Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences

- Notes on taxonomy and nomenclature. Notes on plant evolution. Angiosperms and gymnosperms. Summary of primary and secondary metabolism and major classes of secondary metabolites. - Definitions of medicinal and officinal plants, plant drugs, active ingredients, phytocomplex. - Regulatory framework of plant-based products and their derivatives: foods, food supplements, herbal preparations, medicines (phytotherapeutic drugs), cosmetics. - Main plant drugs. Organized and unorganized drugs. Histological and pharmacological characteristics for the identification of medicinal plants: roots, stems and modified stems (rhizomes, tubers, bulbs), leaves, flowers, fruits, bark, seeds, buds, thalli, juices, latex, oils, resins, gums, mucilage. - Factors influencing the production of secondary metabolites in plants: endogenous and exogenous natural factors; artificial factors, after harvest. - The chain of preparation and storage of plant drugs: harvesting, peeling, drying, freeze-drying, stabilization, sterilization and storage of plant drugs. - Preparations from vegetable drugs. Preparations from dry and fresh drugs. Solid and liquid preparations. Powders and granules. Main extraction techniques: maceration and percolation. Titrated, quantified, purified extracts. Types of extracts and their labelling: fluid extracts, soft extracts, dry extracts. Herbal teas: infusions and decoctions. Tinctures, methods of preparation and their labelling. Mother tinctures. Hydroalcoholic solutions. Oleolites. Propylene glycol extracts. Glycerol extracts. Acetolites. Juices from fresh drugs. Essential oils. Aromatic waters, flavoured waters, coobate waters. Alcohols. - Problems in the preparations of plant-based formulations: physical, chemical and therapeutic incompatibilities. Concepts of synergy and antagonism. Possible combinations of plant derivatives. - Main natural drugs used in herbal medicine: draining drugs; drugs purifying for the liver; "fat burners" drugs; anti-hunger drugs; laxative drugs (stimulating laxatives, mass, osmotic); eupeptic and carminative drugs; antidiarrheal drugs; adaptogen drugs, immunostimulant drugs and drugs for memory; drugs for anxiety and insomnia; drugs for the control of menopausal disorders; drugs for cough and other respiratory ailments; drugs for external use (for oily skin, acne, dry skin, irritated skin, sunburn, wounds, bruises). - Conventional solid preparations for oral use (capsules, tablets) and atypical solid preparations for oral use (tablets and pastes: classic tablets, quick-dissolving tablets, candies, lollipops, chocolates, jellies). - Liquid preparations for oral use (syrups, elixirs, potions). - Semi-solid preparations for skin application (ointments, creams, gels, pastes). A/O and O/A emulsions and emulsifying agents. Bancroft rule and HLB scale. Excipients for dermatological use. - Detergents and types of surfactants. - Extraction methods of essential oils. Aromatherapy. Preparation of perfumes.

Although there are no mandatory propaedeutic exams, it is advisable that students have acquired knowledge of biology, botany and pharmacognosy to be able to follow the course.

- Bettiol F., Vinceri F.F., Manuale delle preparazioni erboristiche, Tecniche nuove - Nicoletti M., Botanica farmaceutuca, EdiSES - Poli F., Biologia farmaceutica, Ed. Pearson - Morelli I., Flamini G., Pistelli L., Manuale dell’erborista, Tecniche nuove

Attendance at lectures is not mandatory. Attendance at laboratory exercises is mandatory.

The exam is related to all the subjects covered during the course lectures. The two-hour written examination will consist of five open-ended questions for a total of 32 points (over 30 points for the honours). Together with the written exam, students will have to hand over the completed laboratory cards as explained in class. The submitted cards will be evaluated up to a maximum of 4 extra points in addition to the score obtained during the written exam. The total score will be equal to the final grade, expressed in 30/30.

The course of 6 CFU, of which 5 CFU related to frontal didactics and 1 CFU to laboratory activity, includes 40 hours of frontal didactics and 12 hours of laboratory activity. The frontal didactic is divided into 20 total lessons, divided into 2 lessons per week, 2 hours per lesson. The laboratory activity is divided into 3 exercitations of 4-hour each. During the lectures, all the topics reported in the programme and subject of question during the exam will be explained. The lessons will be open to dialogue, allowing students to participate in a critical way during the explanations of the topics and during the illustration of examples of herbal and cosmetic preparations. One lesson will be entirely devoted to the explanation of the activities planned during the laboratory exercitations. During the laboratory exercitiations, students will prepare different herbal and cosmetic preparations from plant extracts prepared by them by maceration of dried drugs (hydroalcoholic extracts, propylene glycol extracts and oleolites). In particular, during the first exercitation students will prepare a hydroalcoholic extract, a propylene glycol extract and an oleolite, choosing freely among the available dried plant drugs. During the second exercitation, the students will filter the hydroalcoholic and propylene glycol extracts and use them to prepare a syrup, a clay mask and an amidaceous gel, possibly in association with hydrolytes prepared extemporaneously. During the third exercitation, students will filter oleolites and use them for the preparation of stick for lips, an A/O cream (cold cream) and an O/A cream, possibly in association with hydrolytes prepared extemporaneously and propylene glycol extracts filtered during the second exercitation.