List of major medicines and their sources
Who is the medicine?
A drug is a substance, the quantity of which shows a certain type of effect in the body. Their purpose is in medicine. For the purpose of using any substance as a medicine, it is essential to know the properties of that substance, its quantity according to its behavior, its effect on the body in different quantities, etc. Medicines are used in the treatment of diseases. Initially, medicines were obtained from plants and animals, but as chemistry expanded, new elements were discovered and new medicines were prepared from them artificially.
Types of drugs:
- Endocrine drugs: These drugs balance more or less production of natural hormones in the human body. Example- Insulin is used to treat diabetes.
- Anti-infectives drugs: Anti-infective drugs are classified as anti-bacterial, anti viral or antifungal. Their classification depends on the type of pathogenic microorganisms. These drugs kill the microorganisms by interfering with them while the human body remains unaffected by them.
- Antibiotics drugs: Antibiotics drugs are made from very small microorganisms, molds, fungi, etc. The main antibiotics are penicillin, tetracycline, cephalosporins, streptomycin, gentamicin etc.
- Anti-viral drugs: These drugs affect the life cycle of the virus by inhibiting the entry of the virus into guest cells. These drugs mostly suppress diseases. So far, it has not been possible to manufacture any effective medicine in the cases of AIDS infection.
- Vaccine: The vaccine is used as an anti-viral drug in diseases such as mumps, chickenpox, polio and influenza. Vaccines are made from live or dead viruses. They are diluted before use. The entry of the vaccine into the body stimulates the human immune system, which leads to the formation of andibodies. These antibodies protect the body from infection with similar viruses.
- Antifungal drugs: Antifungal drugs selectively destroy fungal cells by altering the cell wall. The living matter of the cell is secreted and it dies.
- Cardiovascular drugs: These drugs affect the heart and blood vessels. They are classified on the basis of their action. Antihypertensive drugs cause high blood pressure (hypertension) to cause blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels. In this way the amount of blood pumped by the heart into the vascular system is reduced. Antiarrhythmic drugs protect the human body from heart attack by regulating the heartbeat.
Drugs affecting the blood:
- Anti-anemic drugs: Those that contain certain vitamins or iron, promote the formation of red blood cells.
- Anticoagulant drugs: Drugs like heparin help in slowing down the clotting process and improve blood circulation.
- Thrombolysis drugs: These drugs dissolve blood clots that are prone to blockage of blood vessels. Due to the blockage in the blood vessels, the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart and brain is not possible.
- Central nervous system drugs: These are drugs that affect the spinal column and the brain. They are used in the treatment of nervous and mental diseases. For example, anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) stop epileptic seizures by reducing the activity of overstimulated areas of the brain. Anti-psychotic drugs are used to treat mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Anti-depressants eliminate the state of mental depression.
- Anti-Cancer Drugs: These drugs prevent the rapid growth and spread of certain cancers. These drugs are not effective for all cancers. There are different medicines for cancers of gall bladder, brain, liver or bone etc. These drugs are specific to certain fibers or organs. Anticancer drugs perform their action by interfering with specific cancer cells.
List of major medicines and their sources:
| Drug name | Source |
| Quinine | Cinchona bark |
| Nicotine | Tobacco |
| Caffeine (Alkaloid) | Tea Coffee |
| Heroin / Morphine / Codeine | Opium |
| Aspirin | Willow |
| Cocaine | Erythroxylon Coke (Akwan) |
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Names of Drugs FAQs:
Tamiflu helps to reduce the symptoms of virus infection and prevent the spread of infection. It is useful for the treatment of Respiratory Influenza, which includes high-risk groups such as old age, pregnant women, children and persons with scheduled diseases.
The branch of medicine in which synthetic chemical compounds are included is allopathy.
"B.C.G." A drug called BCG is used to prevent tuberculosis (TB). The BCG vaccine helps to activate the immune system to develop susceptibility against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the major causative agent of the disease.
Paracetamol is a pain reliever and acts as a fever reducer. Paracetamol Tablet is used to treat headache, muscle pain, arthritis, back pain, body ache, and fever.
In 1946, the development of the antibiotic streptomycin made effective treatment and cure for TB a reality. Prior to the introduction of this drug, the only treatment (except in sanatoriums) was surgery, with the "pneumothorax technique" allowing tuberculosis lesions to heal by inflating the infected lung and allowing it to "rest".