MUKESH KUMAR

COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF CRUDE DRUG

Collection: Leaves and flowering tops collected before flowering stage: e.g: Senna, digitalis, vinca, belladonna Leaves of aloes collected when they are sufficiently thick Flowers collected before pollination: e.g: saffron, clove buds Barks are collected in spring or early summer when cambium is active, as it is easy to detach them from stem Three methods to collect barks (1) Felling: tree is cut at base and bark is peeled out (2) uprooting: root are dug out and bark is stripped off from roots (3) copping: bark is allow to grow for specific period and then cut off at specific distance from soil Copping is more economical and less time consuming Cardamom fruit collected just before dehiscence (The spontaneous opening at maturity of a plant structure ) Caraway, fennel, and coriander collected when they fully ripe Rhizomes are collected when they store sufficient food material and also contain maximum content of chemical constitute Acacia gum collected 2-3 week after making incision on this bark and when it is sufficiently hard Opium latex collected after coagulation of latex Turpentine oleo resin, balsam of peru collected when plant is 8-10 year old

Harvesting: Done according to type of deug to be harvested and pharmacopoeial standards which need to be achieve Digitalis, senna, tea, vinca harvested using hands not by machienebeating plant with bamboos is used in case of clove Cochineal insect collected from tree by brushing

MUKESH KUMAR

Drying: For removal of water content from crude drug Make it resistant to microbes Inhibit partially enzymatic reaction In some case special attention is require like fermentation of cinnamomum zylenicum bark Drying can be of two types (1) Natural (sun drying) : o Drying in shed e.g: digitalis, clove senna, peppermint o Drying in sun directly e.g: gum acacia, seeds, fruits (2) Artificial: (a) Tray drying: o Use for those which do not contain volatile oil o Which are stable to heat o If enzyme deactivation is require o e.g: beladona roots, cinchona bark, tea and gums (b) vaccum dryers: o for thrmolabile drugs o e.g: tannic acid , digitalis (c) spray drier: o use for those drugs which are highly sensitive to atmospheric condition o e.g: papaya latex, pectin, tannins Garbeling (dressing): desire when sand, dirt, foreign organic parts are require to be removed e.g: excessive stems in lobelia ad stramonium, stalks in case of cloves pieces of iron is removed by magnet in case of castor, vinca and senna

Packaging:

MUKESH KUMAR

Aloe is packed in goat skin Colophony and balsum of tolu in kerosin tins Asafoetida stores in well closed container to prevent loss of volatile oils Cod live oil stored in light resistant container Cinnamon bark is packed as quills to facilitate transport

Storage: Excessive moisture facilitate enzymatic degradation in case os digitalis and wild cherry bark Gentian and ergot receive mold infestation Direct sunlight cause degradation of active constitute in case of cod liver oil and digitalis Proper insecticides should be used Fumigants like methyl bromide, carbon disulphide, HCN etc are used Special treatment like liming of ginger and coating of nutmeg is done