PHG 434 - Recent Approaches in Medicinal Plant Analysis

The course covers the methods and techniques employed for screening medicinal plants for their bioactive constituents. It also discusses recent developments regarding methods of extrac­tion, isolation, purification and spectroscopic identification of plant bioactive constituents. The following subjects will be covered: General concepts, Medicinal Plants Information Sources, Phytochemical Screening , Screening for bioactive plant constituents, Specific extraction procedures, Applications of chromatographic separation techniques, Characterization of the active constituents by physical and chemical methods, Application of the spectroscopic techniques for the identification of the isolated compounds and interpretation of their spectral data. The course also will deal with the different methods for evaluation of herbal products and drugs derived from them as stated in the Pharmacopeias. In addition, the methods of detection of foreign matters and impurities will be covered.