Unit I

• Definition of herb
• Herbal medicine
• Herbal medicinal product
• Herbal drug preparation
• Source of herbs
• Selection
• Identification, and authentication of herbal drugs
• Processing of herbal raw material
• Herbal drugs industry
• Present scope and future prospects
• Industries and institutions involved in work on medicinal
and aromatic plants in India
 Herbs as raw materials
Medicinal plant: Any plant that in one or
more of its organs contain substances that can
be used for therapeutic purposes or as a
precursor for pharmaco-chemical semi
synthesis.
Herbal drug (or substance): Herbal drug is the part
of the medicinal plant used for therapeutic purposes.
According to the European Pharmacopoeia “ Herbal
drugs are mainly whole, fragmented or cut plants,
plant parts, algae, fungi, lichens in an unprocessed
state, usually in dried form but sometimes fresh”.
• Certain exudates that have not been subjected
to a specific treatment are also considered to be
herbal drugs (substances).
• Herbal drugs (substances) are precisely defined
by the plant part used and the botanical name
according to the binomial system (genus, species,
variety and author).
How to write Biologocal source ?????/
It consists of dried inner bark of shoots of coppiced
trees of Cinnamomum zeylanicum Nees. (family
Lauraceae).
• From an herbal substance, different herbal
preparations can be made.
• Herbal medicinal product: Any medicinal
product, exclusively containing as active
substances one or more herbal substances or
one or more herbal preparations, or one or
more such herbal substances in combination with
one or more such herbal preparations.
• Active ingredient: The chemical compound(s) of
an herbal drug or herbal drug preparation that
contribute(s) to its pharmacological activity or its
therapeutic effects.
 Definitions
• Herbal (drug) preparation: Preparations obtained by subjecting
herbal substances to treatments such as extraction, distillation,
expression, fractionation, purification, concentration or
fermentation. These include comminuted powdered herbal
substances, tinctures, extracts, essential oils, expressed juices and
processed exudates.
• Herbal remedy: Any herbal product used with therapeutic
purposes. The meaning of herbal remedy is very close to that of
herbal medicinal product, but differs from the last in the fact that
the term is not subjected to drug regulations.
 Definitions
• Herbal Teas: Consist exclusively of one or more herbal
substance(s) intended for oral aqueous preparations by means of
decoction, infusion or maceration. This preparation is prepared
immediately before use. Herbal teas are usually supplied in bulk
form or in sachets.
• Marker: Markers are chemically defined constituents or groups of
constituents of an herbal substance, herbal preparation or herbal
medicinal product, which are of interest for control purposes
independent of whether they have any therapeutic activity.
 Definitions
• Markers serve to calculate the quantity of herbal
substance(s) or herbal preparation(s) in the herbal medicinal
product if the marker has been quantitatively determined in the
herbal substance or herbal preparation.
• There are two categories of markers: – Analytical markers
are constituents or groups of constituents that serve solely for
analytical purposes. – Active markers are constituents or
groups of constituents, which are generally accepted to
contribute to the therapeutic /Pharmacological activity.
 Source of herbs
• Crude herbal drugs are the drugs, which are
obtained from natural sources like plant,
animals or mineral used as they occur in nature
without any processing except, collection,
drying and size reduction.
• Major sources of crude drugs are plants
(opium, garlic, pepper, digitalis and
cinnamon etc), animals (honey, shark liver
oil) and minerals (bentonite, shilajit).
 Source of herbs
1. Wild 2. Cultivated
1. Wild source : Most of the herbs are obtained
from wild source such as FORESTS, PLAINS, RIVER
BANKS and MOUNTAINS.
This source is suitable for herbs which are in
abundance in nature.
Advantages:
• Herbs from wild source are easy to obtain
• Economical
• Less time consuming
 Wild source
Disadvantages
• Quality of collected herbs can not be
predicted to various environmental changes
and age of plants
• Non-uniformity in yield and growth of plant
• Continuous collection leads to depletion of
raw material from wild cause endanger to
species and ecological imbalance
Wild source
 2. Cultivated source of herbs
Systematically growing herbs by applying MODERN
SCIETIFIC TECHNIQUES.
Advantages
• Ensured quality and purity
• Better yield, more profit
• Ensure regular supply of raw material (Crop planning)
• Application of latest technology (Tissue culture,
genetic engineering, hybridization and germplasm) is
possible to increase yield, growth rate and pest
management
Cultivated source
Cultivated source
Cultivated source
 Selection, Identification and
Authentication of herbs
Selection of herbs: The species/ botanical variety
selected for cultivation should be same as specified
in official Pharmacopoeia/Monographs. In case of
newly introduced plants, the variety selected
should be identified and documented.
1. Randomized approach 2. Ecological approach
3. Chemosystematic 4. Ethno-guided
 Randomized selection of herbs
• Approach without any criteria
• Selection and collection of plant species
according to availability
• Generally this approach is followed in region
with high biodiversity and probability of
finding novel substance.
• This is useful to explore the potential of wild
source of herbs.
 Ecological selection of herbs
• Based upon field observations and
interactions between organisms in their
ecological environment
• In this approach we select herbs by comparing
amount of secondary metabolites and
biological activities of different parts of plants.
Or by comparing in different species
 Chemosystematic selection of herbs
• System created by Prof. Otto Richard Gottlieb
(1982)
• This approach includes selection of a species
from a Family or Genus, for which some
previous PHYTOCHEMICAL knowledge of
atleast one species of Family/Genus is known.
 Ethno-guided selection of herbs
• Selection according to traditional knowledge
and suggestion of specific populations
(community/Tribes).
 Identification and Authentication of
Herbs
• Herbal materials may vary in composition and
properties unlike conventional pharmaceutical
products
• Herbal material with poor and substandard
quality leads to decrease in clinical effects of
finished product.
Correct identification and quality assurance of
herbal raw material is therefore an essential
requirement for safety and efficacy.
Collection & Authentication of Plants
 Identification and Authentication of
Herbs
Identification tests should be specific for herbal
material and generally combination of three or
more
1. Macroscopic characters
2. Microscopic characters
3. Physicochemical methods
4. Phytochemical investigations
5. Chromatography
6. Spectroscopy
 Identification and Authentication of
Herbs
• Authentication is especially useful in case of
herbal drugs that are frequently
substituted/ adulterated with other
varieties which are morphologically and
chemically impossible to differentiate
• Primary step in the identification and
authentication of herbal material involves
classical botanical methodologies for
collection and documentation
 Identification and Authentication of
Herbs
• The species, subspecies, genus, variety, family,
part used etc. of the plant should be verified
by a Qualified Botanist and specimens should
be kept in Herbarium of institute
 Identification and Authentication of
Herbs
Morphological study: Macroscopic identity of herbal materials
is based on shape, size, colour, surface characteristics, texture,
fracture characteristics and appearance of the cut surface.
However, since these characteristics are judged subjectively and
substitutes or adulterants may closely resemble the genuine
material, it is often necessary to substantiate the findings by
microscopy and/or physicochemical analysis.
Visual inspection provides the simplest and quickest means by
which to establish identity, purity and quality.
 Identification and Authentication of Herbs
Points to be remembered during macroscopy

• However, judgement must be exercised when considering odour

and taste, owing to variability in assessment from person to
person or by the same person at different times. (Valerian)

• Wrinkled and contracted leaves, herbs or flowers should be

softened and stretched flat. Certain fruits and seeds may also
require softening before dissection and observation of internal
characteristics. No other preliminary treatment is required.
 Identification and Authentication of
Herbs
Microscopical study: Microscopic inspection of herbal
materials is indispensable for the identification of broken
or powdered materials; the specimen may have to be
treated with chemical reagents. An examination by
microscopy alone cannot always provide complete
identification, though when used in association with other
analytical methods it can frequently supply invaluable
supporting evidence.
 Microscopy
• Powdered microscopy: Place 1 or 2 drops of water,
glycerol/ethanol or chloral hydrate on a glass slide
• Moisten the tip of a needle with water and dip into the
powder
• Transfer a small quantity of the material that adheres to
the needle tip into the drop of fluid on the slide.
• Stir thoroughly, but carefully, and apply a cover-glass.
Press lightly on the cover-glass with the handle of the
needle, and remove excess fluid from the margin of the
cover-glass with a strip of filter-paper.
 Microscopy
• Sections: Select representative pieces of the
material being examined and cut into suitable
lengths, one end of which is softened and
smoothed.
• Prepare cross or transverse sections by cutting
with a razor blade or microtome at a right angle to
the longitudinal axis of the material.
• Prepare longitudinal sections by cutting in parallel
with the longitudinal axis, either in a radial
direction (radial section) or in a tangential
direction (tangential section).
Identification and differentiation of various Starches with the help of
microscopy.

Potato- flattened ovoid, straiated, hilum eccentric Maize- simple, angular, hilum central

Rice- simple or comp., polyhedral-sharp angles Wheat- mostly simple, faint straiations
 Leaf constants
Palisade ratio: Average number of palisade cells beneath each epidermal cell. It can be
determined with powderd drug also.

D. lanata 2.5-6.5
D. purpurea 3.7-4.2
Vein-islet number: The number of vein-islets per square mm of the leaf surface midway between
the midrib and margin.
Datura stramonium 12-16
D. metel 19-22
Stomata number: Number of stomata per sq. mm of epidermis of the leaf.
Stomata index: The percentage which the number of stomata form to the total number of
epidermal cells; each stomata being counted as one cell.
D. Metel …. Upper 16.3-17, lower 16.8-22.8
D. Stramonium 13.6-20 14.4-15.4
Trichomes: These are other important diagnostic characters
for microscopic identification of herbal drug. Trichomes are
epidermal appendages present on most of the aerial parts of
the plants. Trichomes may be present throughout the life of an
organ or may soon fall off. The walls are thick due to cellulose
deposition or may be lignified. They are highly variable in
structure and function.
Functions: protect plant from external heat – reduce the rate
of transpiration.
excrete water, volatile oil (peppermint)
Calcium oxalate crystals: Excretory products of plant metabolism.
Occur in different forms – provide valuable information for identification of crude herbal drugs in
entire or powdered form.
Types: 1. Cubical (Prisms): cubical in shape, height, width and length is equal. Also have three equal
axis, at right angle to one another.
Eg. Senna, Glycyrrhiza
2. Rhombic (Diamond): same as cubical but unequal length.
Eg. Kurchi bark, Mimosa pudica
3. Tetragonal: three axis at right angles to one another. Two lateral axis are equal while third is shorter
or longer (vertical/principal axis).
Eg. Hyoscyamus, Onion
4. Monoclinic: All three axis are unequal. Lateral two are right angle to each other. Principal axis is
right angles to lateral axis. They shine more than tetragonal.
Eg. Veratrum, Oak galls
5. Acicular (Raphides): Excessively long slender with pointed ends and found in bundles.
Eg. Cinnamon, Gentian, Andrographis.
Calcium oxalate crystals conti……

6. Rosettes (Clusters): Aggregate crystals – resembles rose flower hence the name.
Eg. Clove, Arjuna
7. Microsphenoidal (Sandy): Minute deltoid, arrow shaped occupy full cell.
Eg. Cinchona, Tobacco.
Lycopodium spore method (Quantitative Microscopy)
The pioneering work in quantitative microscopy using lycopodium as reference standard was carried
out by Wallis and co-workers. The spores of lycopodium are very characteristics in shape and
exceptionally uniform in size (25µm). This analytical technique is of great significance for powdered
herbal drugs, especially when chemical methods fail.
Lycopodium powder contains on an average 94000 spores per mg. A powdered drug can be
eveluated by this method if it contains:
•Well defined particles which may be counted – pollen/starch grains
•Single layered cells or tissues
•Object of uniform thickness.
Lycopodium spore method
 WILL BE ADDED SOON………
1. Physicochemical methods
2. Phytochemical investigations
3. Chromatography
4. Spectroscopy
 Processing of herbal raw material by standard
operating procedures

Processing is a unique process in the preparation of

herbal materials from medicinal plant and plant parts and
has been practiced as a material specific procedure.
Historically, this process is as old as that of the use of
medicinal plants for the alleviation of human ailments.
When the medicinal plant and its parts are obtained
through wild collection or cultivation under GACP for
medicinal plants, they must be subjected to a series of good
practice of post-harvest processing procedures in order to
ensure the maximum safety, efficacy and desired
therapeutic outcome. The exact processing procedures may
vary from one herbal material to another.
Three major categories of processing are
involved:
Primary Secondary
Special processes
 Processing of herbal raw material by standard operating procedures…Conti……

• Primary processing encompasses the immediate post-harvest

treatments accorded to herbs obtained from cultivation or by

wild crafting or field collection intended to free them from

foreign matters and other contaminants.

• This includes, for example, the procedures of garbling (sorting),

washing, and drying. For herbal materials that are used without

further processing, the primary processing may also include

cutting, sectioning, and comminution.

 Processing of herbal raw material by standard operating procedures…Conti……

• Secondary processing is the next step concerned with

converting the primary processed herbs into herbal
materials by various additional procedures, including, for
example, aging/sweating; baking/roasting; boiling/steaming;
and stir-frying.
• Special processing is an extension of the secondary process,
which employs a specialized method to treat selected herbs to
reduce their toxicity or to alter and modify their therapeutic
activity.
Examples of herbs so processed include Aconitum and
Euphorbia species.
 Processing of herbal raw material by standard operating procedures…Conti……

Garbling (Sorting): The garbling process serves as the first step to

ensure the purity and cleanness of the medicinal plant materials.

After the bulk amount of the desired plant part is harvested or

collected, all extraneous and unwanted matters including dirt (e.g.
soil, dust, mud), impurities (e.g. insects, rotten tissues), and residual
non-medicinal parts must be separated from the medicinal
part(s).

Although sorting may be done by mechanical means in some cases, it is

usually performed by hand operation. Only suitably trained staff
should carry out this work.
 Processing of herbal raw material by standard operating procedures…Conti……

Washing: After sorting, the medicinal plant materials should be

cleaned well to remove remaining soil, dirt, dust, and other
unwanted matters from the surface. They, especially roots,
rhizomes and tubers, are commonly washed with clean water,
dried soon after harvest/collection. During the washing
process, scraping and brushing may be necessary. It is
generally recommended not to soak the medicinal plant
materials in water for an unnecessarily long period of time.
Change water frequently as required.
Parboiling (Blanching): After washing, certain raw medicinal

plant materials may undergo a parboiling or blanching process

in which they are put into boiling water for a brief period of

time without being fully cooked. Such a heating procedure

may serve several purposes, such as improving storage life of

the processed materials by gelatinizing the starch and

preventing mould/insect contamination, and facilitating

further processing such as removal of the seed coat of

almonds.
Leaching: Some impurities can be removed by the action of
running water over the raw medicinal plant materials. The
length of leaching has to be controlled in order to prevent
excessive loss of other ingredients.

Drying: The final moisture content for dried herbal materials

varies depending on the tissue structure, but should generally
be below 12%. Proper drying involves control of temperature,
humidity and air flow.
 Sun-drying: Most medicinal plant materials can be dried in
open-air under direct sunshine, provided the climate is suitable
for such a practice.

The duration of the drying process depends largely on the

physical structure of the medicinal plant material and the
weather condition.

In the case of natural drying in the open air, medicinal plant

materials should be spread out in thin layers on drying frames
and kept away from possible contaminations such as vehicle
exhaust, heavy dusts,
and rain, as well as protected from insects, rodents, birds and other
pests, livestock and domestic animals. The drying frames should
be located at a sufficient height above the ground. Efforts should
be made to achieve uniform drying within the shortest period of
time to avoid mould formation.

Shade-drying: Some medicinal plant materials can be dried in the

shade with or without artificial air flow to avoid direct exposure to
strong sunlight. The drying process is slow, but it is preferred to
maintain colour of leaves and flowers. It also preserve most of the
volatile and aromatic components from being evaporated.
Artificial drying: Drying by artificial heat is more rapid than
open-air drying and is often necessary on rainy days or in
regions where the humidity is high. Medicinal plant materials
may be dried by means of ovens, stoves, belt driers, other
heating devices or with open fires. As much as possible, the
temperature should be kept below 60 °C.
Cutting, sectioning, and comminution: When thoroughly
dried, the herbal materials are processed by cutting and
sectioning into convenient sizes and shapes for storage, direct
use as decoction pieces, and/or further processed for the
manufacture of finished herbal products
The aging process refers to storing the herbal materials for a
period of time after being harvested or collected from the field
prior to use. It is generally done under the sun or in the shade
for up to a year, depending on the specific herbal material.
During the process of aging, excessive water is evaporated and
enzymatic reactions (such as hydrolysis of the glycone
portion from glycosides) may occur to alter the chemical
composition of the herbal material.
For example, cascara bark should be aged for at least one
year (or artificially heated to speed up the process) prior to use
in medicinal preparations, for the purpose of minimising the
strong irritating effects that may cause vomiting and upset
stomach.

A similar process known as sweating involves keeping the

herbal materials at a temperature of 45-65 °C with high
humidity for an extended period of time, from one week to a
couple of months, depending on the plant species. The herbal
materials are usually densely stacked between woollen
blankets or other kinds of cloth.
The sweating process is considered a hydrolytic and oxidative
process in which some of the chemical ingredients within the
herbal materials are hydrolysed and/or oxidized.
For example, vanilla beans (Vanilla planifolia) are well
known to undergo repeated sweating between woollen
blankets in the sun during the day and packing in wool-
covered boxes at night for about two months, during which
the vanilla pods lose up to 80% of weight and take on the
characteristic colour and odour of the commercial drug.
Baking/Roasting: The baking/roasting process is a dry-

heating procedure using indirect, diffused heat, where the

herbal materials are put in a heating device, often embedded

in bran or magnesium silicate (talc) powder to ensure even

heating on the entire surface at an elevated temperature for

a period of time. Some herbal materials are wrapped in

moistened papers during the roasting process. The exact

temperature used and duration of baking/roasting vary from

one herbal material to another.

Some are baked or roasted until the surface colour turns
yellowish brown; some may be further heated until charred.

For example, the processing procedure of nutmeg.

Boiling/Steaming: The boiling process involves cooking the

plant materials in water or another liquid solvents such as
vinegar, wine, milk or animal urine.

In the steaming process, herbal materials are kept separate

from the boiling water but have direct contact with the steam,
resulting in a moist texture to the herbal materials.
Eg. Boiling the rhizome of Acorus calamus in cow’s
urine can enhance its anti-convulsant activity.
Stir-frying: Stir-frying is a process in which the herbal
materials are put in a pot or frying pan, continuously
stirred or tossed for a period of time under heating,
until the external colour changes, charred, or even
carbonized.
Example, liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root and
rhizome with honey for the preparation of decoction
slides.
Fumigation: Fumigation by sulphur dioxide
has been employed in post-harvest handling of
some medicinal herbs for the purpose of
preserving colour, improving fresh-looking
appearance, bleaching, preventing the growth
of insect and overcoming decays caused by
moulds.
Detoxification:
Aconite (Aconitum species) root, even after having
undergone general processing, is an extremely lethal
substance and should not be taken in the crude form. The
specific process generally involves boiling in water or
steaming, or both, to significantly reduce the content of
aconitine and related alkaloids.
Nux-vomica seeds are specifically processed by frying or
boiling in water or other media such as cow’s milk and
ghee to reduce the contents of its toxic ingredients,
strychnine and brucine.
Enhancement or modification of therapeutic
properties:

Ginseng (Panax ginseng): Fresh ginseng is

converted to red ginseng through a series of
repeated steaming procedures to afford a
product with altered pharmacological actions
or differing therapeutic effects.
 Present scope and future prospects of herbal drug industry

Present of Herbal Industry

•Source of new chemical compounds
•Choice of today’s human race
•Play a significant role in the livelihoods of the rural poor population
•A high trade status of natural plant products at global, national as well as
regional level can improve the economy of a nation
•It is estimated that 25% people of the most of the countries depend on the plant
resources for their livelihood.
•About 80% of the people living in developing countries depend on non-timber
plant products, the most used being medicines and edibles.
•India is a major exporter of medicinal plants and is estimated that raw materials
and drug from medicinal plants of 860 million are exported annually from India.
 Present scope and future prospects
of herbal drug industry
• . Choice of today’s human race

Livelihoods of
the rural
poor population
 Present scope and future prospects
of herbal drug industry
• It is estimated that 25% people of the most of
the countries depend on the plant resources for
their livelihood.
• About 80% of the people living in developing
countries depend on non-timber plant products,
the most used being medicines and edibles.
 Present scope and future prospects
of herbal drug industry
• Herbal drugs encompass the combination of practices of
indigenous systems of medicine and several therapeutic
experiences of many previous generations. Herbal drugs
are reported to be successfully used to cure skin
diseases, TB, diabetes, hepatic disorders, HT, mental
disorders, cancer, AIDS and other infectious diseases.
• Countries like India, China, South America and Egypt
are still using several plant based remedies for treating
such ailments.
 Present scope and future prospects
of herbal drug industry
• According to WHO 60 % of world population
relies on herbal drug and about 80%
population of developing nation depends
almost totally on herbal drugs.
• WHO has stated that trade in medicine plants,
herbal raw material and herbal drugs is growing
at annual growth rate about 15%.
• The increasing popularity and acceptability of
herbal drugs is belief that all natural products are
safer, cheaper and commonly available.
 Present scope and future prospects
of herbal drug industry

Source of
new chemical compounds
 Indian Herbal Market
More than 70% of Indian
population still use non-
allopathic systems of medicine
(AYUSH & Naturopathy)

There are around 2400 plant

species in India, used as herbal
drug raw material.
The ‘Herbal Industry Biz’ revealed that
currently Indian Herbal Market size is 70 B.
USD

Indian export of herbal raw material and

medicine is 36 B. USD
 Indian Herbal Market
Indian Herbal market is the
fastest growing market

It contributes 20% to CAGR

(Compound Annual Growth
Rate) and 25% to export,
according to Assocham
(Associated Chambers of
Commerce & Industry of
India)
 Why Indian Herbal Market Growing
Faster ????
Cheap
Skilled
Labor
manpower

Richest heritage of
traditional medicinal
systems – most of people
prefer herbal medicines
because of cultural values
as well
 Why Indian Herbal Market Growing
Faster ????
Variety of agro-climatic
conditions
– An ideal place for
most of plants.

India have 25% of the

World’s Biodiversity
• However there are also some concern are
associated with herbal drug regarding its
pharmacognosy and standardization compared
with conventional drugs.
• For the last 2 decades research efforts shave
been intensified in both developed and
developing countries to scientifically evaluate
using clinical studies and validate the herbal
drug. Hence considering the great future
perspectives in herbal medicine.
 Plant based institutions in India
• Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)
constituent laboratories
• CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic
Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow
• CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine
(CSIR-IIIM), Jammu
• CSIR-North East Institute of Science & Technology
(CSIR-NEIST), Jorhat
• CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bio resource
Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur
 Role of research institutions
• Survey, collection and inventorization of
medicinal and aromatic plants from different
phytogeographical regions of India
• Development of improved varieties
• Development of agro technologies and
processing technologies for economically
important medicinal and aromatic plants and
their value addition.
• The laboratories are disseminating the
technologies among farmers and entrepreneurs
through training-cum-demonstration programs.
 Plant based institutions in India
Research Councils working under Department of AYUSH,
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
• Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences
(CCRAS)
• Central Council for Research in Unani Medicines
(CCRUM)
• Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH)
have been conducting studies through surveys and
explorations to collect information regarding availability
of medicinal and aromatic plants / herbs in various States
and have documented information in this regard.
 Herbal drug preparation such as aspirin from willow bark, digoxin from foxglove,
quinine from cinchona bark and morphine from opium poppy

Refer to hard copy or book mentioned below

Physiochemical and phytochemical studies of herbs

Refer text book of Pharmacognosy by CK Kokate