It consists of the dried bark of the stem and root of various species, races and hybrids of Cinchona (Rubiaceae). Commercial Importance There are about a dozen different cinchona species in commerce. Cinchona and its alkaloids particularly quinine were of great importance for use in the treatment of malaria before World War II. With the introduction of…

There exists a large market demand mainly from developed countries for liquorice due to its multiple usages. It is estimated that the global demand for liquorice extracts and roots is around 200–250 thousand tonnnes per year. In 2007 the total value of international trade in liquorice was US $42 million. Bulk of the drug in…

Liquorice has long been used in pharmacy as a flavouring agent, demulcent and mild expectorant. Many of the early claims for a broad spectrum of uses of the drugs are borne out by modern pharmacological research. Glycyrrhizin is reported to be 50–150 times sweeter than sucrose. Corticosteroid-like activity has been recognized with liquorice extracts displaying…

Liquorice contains about 20% water-soluble extracts and much of this is composed of glycyrrhizin which is typically 3% to 5% of the root, but upto 12% is found in some varieties. Glycyrrhizin is a mixture of the potassium and calcium salts of glycyrrhizinic acid. The bright yellow colour of the liquorice root is provided by…

In western Europe liquorice is cultivated, but the Russian and Persian drugs are obtained from wild plants. They are usually propagated by replanting young pieces of stolons but may be grown from the seed. The underground organs are developed to a sufficient extent (ensuring maximum sap sweetness) by the end of the third year when…

Most of liquorice produced is used in confectionary and for flavouring including tobacco, beers and stouts. Its pleasant sweet taste and foaming properties are due to saponins. It masks the taste of bitter drugs such as aloe, ammonium chloride and quinine, and increases the foaminess of alcoholic beverages to which it imparts a slightly bitter…

It consists of the peeled or unpeeled dried rhizomes and roots of various species of Glycyrrhiza belonging to the family Leguminosae. A number of different varieties are cultivated commercially:

Mayapple is an important American botanical drug with annual production in several hundred tones supplying both domestic and export demands. The US annual demand for American Podophyllum was more than 130 tonnes in 1970. The commercial interest turned to Indian Podophyllum when it was found to contain more podophyllotoxin than the American root. Indian Podophyllum…

American Podophyllum has long been used by native Americans as a vermifuge and emetic and the subsequently obtained resin was employed as a purgative. Its use however declined until 1942 when the resin was recommended for the treatment of veneral warts. Indian Podophyllum has been used in Ayurveda and Unani systems of medicine as purgative,…

The roots and rhizomes contain cytotoxic lignans and their glucosides with the Indian Podophyllum containing about 5% and American Podophyllum 1%. The active principles may be obtained in a concentrated form by pouring an ethanolic extract of the root into water. The precipitated podophyllum resin or ‘podophyllin’ is then dried. While Indian Podophyllum yields about…