INTERESTING HISTORY OF PHARMACY

History of pharmacy

History of pharmacy

In this article you will know INTERESTING HISTORY OF PHARMACY.

             The history of pharmacy is the history of medicine. It is very difficult to begin or to point out the just beginning. It is related with the beginning of mankind. No documentary writings orevidence in respect of historical development of pharmacology can be traced out.

             Fighting disease with drugs is a timeless struggle. Its beginning echoed out of primitiveages when man used to stay in a jungle.Man’s survival and enjoyment of better health either individually or community-wise hasdepended partly upon the success of pharmacology.The  invention  of  writing  marked  the  dawn  of  recorded  history.

             Earliest  writings  were those of Egyptians. ‘Ebers’, an Egyptian papyri is a list of remedies with appropriate spells orincantations. The medicine chest box of an Egyptian queen of that period, containing vases, spoons,dried  drugs  and  fruits  is  an  important  finding  in  interpreting  their  medical  thoughts.  It  wasbased on magical and religious beliefs connected with the entry of the evil spirit into the bodyof the patient.

ABOUT AYURVEDA

             The earliest concepts of medicine in India are seen in the sacred writings of Vedas, especially ‘Atharvaveda’, which according to some authorities dates back to the second millennium B.C.

             The Vedas are rich in magical practicein the treatment of diseases.From  Atharvaveda,  developed  the  science  of  ayurveda  around  1800  -  500  B.C.  Mostimportant  medical  treatises  of  that  period  are  ‘Charaka  Samhitha’  and  ‘Susrutha  Samhitha’.Indian therapeutics were largely dietetic and medicinal.

           Dietetic treatment was important andpreceded any medical treatment. The Indian materia medica was extensive and consisted mainly of  vegetable  drugs,  all  of  which  were  from  indigenous  plants.

           Charaka  knew  500  medicinalplants and Susrutha knew 760. Animal remedies such as milk of various animals, bones, gallstonesand minerals like sulphur, arsenic, gold, lead, etc. were also employed. The physicians collect edand  prepared  their  own  drugs.  Many  medicinal  plants  like  cardamom,  cinnamon,  etc.  later found their way into the western pharmacopoeias.

           Alcohol seems to have been used as a narcotic during operations.Chinese medicine is also of great antiquity. Most of the Chinese medicinal literature is founded on an ancient work called the ‘Nei-ching’. Emperor Huang-ti was the author. Li-shiChen is the author of the great Chinese pharmacopoeia.

           In addition to this there were elements of sympathetic magic and doctrine of signatures. Among the drugs taken over by the westernmedicine  from  the  Chinese  are  aconite,  camphor,  cannabis  sativa,  iron,  rhubarb,  etc.  Theirmoxibustion and acupuncture techniques are now practised around the world today. Hydrotherapyand vaccinations were probably introduced by the Chinese.Early  Greek  and  Roman  medicine  believed  in  supernatural  influences.

           However,  laterGreek philosophy refused to believe the supernatural theory and set out to find for themselves the causes and reasons for the strange ways of nature.

           The medical fraternity was in the process of shedding off the concept  of magic and religion by the time Hippocrates was born (460 B.C.).He viewed disease with respect to the patient and his environment. He studied the patient and not the disease. He found the logical method of clinical observation. Interestingly, in one of his works, he states the application of ‘Similia Similibus’.

           In his book, ‘Demorbis Popularis’, he mentions about ‘dolor dolorum solicit’, meaning, one pain to cure another.

          The  20th  century  saw  the  discovery  of  antibiotic,  Pencillin  by  Alexander  Flemming.  Itrevolutionized modern medicine.

Isolation of insulin

          Isolation of insulin in 1921, came as a boon to the diabetics and many other discover inventions were made to make this world a better place for mankind. Beginning of 20th century  also  saw  the  formulation  of  ‘Laws  of  Heredity’  by  Gregor  Johann  Mendel.  Todaybiotechnology is the buzz word.

          It came into limelight because of the breathtaking break throughof recombinant DNA technology, with which we have entered into an era of gene therapy andgenetic engineering.Will  genetic  engineering  prove  to  be  the  elixir  of  cure?  Are  ‘designer  babies’  for  real?Time will have its answer.The genius of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann is that he bestowed medical science for the firsttime with laws like that in pure science. 

         This fact makes homeopathy, a finding of the 18th century, a better option, even today.

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