Role of pharmacognosy in Unani MCQs With Answer

Role of pharmacognosy in Unani MCQs With Answer

Pharmacognosy bridges traditional Unani medicine and modern pharmacy by studying medicinal plants, natural products, and their quality, safety, and efficacy. For B. Pharm students, understanding pharmacognostic identification, phytochemistry, standardization, and Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) is essential to authenticate Unani crude drugs, detect adulteration, and ensure reproducible formulations. This topic emphasizes microscopy, macroscopic characters, physicochemical parameters (ash, moisture, extractive values), chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques, and regulatory monographs for Unani drugs. Mastery helps in rationalizing Unani formulations, selecting marker compounds, and applying quality control in industry and research. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. What is the primary focus of pharmacognosy in the context of Unani medicine?

• Study of synthetic drug design
• Study of medicinal plants, natural products, and authentication of crude drugs
• Clinical trials of modern pharmaceuticals
• Pharmacoeconomic analysis

Correct Answer: Study of medicinal plants, natural products, and authentication of crude drugs

Q2. Which of the following is a macroscopic pharmacognostic parameter commonly used for Unani crude drugs?

• Thin layer chromatography profile
• Organoleptic characteristics like color, odor, taste, and texture
• IR spectral peaks
• Alkaloid content percentage

Correct Answer: Organoleptic characteristics like color, odor, taste, and texture

Q3. Which microscopic feature is most useful for identification of powdered Unani drugs?

• TLC Rf values
• Cellular structures such as trichomes, vessel elements, starch grains, and fibers
• pH of aqueous extract
• Melting point of isolated compound

Correct Answer: Cellular structures such as trichomes, vessel elements, starch grains, and fibers

Q4. What does total ash value indicate in quality control of herbal drugs?

• Amount of volatile oils
• Total inorganic content and presence of siliceous or earthy materials
• Percentage of active alkaloids
• Solubility in organic solvents

Correct Answer: Total inorganic content and presence of siliceous or earthy materials

Q5. Which physicochemical parameter helps estimate the amount of polar constituents in a crude drug?

• Alcohol-soluble extractive value
• Water-soluble extractive value
• Loss on drying at 105°C
• Acid-insoluble ash

Correct Answer: Water-soluble extractive value

Q6. Which class of phytochemicals is commonly associated with bitter taste and tonic actions in many Unani herbs?

• Terpenoids
• Glycosides and bitter principles (e.g., secoiridoid glycosides)
• Volatile fatty acids
• Polysaccharides

Correct Answer: Glycosides and bitter principles (e.g., secoiridoid glycosides)

Q7. Which chromatographic method is widely used for fingerprinting and standardization of Unani herbal drugs?

• Paper electrophoresis
• Thin layer chromatography (TLC/HPTLC)
• Gas volumetry
• Kjeldahl nitrogen estimation

Correct Answer: Thin layer chromatography (TLC/HPTLC)

Q8. What is a marker compound in phytopharmaceutical standardization?

• An unrelated contaminant used to check purity
• A specific constituent used to identify and quantify a plant or formulation
• Any volatile oil present in low concentration
• The insoluble residue after extraction

Correct Answer: A specific constituent used to identify and quantify a plant or formulation

Q9. Which practice is essential to minimize adulteration and ensure quality of Unani crude drugs?

• Random wild collection without documentation
• Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP)
• Mixing multiple similar species to increase weight
• Drying at uncontrolled high temperatures in shade

Correct Answer: Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP)

Q10. Which test detects presence of alkaloids in a plant extract?

• Dragendorff’s or Mayer’s reagent test
• Liebermann-Burchard test
• Molisch’s test
• Fehling’s test

Correct Answer: Dragendorff’s or Mayer’s reagent test

Q11. In Unani pharmacognosy, what is the significance of pesticide residue analysis?

• It determines the organoleptic quality only
• Ensures safety by detecting harmful chemical residues from cultivation
• Measures ash value
• Quantifies volatile oils

Correct Answer: Ensures safety by detecting harmful chemical residues from cultivation

Q12. Which term describes deliberate substitution of a genuine Unani drug with inferior material?

• Authentication
• Adulteration
• Standardization
• Phytoconservation

Correct Answer: Adulteration

Q13. Which spectral technique is most suitable for structural elucidation of isolated phytoconstituents?

• UV-visible spectrophotometry alone
• Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS)
• Refractive index measurement
• Moisture determination

Correct Answer: Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS)

Q14. Which parameter assesses stability and shelf-life of Unani formulations containing vegetal extracts?

• Extractive value only
• Accelerated stability testing under ICH conditions
• Macroscopic characterization once
• Qualitative microscopy

Correct Answer: Accelerated stability testing under ICH conditions

Q15. What is the main purpose of WHO monographs for medicinal plants regarding Unani drugs?

• Provide recipes for synthetic drug manufacture
• Offer reference standards for identification, quality control, and safe use
• List commercial prices only
• Standardize packaging colors

Correct Answer: Offer reference standards for identification, quality control, and safe use

Q16. In pharmacognostic evaluation, what does loss on drying indicate?

• Amount of non-volatile inorganic matter
• Moisture and volatile matter content in the sample
• Total alkaloid content
• Volatile oil percentage only

Correct Answer: Moisture and volatile matter content in the sample

Q17. Which extraction method is most appropriate for heat-sensitive volatile oils in Unani herbs?

• Soxhlet extraction with high boiling solvent
• Hydrodistillation or steam distillation
• Prolonged hot maceration above 100°C
• Acid digestion

Correct Answer: Hydrodistillation or steam distillation

Q18. Which parameter helps detect inorganic contamination like sand in powdered herbal drugs?

• Acid-insoluble ash
• Alcohol-soluble extractive
• Optical rotation
• Thin layer chromatography profile

Correct Answer: Acid-insoluble ash

Q19. Ethnobotany contributes to Unani pharmacognosy by:

• Replacing traditional knowledge with synthetic chemistry
• Documenting traditional uses and guiding selection of medicinal plants for study
• Measuring ash values
• Providing modern dosage forms only

Correct Answer: Documenting traditional uses and guiding selection of medicinal plants for study

Q20. Which content is most often quantified as a marker for quality control of aromatic Unani drugs?

• Alkaloid index
• Major volatile oil constituent percentage
• Total carbohydrate content
• Acid value of fixed oil

Correct Answer: Major volatile oil constituent percentage

Q21. What is the role of microscopy in distinguishing closely related plant species used in Unani medicine?

• It is irrelevant for species distinction
• Reveals diagnostic anatomical and cellular characters for authentication
• Only measures moisture content
• Replaces chromatographic fingerprinting entirely

Correct Answer: Reveals diagnostic anatomical and cellular characters for authentication

Q22. Which of the following is a safety concern specific to some Unani herbs?

• Presence of heavy metals like lead and arsenic due to contaminated soil
• Inability to produce phytochemicals
• All plants are inherently non-toxic
• Universal standard potency across batches

Correct Answer: Presence of heavy metals like lead and arsenic due to contaminated soil

Q23. Which standardization approach combines chemical and biological evaluation for Unani drugs?

• Only organoleptic testing
• Integrated approach using phytochemical profiling and bioassays
• Relying solely on historical texts
• Using price as a quality marker

Correct Answer: Integrated approach using phytochemical profiling and bioassays

Q24. Which test helps in preliminary detection of glycosides in plant extracts?

• Borntrager’s test, Keller-Kiliani test or Liebermann-Burchard test depending on glycoside type
• Dragendorff’s test only
• Biuret test
• Tollens’ test

Correct Answer: Borntrager’s test, Keller-Kiliani test or Liebermann-Burchard test depending on glycoside type

Q25. For powdered drugs, which parameter aids in detecting added starch as adulterant?

• Starch grain identification by microscopy and iodine test
• Total ash alone
• pH measurement only
• Thin layer chromatography for volatile oils

Correct Answer: Starch grain identification by microscopy and iodine test

Q26. Which global guideline is often referred to for quality control of herbal medicines including Unani formulations?

• ICH guidelines only for synthetic drugs
• WHO guidelines for quality control of herbal medicines
• US EPA drinking water standards
• ISO electrical safety norms

Correct Answer: WHO guidelines for quality control of herbal medicines

Q27. Which factor most affects phytochemical content during post-harvest processing of Unani crude drugs?

• Storage container color only
• Drying conditions, temperature, humidity, and storage duration
• Foliar application of synthetic dyes
• Distance between collection site and market only

Correct Answer: Drying conditions, temperature, humidity, and storage duration

Q28. Which term describes the scientific validation of traditional Unani claims using modern methods?

• Pharmacovigilance
• Scientific standardization and pharmacological evaluation
• Economic botany
• Industrial fermentation

Correct Answer: Scientific standardization and pharmacological evaluation

Q29. In HPTLC fingerprinting of a Unani herb, what is primarily compared between batches?

• Number and Rf of spots and intensity of marker bands
• Only the pH of extract
• Color of dried powder only
• Volume of aqueous extract

Correct Answer: Number and Rf of spots and intensity of marker bands

Q30. Conservation of medicinal plants used in Unani practice primarily involves:

• Unregulated wild harvesting for immediate use
• Cultivation, sustainable harvesting, seed banking, and habitat protection
• Exporting all wild stocks
• Replacing plants with synthetic analogs without study

Correct Answer: Cultivation, sustainable harvesting, seed banking, and habitat protection

G S Sachin

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.

Mail- Sachin@pharmacyfreak.com