Compulsory Courses
Course: ECF 301 Pharmacognosy I
Semester and Year: Fall, Third Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Compulsory, 2-0-2-3
Content: Definition of pharmacognosy, introduction to pharmacognosy, history of pharmacognosy, chemical structures of primary (carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, peptides, proteins, and enzymes) and secondary metabolites (phenylpropane derivatives), the role and importance of these compounds in pharmacognosy, and examination of significant medicinal plants containing these compound groups, their properties, importance, and effects.
Course: ECF 302 Pharmacognosy II
Semester and Year: Spring, Third Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Compulsory, 2-0-2-3
Content: Chemistry of terpenes; the role and importance of terpenic compounds in pharmacognosy, examination of significant medicinal plants containing these compound groups, their properties, importance, and effects.
Course: ECF 307 Pharmacognosy I Lab.
Semester and Year: Fall, Third Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Compulsory, 0-3-1-2
Content: Introduction to the microscope, theoretical microscopic analysis, plant cells and tissues, microscopic analysis: Ergastic substances (crystals: single, twin, sandy, raphides, starch, aleurone); Leaf elements (examples of glandular and covering trichomes; examples of some epidermis and stomata), root, rhizome, and bark elements (examination of related samples), fruit and seed elements (examples of related components); analysis of unknown powdered drugs. Determination of oz content, total qualitative analyses, oz and heteroside identification methods; chromatography applications related to saponins, anthraquinones, cyanogenic heterosides, tannins, identification of simple proteins; enzyme identification, experiments related to fixed oils.
Course: ECF 308 Pharmacognosy II Lab.
Semester and Year: Spring, Third Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Compulsory, 0-3-1-2
Content: Theoretical information about identification and experiments; isolation techniques, qualitative and quantitative analysis methods, theoretical explanation of the classification of essential oils; volumetric and gravimetric methods for determining essential oil content; Isolation of anethole from Foeniculi oleum using Column Chromatography; Extraction of eugenol from Szygium aromaticum; Total Aldehyde Content Determination; Total Alcohol Content Determination and Determination of Terpene Number in Menthae oleum; Pharmacopoeial Analysis of Thymi oleum and Olea europaea; Identification Reactions of Saponosides, Cardiotonic Heterosides; Identification of Iridoids.
Course: ECF 401 Pharmacognosy III
Semester and Year: Fall, Fourth Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Compulsory, 2-0-2-3
Content: Definition of alkaloids, identification reactions, quantitative determinations, extraction and isolation methods, chemical classification, families containing alkaloids, significant alkaloid drugs, characteristics of drugs, chemical structures, and uses. The role and importance of alkaloids in pharmacognosy and the role of biotechnology in pharmacognosy.
Course: ECF 407 Pharmacognosy III Lab.
Semester and Year: Fall, Fourth Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Compulsory, 0-3-1-2
Content: Identification Reactions of Alkaloids, Colorimetric Quantitative Determination of Solanaceae Alkaloids, Total Alkaloid Content Determination in Cinchonae cortex, Chromatographic Analysis of Plant-Derived Active Ingredients in Preparations, Isolation and Pharmacopoeial Analysis of Caffeine from Thea folium, Antibiotic Activity Determination, Total Qualitative Analysis of Herbal Teas, Project Presentation.
Elective Courses
Course: ECF 205 Basic Concepts of Natural Drugs
Semester and Year: Fall, Second Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Elective, 2-0-2-3
Content: Covers fundamental concepts about natural drugs, raw materials, and excipients obtained from natural and biological sources such as plants, animals, microorganisms, marine organisms, and minerals, as well as basic information about complementary therapies like phytotherapy, kampo, aromatherapy, and homeopathy.
Course: ECF 309 Natural Drug Discovery and Development
Semester and Year: Fall, Third Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Elective, 2-0-2-2
Content: Examination of each stage in the process of drug development from natural sources, from raw material to product launch.
Course: ECF 400 Poisonous Plants and Natural Toxins
Semester and Year: Spring, Fourth Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Elective, 2-0-2-2
Content: Natural toxins in living organisms that are sources of biogenic toxins, their chemical structures, and biological effects; structure-activity relationships of biogenic toxins, organisms that are sources of dangerous poisons, the role of biogenic toxins in biological systems. Toxic compounds with monoterpene, sesquiterpene, diterpene, triterpene, and steroidal structures; saponin, phenylpropane, and anthracene derivatives; compounds with amino acid, amine, cyanogenic, and glucosinolate structures; toxic compounds with isoquinoline, tropolone, and indole structures; compounds with quinazoline, pyrrolizidine, pyridine structures; terpenoid and steroidal alkaloids; peptide toxins in higher fungi; distribution, taxonomy, and botanical information of poisonous plants in Turkey.
Course: ECF 403 Phytotherapy
Semester and Year: Fall, Fourth Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Elective, 2-0-2-3
Content: Scientific application of plant-based treatments, traditional medicinal plants used in various diseases, their effects, and legal regulations are conveyed to students.
Course: ECF 404 Modern Pharmacognosy
Semester and Year: Spring, Fourth Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Elective, 2-0-2-2
Content: Recent developments in the field of isolation and structural elucidation from natural sources, achieving directly effective compounds through bioactivity-guided studies, various in vitro and in vivo biological activity assays, and other innovations in pharmacognosy (e.g., metabolomics).
Course: ECF 405 Pharmaceutical Biology
Semester and Year: Fall, Fourth Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Elective, 2-0-2-3
Content: Definition of pharmaceutical biology, its relationship with biotechnology, fermentation, compounds produced through fermentation; antibiotics, vaccines, sera, microbial transformation: steroids, terpenes, alkaloids, plant biotechnology (Green biotechnology) and marine biotechnology (Blue biotechnology), transformation of plant tissue cultures using Agrobacterium species and protoplasts, secondary metabolites, enzymes, hormones, edible vaccines obtained from these cultures, low molecular weight compounds produced in mammalian cell cultures, blood and blood products obtained by extraction.
Course: ECF 509 Phytopharmaceuticals
Semester and Year: Fall, Fifth Year
Type and Credit (T-P-C-ECTS): Elective, 2-0-2-3
Content: This course covers the uses of herbal medicines, minerals, phytochemicals, vitamins, amino acids, and the interactions of herbal medicines and products with synthetic drugs.