Pharmacognosy

Pharmacognosy: the study of plant sources of drugs

Pharmacognosy is the science that studies plant and other natural sources of drugs. It combines knowledge from botany, chemistry, pharmacology and many other fields of science.

Initially, pharmacognosy was associated with the study of plant sources of drugs. But over time, it has expanded its scope to include research into other natural sources of medicines, such as animals, fungi, bacteria and microorganisms.

The main goal of pharmacognosy is to identify active components in natural sources that can be used to create new drugs. Research in this area can lead to the discovery of new drugs that will help fight various diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, infections and many others.

Pharmacognosy also studies the pharmacological properties of plants, such as their toxicity, dosage and effectiveness. These properties can be used to create new drugs, as well as to determine the safe dosage of existing drugs.

One of the main directions of pharmacognosy is the search for new antibiotics. Today, many bacteria have become resistant to existing antibiotics, making the search for new antibiotics an extremely important task. Pharmacognosy can help with this by examining animal and plant sources that may contain new antibiotic compounds.

In general, pharmacognosy plays an important role in the creation of new drugs and in the fight against various diseases. Through the study of natural sources of drugs, pharmacognosy can help in the development of new, more effective and safe drugs.

**Pharmacology and PHARMACOGNOSY** – studies of medicines and plants. _Pharmacology_ is a science that studies the chemical composition, pharmacological action, use in medicine and biologically active substances of plant and animal origin. _Pharmacognosy_ - studies the properties of medicinal plants and other plant materials, methods of obtaining, storing and using various medicines in medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine.