Page 4 - Medicinal Plants 06-PG-101_First year_PharmD clinical

Preface

Not a day passes by without plants and plant products playing a very
important part in the life of everyone. Plants are an important source of
medicine and plays a key role in world health. Medicinal plants are plants
that are commonly used to either prevent, cure or lessen symptoms from
an illness/disease. Medicinal plants possess therapeutic properties or exert
beneficial pharamacological effects on the human body. Typically,
pharmaceutical drugs are modelled after compounds found in medicinal
plants.

The study of medicinal plants should provide the knowledge
necessary to identify and prepare phytopharmaceuticals from the farm to
the firm. This course will provide a sound foundation in cytology,
physiology and taxonomy of medicinal plants. Students will also acquire
information about preparation of plant derived drugs including cultivation,
collection, storage and adulteration. In addition, the students will gain
insight into the different classes of secondary metabolites and their
identification.

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