Phytochemistry and pharmacognosy

The author met frequently with the first editors of phytochemistry, Tony Swain and Jeffrey Harborne, at scientific meetings of the Phytochemical Society. During the first 50 years of the Society there were tremendous advances in biological and chemical techniques that facilitated the isolation and structure determination of biologically active natural products. Today, we continue to rely on plants as sources of medicinal drugs and of herbal medicines. Pharmacognosy maintains strong links with phytochemistry and the Phytochemical Society of Europe.