Complementary & Alternative Medicine

Pharmacognosy

Pharmacognosy is the study of plants or additional natural sources as a probable source of drugs. The American Society of Pharmacognosy outlines Pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drugs, drug substances, or potential drugs or drug substances of natural source as well as the exploration for new drugs from natural sources". Pharmacognosy" was used to designate the division of medicine or commodity sciences (Warenkunde in German) which bonds with drugs in their crude, or unprepared, form. Crude drugs are the dried, unprepared material of plant, animal or mineral origin, used for medicine.