pharmacognosy

[fahr-muh-kog-nuh-see]

noun

1. materia medica.

pharmacognosy

/ ˌfɑːməkɒɡˈnɒstɪk, ˌfɑːməˈkɒɡnəsɪ /

noun

1. the branch of pharmacology concerned with crude drugs of plant and animal origin

Other Word Forms

• pharmacognosist noun
• pharmacognostic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pharmacognosy¹

First recorded in 1835–45; pharmaco- + -gnos(is) + -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of pharmacognosy¹

C19: from _pharmaco- + gnosy, from Greek gnosis knowledge

Example Sentences

The results, reported in the Journal of Natural Products by the American Chemical Society and the American Society of Pharmacognosy, suggest a promising direction for future skin-aging treatments.

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A 2013 study in Pharmacognosy Reviews found that ambrein, a major ingredient in the Arab aphrodisiac Ambra grisea, "contains a tricyclic triterpene alcohol which increases the concentration of several anterior pituitary hormones and serum testosterone."

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Li Shizhen’s “Compendium of Materia Medica,” or “Bencao gangmu,” first published in 1596, is a Chinese pharmacopoeia and the most celebrated book in the Chinese tradition of pharmacognosy, or the study of medicinal plants.

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I am a professor emeritus who chaired the pharmacognosy department at Ole Miss for 15 years before retiring.

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I clicked on researcher after researcher, ruling out one after another—one just because he didn’t list an e-mail or any contact information, another because she wrote articles filled with words I didn’t understand, words like pharmacognosy, methanolic, and eosin.

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