Principles of Pharmacognosy

In a broad sense, pharmacognosy embraces a knowledge of the history, distribution, cultivation, collection, selection, preparation, commerce, identification, evaluation, preservation and use of drugs and economic substances affecting the health of man and other animals. Such economic substances extend beyond the category of crude drugs and their derivatives and include a variety of commercial products: allergens, allergenic extracts, antibiotics, immunizing biological, flavoring agents, condiments, beverages, insecticides, rodenticides and herbicides. In a restricted sense, the definition of pharmacognosy implies a particular knowledge of methods of identification and evaluation of drugs. The present book is an attempt to provide overall information to the readers interested in pharmacognosy.