Page 31 - Medicinal Plants_PharmD general

8. Packaging

All the drugs should be stored in well closed and, possibly in filled
containers. They should be stored in water-proof, fire proof and rodent
proof place. Appropriate packing materials, dust-free and water-proof,
are used to contain particular herbs.Small quantities of crude drugs
could be readily stored in airtight, moisture proof and light proof
containers such as tin, cans, covered metal tins, or amber glass
containers. Wooden boxes and paper bags should not be used for
storage of crude drugs.. Precious items are stored with desiccants in
hermetically sealed tin boxes.

VI. Extraction of medicinal plants

For commercial market, medicinal plants can be used as a whole,
parts of the plant or the plant extract can be used. A plant extract is obtained
from a solid-liquid extraction which is an operation to separate elements
contained in a solid body (the palnt material) by solubilization with a
solvent. There are different types of extracts which are:

1. Dry extracts: all solvent has been removed so have solid

consistency.

2. Soft extracts: have consistency between solid and fluid extracts

(semi-solid) and are obtained by partial evaporation of the solvent.

3. Fluid extracts: are concentrated liquid extracts prepared with

mixtures of water and ethanol as solvent.

4. Tinctures: are prepared by extraction of the plant with 5 to 10 parts

of ethanol of varying concentration, without concentration of the final
product.

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