-19th century
amid the great biomedical resurgence of that period.[5] Before the second half of the
nineteenth century, the remarkable potency and specificity of the actions of drugs such as
morphine, quinine and digitalis were explained vaguely and with reference to
extraordinary chemical powers and affinities to certain organs or tissues.[6] The first
pharmacology department was set up by Rudolf Buchheim in 1847, in recognition of the
need to understand how therapeutic drugs and poisons produced their effects.[5]

Early pharmacologists focused on natural substances, mainly plant extracts.

Pharmacology developed in the 19th century as a biomedical science that applied the
principles of scientific experimentation to therapeutic contexts.[7]

Pharmacognosy
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Dioscorides’ Materia Medica, c. 1334 copy in Arabic, describes medicinal features of
various plants.

Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources. The American
Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical,
chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential
drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from
natural sources."[1]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Introduction
o 1.1 Origin
• 2 Ethnopharmacology
• 3 Issues in phytotherapy
o 3.1 Constituents and drug synergyism
o 3.2 Herb and drug interactions
• 4 Natural products chemistry
• 5 Loss of biodiversity
• 6 Sustainable sources of plant and animal drugs
• 7 External links

• 8 References

[edit] Introduction
The word "pharmacognosy" is derived from the Greek words φάρμακον pharmakon
(drug), and γνῶσις gnosis or "knowledge". The term pharmacognosy was used for the
first time by the Austrian physician Schmidt in 1811. Originally—during the 19th century
and the beginning of the 20th century—"pharmacognosy" was used to define the branch
of medicine or commodity sciences (Warenkunde in German) which deals with drugs in
their crude, or unprepared, form. Crude drugs are the dried, unprepared material of plant,
animal or mineral origin, used for medicine. The study of these materials under the name
pharmakognosie was first developed in German-speaking areas of Europe, while other
language areas often used the older term materia medica taken from the works of Galen
and Dioscorides. In German the term drogenkunde ("science of crude drugs") is also used
synonymously.

Although most pharmacognostic studies focus on plants and medicines derived from
plants, other types of organisms are also regarded as pharmacognostically interesting, in
particular, various types of microbes (bacteria, fungi, etc.), and, recently, various marine
organisms.

Pharmacognosy is interdisciplinary, drawing on a broad spectrum of biological and socio-

scientific subjects, including botany, ethnobotany, medical anthropology, marine biology,
microbiology, herbal medicine, chemistry, biotechnology, phytochemistry,
pharmacology, pharmaceutics, clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice. The
contemporary study of pharmacognosy can be divided into the fields of

• medical ethnobotany: the study of the traditional use of plants for medicinal
purposes;
• ethnopharmacology: the study of the pharmacological qualities of traditional
medicinal substances;
• the study of phytotherapy (the medicinal use of plant extracts); and
• phytochemistry, the study of chemicals derived from plants (including the
identification of new drug candidates derived from plant sources).
• Zoopharmacognosy, the process by which animals self-medicate, by selecting and
using plants, soils, and insects to treat and prevent disease.
• Pharmcognosy-Biotechnology, the synthesis of natural bioactive molecules using
biotechnology.
• Herbal interactions, the interactions of herbs with other drugs and body.
• Marine pharmacognosy, the study of chemicals derived from marine organisms.

Definitions of drug on the Web:

• administer a drug to; "They drugged the kidnapped tourist"

• use recreational drugs
• a substance that is used as a medicine or narcotic
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed
into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There
is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug
control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.
Dictionary. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug
• The Drúedain are a fictional race of Men which were counted
amongst the Edain, who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age,
and were friendly to the Elves. They are part of the Middle-earth
legendarium, created by J. R. R. Tolkien.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drûg
• A substance used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a
chemical process in the body for a specific purpose; A substance,
often addictive, which affects the central nervous system; A chemical
or substance, not necessarily for medical purposes, which alters the
way the mind or body ...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/drug