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Drugs
Drugs obtained
from various plants were known to the early civilisations. As a matter of fact, the history of
the Drug plants is as old as the history of these civilisations. The Chinese were reported to
have used drug plants as early as 5,000 to 4,000 BC. The Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians
knew many drug plants in about 1,600 BC. In 77 BC. a Roman Physician Dioscorides wrote the
world famous "De Materia Medica", which described the nature and properties of all
the 500 medicinal plants, which were known at that time. Drugs have become indispensable in
the life of man.
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Entada phaseoloides
Elephant Creeper
It is a large climber, belonging to
the family 'Mimosaceae'. It is widely distributed in the Himalayas, South India and
cosmopolitan in the tropics. It is commonly called as the "Elephant creeper". The
bark of the plant is used in Ceylon, for cordage and ropes. A preparation from the seed is
used to cure the pain of the loins and also in debility. Seeds, bark and fruit pulp are used
as fish-poison. Stems, bark and seeds produce lather in water and are used as soap
substitutes. The dried fruit is displayed in the Economic Botany Gallery in the 'Drugs'
show-case.
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Drugs
In the present day, medical science has paid great
attention to the study of drug plants. The branch of medical science, which deals with the
drug plants, is called 'Pharmacognosy'. The drugs are usually classified on the basis of the
morphology of the drug-yielding parts of plants; it may be the root, stem, bark, leaves, seed
or fruits. In the Economic Botany Gallery, herbarium of Cinchona, its bark, capsule, flower,
fruit etc., are kept on display.
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Cinchona officinalis
The Fever bark tree / Quinine tree
An angiosperm tree species
belongs to the family 'Rubiaceae'. It is a native of Eucadora and Peru. Cultivated at high
elevations in the Nilgiris, in Ceylon and in Sikkim but not extensively. It forms a weak
straggling tree, which rises to a height of not less than 200'. It has dark glossy leathery
leaves, which gives this species, a black and sombre appearance. |
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Cinchona bark
The stem is covered with the thick
bark, which may be light coloured, pale brown or dark brown depending on the species, which is
used for the extraction of alkaloid, 'quinine'. |
Capsules
The quinine capsules are displayed in the drugs show-case of the Economic Botany Gallery. The
capsule is prepared from the alkaloid quinine, which cures the malarial fever, and it is also
used as an antiseptic. |
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Economic
Botany