Preface

 Pharmacognosy is a field of natural product chemistry that deals with secondary metabolites isolated from different natural sources, such as plants, animals, fungi, mushrooms, marine coral, sponges, and fish. Thousands of drugs have been isolated from these sources, including artemisinin from *Artemisia annua*, Taxol from the Pacific yew tree, morphine alkaloid from opium, ephedrine from *Ephedra*, quinine from *Cinchona*, and pilocarpine from *Pilocarpus*. The importance of natural product chemistry cannot be ignored because it has provided many active constituents throughout all periods of time, from the Stone Age to the present day. Many of the medicinal plants in different countries, especially in the Gulf region, have not yet been investigated, and their constituents need to be explored. According to the World Health Organization, 80% of people still rely on plant-based traditional medicines for primary health care and 80% of 122 plant-derived drugs are related to their original ethnopharmacological purpose. Therefore, secondary metabolites are good models for developing important drugs.

> **Shagufta Perveen and Areej Mohammad Al-Taweel**  King Saud University, Riad, Saudi Arabia

**1**

Section 1

Introduction

Section 1 Introduction

**3**

beings.

**Chapter 1**

**1. Introduction**

medicine system.

**2. Historical development**

practices since antiquity [2, 3].

Introductory Chapter:

*Shagufta Perveen and Areej Mohammad Al-Taweel*

The word pharmacognosy consists of two Greek words, which mean drug and knowledge. In this field of science, researcher deals with the secondary metabolites found in many plants, animals, and microbial natural sources, for example, plant leaves, seeds, fruits, stem, roots, rhizosphere, herbs, spices, fungus, algae, corals, star fishes, jelly fishes, sponges, sea cucumber, sea urchins, sea weeds, snakes venom, frogs

The American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) defines it 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 different natural sources" [1]. Most of the countries in South-East Asia Region of the WHO (World Health Organization) have a heritage of traditional medicine system. According to the recent WHO report, about 80% of world population is still using natural product for their primary healthcare needs. Pharmacognosy can provide safe and effective drugs in combination with modern

The history of herbal medication is as recent as human civilization. Herbal medicines, as the major remedy in ancient system of medicine, are employed in medical

The early medicines of Pharaohs (3000 BC), the Greek (460–370 BC; Hippocratis), the Roman (37 BC; Disoscorides, a Greek physician of the first century AD was the writer of the first Materia Medica (78 AD). They described 600 medicinal plants and those of Middle Ages exemplified by the Arab Physicians (Rhazes 865–925; Avicenna 980–1037) relied mainly on plants for therapy [4]. India has renowned for practicing classical medicinal systems such as: Siddha, Buddha, Ayurveda, and Unani methods of medication and treatment. These medicinal systems are found even in the ancient Vedas and other ancient literatures and scriptures. The Ayurveda concept appeared and grew up between 500 and 2500 BC in India [5]. The authentic meaning of Ayurveda is "science of life," because ancient Indian system of health care focused on views of human and their sickness. It has been pointed out that the positive health means metabolically well-balanced human

Pharmacognosy

skin, cockroaches, and many more.
