Historical Overview of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

Abstract

The term "pharmacognosy" is defined as "the study of natural products or more precisely secondary metabolites that are useful for their medicinal, ecological, gustatory, or other functional properties." The history of pharmacognosy represents the history of pharmacy and medicine. The nineteenth century noted the birth of scientific pharmacy and was a turning point in the understanding and application of therapeutic herbs. Modern pharmacognosy emerged between 1934 and 1960; this development was mostly a result of events, such as the discovery of penicillin, the isolation of reserpine, the study of Vinca rosea anticancer activity, and the preparation of semi-steroidal hormones. In our chapter, we will have an overview of the history of pharmacognosy, issues related to the quality of herbal raw materials, such as adulteration and contamination, the change phase of traditional medicine and approaches for quality estimation of herbal raw materials, products, and preparations, phytochemistry and its expanded role in drug discovery, as well as recent progress in pharmacognosy and phytochemistry. © 2025 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.