Introduction: Pharmacognosy plays a pivotal role in homeopathy by ensuring the correct identification, authentication, and standardization of natural source materials used in remedies. For B. Pharm students, understanding pharmacognostic principles—macroscopy, microscopy, phytochemistry, chromatographic fingerprinting, and quality control—is essential to prepare reliable mother tinctures and triturations. Pharmacognosy helps detect adulteration, determine marker compounds, evaluate toxicity, and establish monographs and stability parameters under regulatory and WHO guidelines. Integrating pharmacognosy with homeopathic manufacturing and pharmacovigilance enhances safety, efficacy, and reproducibility of herbal and mineral drugs. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.
Q1. What is the primary focus of pharmacognosy in the context of homeopathy?
- Studying clinical trials of homeopathic remedies
- Identifying and standardizing natural source materials used in remedies
- Designing dosing regimens for potencies
- Marketing and sales of homeopathic products
Correct Answer: Identifying and standardizing natural source materials used in remedies
Q2. Which of the following is NOT a common source of homeopathic crude drugs?
- Plants
- Minerals
- Animals
- Synthetic polymers
Correct Answer: Synthetic polymers
Q3. What is a “mother tincture” in homeopathic preparations?
- A dry powdered extract used for high potencies
- A concentrated alcoholic extract of the crude drug used as starting material for dilutions
- A colloidal suspension of minerals
- A sterile injectable form of homeopathic remedy
Correct Answer: A concentrated alcoholic extract of the crude drug used as starting material for dilutions
Q4. Which pharmacognostic technique is most useful for identifying powdered plant material used in homeopathy?
- Microscopy
- Clinical observation
- Randomized controlled trials
- Patient interviews
Correct Answer: Microscopy
Q5. Which analytical method provides a fingerprint profile for complex herbal homeopathic drugs?
- Organoleptic testing
- High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC)
- Dilution and succussion
- Complete blood count
Correct Answer: High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC)
Q6. What is the importance of determining extractive values in pharmacognostic evaluation?
- To quantify ash content only
- To estimate the amount of active constituents extracted by a solvent
- To measure toxicity directly
- To assess pharmacokinetics in humans
Correct Answer: To estimate the amount of active constituents extracted by a solvent
Q7. Which parameter helps detect inorganic contamination or adulteration in crude homeopathic drugs?
- Total ash value
- Water solubility test
- Organoleptic smell
- Succussion count
Correct Answer: Total ash value
Q8. Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) primarily aim to:
- Standardize potency scaling in homeopathy
- Ensure quality and sustainability of raw herbal materials
- Replace all animal-derived drugs
- Promote homeopathic clinical trials
Correct Answer: Ensure quality and sustainability of raw herbal materials
Q9. Which solvent is commonly used for preparing mother tinctures from plant materials?
- Hexane
- Water alone (no alcohol)
- Ethanol or ethanol-water mixtures
- Petroleum ether
Correct Answer: Ethanol or ethanol-water mixtures
Q10. Which parameter measures the inorganic residue remaining after complete combustion of a drug sample?
- Moisture content
- Foreign matter
- Total ash
- Extractive value
Correct Answer: Total ash
Q11. Why are marker compounds important in pharmacognostic standardization of homeopathic raw materials?
- They are used to increase potency by succussion
- They provide a measurable chemical reference for identity and consistency
- They always represent the toxic principle
- They indicate microbial contamination
Correct Answer: They provide a measurable chemical reference for identity and consistency
Q12. Which instrumental technique is most suitable for quantitative determination of a known marker compound in a mother tincture?
- Thin-layer chromatography without densitometry
- High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
- Organoleptic assessment
- Macroscopy
Correct Answer: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
Q13. Chemotaxonomy in pharmacognosy helps in:
- Determining homeopathic potency charts
- Using chemical profiles to support botanical classification and source identification
- Replacing microscopy entirely
- Evaluating patient response to remedies
Correct Answer: Using chemical profiles to support botanical classification and source identification
Q14. Which test is most appropriate to detect fungal contamination in dried plant material?
- Bacterial endotoxin test
- Mycological culture and microscopy
- pH measurement
- Ash value determination
Correct Answer: Mycological culture and microscopy
Q15. “Foreign matter” in pharmacognostic evaluation refers to:
- Impurities introduced during potency dilution
- Any extraneous material such as soil, stones, or other plant parts
- Trace metals only
- Only microbial contaminants
Correct Answer: Any extraneous material such as soil, stones, or other plant parts
Q16. Which of the following is a key role of monographs in pharmacognosy for homeopathic drugs?
- To set marketing strategies for remedies
- To provide standardized identity, purity, and assay parameters for raw drugs
- To prescribe clinical indications for potencies
- To reduce the need for chemical analysis
Correct Answer: To provide standardized identity, purity, and assay parameters for raw drugs
Q17. Moisture content determination in crude herbal drugs is important because excessive moisture can:
- Increase efficacy of remedies
- Promote microbial growth and spoilage
- Enhance marker compound concentration
- Improve organoleptic properties
Correct Answer: Promote microbial growth and spoilage
Q18. Which chromatographic technique helps separate volatile constituents used in some homeopathic mother tinctures?
- Gas chromatography (GC)
- Paper chromatography
- Macroscopy
- Dry ash analysis
Correct Answer: Gas chromatography (GC)
Q19. Detection of adulteration of saffron (Crocus sativus) with artificial colour can be achieved by:
- Clinical evaluation
- Microscopy and chemical tests or HPTLC fingerprinting
- Measuring potency by dilution
- Succussion frequency analysis
Correct Answer: Microscopy and chemical tests or HPTLC fingerprinting
Q20. Pharmacognosy contributes to safety assessment in homeopathy primarily by:
- Testing patient psychological responses
- Evaluating raw material toxicity, contaminants, and proper identification
- Setting homeopathic potency charts
- Conducting double-blind clinical trials
Correct Answer: Evaluating raw material toxicity, contaminants, and proper identification
Q21. Which practice ensures traceability of botanical raw material from farm to final remedy?
- Random sampling
- Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) with documentation
- Only organoleptic testing at the pharmacy
- Eliminating analytical testing
Correct Answer: Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) with documentation
Q22. In homeopathic pharmacognosy, animal-derived drugs require special attention to:
- Potency calculations only
- Ethical sourcing, species identification, and microbial/viral safety
- Replacing them always with plant substitutes
- Only their organoleptic properties
Correct Answer: Ethical sourcing, species identification, and microbial/viral safety
Q23. Which parameter is NOT typically part of a pharmacognostic quality control checklist for crude drugs?
- Macroscopic and microscopic identification
- Extractive values and ash values
- Succussion number used in homeopathic dilution
- Chromatographic fingerprinting
Correct Answer: Succussion number used in homeopathic dilution
Q24. A chromatographic fingerprint helps in:
- Ensuring exact therapeutic potency for patients
- Assessing chemical consistency and detecting adulteration
- Replacing species identification by microscopy
- Increasing yield of tincture extraction
Correct Answer: Assessing chemical consistency and detecting adulteration
Q25. Which international body provides guidelines relevant to quality control of herbal medicines and raw materials used in homeopathy?
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Universal Postal Union (UPU)
Correct Answer: World Health Organization (WHO)
Q26. Which test helps evaluate the presence of heavy metals in mineral and herbal raw materials?
- UV-visible organoleptic test
- Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) or ICP-MS
- Microscopy only
- Moisture content test
Correct Answer: Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) or ICP-MS
Q27. Why is documentation of collection site and season important for medicinal plant raw materials?
- It determines marketing price only
- It influences phytochemical composition, potency, and reproducibility
- It replaces the need for chemical analysis
- It only affects the color of the drug
Correct Answer: It influences phytochemical composition, potency, and reproducibility
Q28. Which standard test would detect excessive residual solvents in a mother tincture?
- Residual solvent analysis by GC
- Microscopy
- Total ash determination
- Organoleptic tasting
Correct Answer: Residual solvent analysis by GC
Q29. In the pharmacognostic assessment of a powdered root, which of the following features is most diagnostic microscopically?
- Color of the powder only
- Characteristic starch grains, fibers, vessels, and secretory structures
- Smell intensity
- Packaging type
Correct Answer: Characteristic starch grains, fibers, vessels, and secretory structures
Q30. How does pharmacognosy support the rational selection of raw materials for homeopathic complexes?
- By replacing traditional sources with synthetic alternatives always
- By providing authentication, chemical profiling, safety data, and standardization criteria
- By determining patient-specific potencies
- By eliminating the need for clinical evaluation
Correct Answer: By providing authentication, chemical profiling, safety data, and standardization criteria
I am a Registered Pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act, 1948, and the founder of PharmacyFreak.com. I hold a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Rungta College of Pharmaceutical Science and Research. With a strong academic foundation and practical knowledge, I am committed to providing accurate, easy-to-understand content to support pharmacy students and professionals. My aim is to make complex pharmaceutical concepts accessible and useful for real-world application.
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