Pharmacognosy Department
- The Pharmacognosy Department is one of the most important departments in the College of Pharmacy. It was established in 1959 (1379 AH)
, two years after the founding of King Saud University. - Pharmacognosy is the study of drugs derived from natural sources such as plants, animals, microorganisms, marine life, and certain minerals.
- The department teaches courses covering the methods of collecting, storing, separating, and preparing drug components from plant or animal sources for use in formulating pharmaceutical preparations. The department's curriculum covers various areas including drug preparation for medicinal use, quality assessment methods, and the bioactivity of certain drugs. The studies extend to include various bioactive compounds and natural products such as antibiotics, anticancer drugs, enzymes (yeasts), vaccines, serums, vitamins, hormones, and methods of identifying drugs, toxins, and stimulants.
- Students also learn about the active components and methods used in the chemical and biological screening of medicinal plants, the influence of the environment on these components and methods. To enhance the integrated nature of the college's curriculum, the department contributes through its core courses to the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program, as well as elective courses on nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, and other globally used methods in various alternative medicine approaches. It also covers methods for evaluating herbal preparations according to internationally recognized standards and evidence-based herbal medicine.
- At the postgraduate level, the department offers a Master's program in Pharmacognosy with twelve advanced specialized courses and advanced research programs. It also offers a PhD program in Pharmacognosy with eight specialized courses focusing on specific research aspects of pharmacognosy. These programs aim to provide the nation with distinguished pharmaceutical professionals specializing in pharmacognosy who contribute to the application of scientific and research methods in studying and utilizing medicinal plants and natural products available in the local environment, thus contributing to the knowledge economy.
