Category pharmacognosy

Generality The infusion of ginger is a liquid preparation obtained by infusing the rhizomes of the plant in boiling water. The use of the infusion of ginger to combat various disorders has been a great success especially in recent years, even if its first uses in the field of popular medicine date back to thousands of years ago

Natural rubber Latex (or latex) is the raw material from which innumerable natural rubber products originate: it is a milky liquid with a rubbery and extremely elastic consistency, extracted from some superior plants (angiosperms). Due to its extraordinary properties, latex is widely used in the health, construction and domestic sectors, as well as in the toy sector

Harpagophytum (or devil's claw): Harpagophytum procumbens , Pedaliacee family. African creeping plant whose secondary roots are used: harvested, cut into slices and left to dry in the sun. The roots are used in popular medicine as an antipyretic, an anti-inflammatory and an anti-arthritic. Hypocholesterolemic properties are also associated with the harpagophytum

Gentian : Gentiana lutea , Genzianacee family. Perennial herbaceous plant up to 2 m tall; which must be cultivated above the 1500 m of height, otherwise the concentration of the active principles decays by 50%. The drug is represented by the hypogeal parts, in particular by the roots accompanied by parts of the rhizome

The oleaginous drug should not be confused with the essential oil, because with the term oleaginous drugs reference is made to fixed oils, butters and waxes. Fixed oil and butter are predominantly glyceric mixtures, where fatty acids have almost always the same number of coals (from 16 to 22) and a different degree of saturation; in particular, butters have a lower concentration of unsaturated fatty acids

Arnica : Composite family. This genus has about 30 species consisting of North American, herbaceous, perennial and rhizomatous plants; among those of herbal interest we remind the Arnica montana , a perennial herbaceous plant with flower heads, which lives in high ground. The flowers, the rhizome and the roots are used; a terpene and polyphenol drug is defined

To better define the pharmacognosy it can be thought of as a multidisciplinary collector. It is a discipline that deals with recognition: of drugs, or to know for each drug the source, the macro and microscopic morphological aspects; of the drug and the source even after working processes, for example drying; authenticity and drug contamination, starting from an analysis of its characteristic components; of contamination or adulteration of the drug, bearing in mind that both affect its quality, which will no longer be optimal

Salicine : obtained from the bark of the willow, Salix alba , Salicaceae family. Phenolic glycosides are considered to be prodrugs, since to carry out their anti-inflammatory activity they must get rid of the sugar unit by basic hydrolysis.

In addition to jojoba liquid wax, other widely used oleaginous drugs are: peanut, coconut, olive, flax, corn oil, cocoa and shea butter, beeswax (of animal origin) and of carnauba (obtained from the leaves of plants belonging to the genus Copernicia). An oil, after being extracted, is subjected to refining processes to respond to the many different market demands ; for example, a freshly extracted oil by squeezing can have exceptional antioxidant properties, but an extremely unpleasant smell (for example, the seeds of the female variant of Ginko are rich in butyric acid, responsible for their s

Bearberry: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi , fam Ericacee. Shrubby perennial plant with creeping branches, small and fleshy dark green leaves, and small, white-pink and cluster flowers; forms a red berry with a pleasant taste, similar to blueberry. It grows well in northern and central Italy, mainly in the Alps and the Apennines