Pharmacognosy is the study of natural product molecules such as plants, animals, mineral and their constituents as possible sources of drugs. The natural species that are used as the source of lead compounds include all biological kingdoms, specifically marine invertebrates, plants, fungi, and bacteria that are useful for their medicinal, ecological or other functional properties.

Pharmacognosy also provides knowledge of the history, distribution, cultivation, collection, selection, preparation, identification, commerce, evaluation, preservation, and use of drugs and economic substances that affect the health of man and other animals.

Pharmacognosy provides pharmacy students with a thorough understanding of the medicinal properties of natural products, the purposes of drug discovery and understanding how dietary supplements work, the medicinal properties of natural products, the study of the use of traditional remedies by native cultures, etc.

For getting more knowledge about pharmacognosy, some books are given below.

1. Textbook of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry by Biren N. Shah

2. Pharmacognosy and Pharmacobiotechnology by Ashutosh Kar