2.44906 PHYTOCHEMICAL METHODS & TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

This course aims to introduce students to research trends in pharmacognosy, development of new drugs from plants and of traditional medicine and its role in health care, and to the basic as well as advanced chromatographic procedures used in extraction, isolation, identification, characterisation and analysis of substances used in medicine. This course is intended to prepare students towards: developing skills necessary to evaluate research methodology; understanding concepts and practices of traditional medicine; utilising local plant resources in primary health care; and the ability to demonstrate competencies in using basic chromatographic procedures for separating and isolating plant constituents o the principles, techniques and applications of GLC, HPLC and other separative techniques.

Contact: 6 hours per week (2 Lectures, 1 tutorial and a 3 hour practical).

Assessment: Test, assays, assignments (60%) and final exam (40%)

Prerequisite: 2.44902

Text:

Heftmann, E. (ed.), 1975, Chromatography, A laboratory Handbook of Chromatographic and Electrophoretic methods, rd edn, Princeton, N.J.

Van Nostrand, E., 1969, Thin-Layer Chromatography, A laboratory Handbook, Berlin, Springer-Verlag, New York