History of Pharmacology

History of Pharmacology

History of Pharmacology can be divided in these five Eras-

1. Ancient medicine era
2. Pre-Christian era
3. Mediaeval medicine era
4. Revolts medicine era
5. Modern medicine era

1. Ancient medicine era

• Chinese medicine is the earliest and records dated about 2500 B.C. available today give an idea about the medical knowledge of Chinese.
• In Chinese medicine, the use of Ephedra or Ma huang as a tonic has been reported.
• Ayurveda or Indian Medicine is equally ancient. To form the science of life namely Ayurveda, Charaka, Sushruta and Vagbhata made a compilation of old and new drugs in the cure of diseases. 
• Egyptian medicine is also very ancient. The Ebers Papyrus dated about 1500B.C. gives a collection of drugs prevalent in Egypt at that time, their classification and their use. Some of the drugs employed now such as, castor oil and pomegranate bark are mentioned in this papyrus.

2. Pre-Christian Era

• Greek medicine is said to be the origin of modern medicine and therapeutics. Hippocrates in fifth century B.C. separated medicine from religion and was known as the father of medicine.
• He laid down certain principles on which modern medicine is built. According to Hippocrates the four elements of nature namely water, fire, air and earth gave rise to the four humors of the body namely blood, phlegm, yellow bile or urine and black bile. Any imbalance in one or more of these humors inflicted sufferings.
• Galen was a famous Greek Physician who practiced in Rome. His name is still used to refer some drugs as galenical drugs. He was the father of polypharmacy.
• Galenical drugs are pharmaceuticals compounded by mechanical means, mostly of the vegetable material.

3. Mediaeval medicine era

• Paracelsus introduced inorganic chemicals like mercury into medicine. He called this ‘Iatro Chemistry’ or medicinal chemistry.
• He induced practitioners to use laudanum (an opium preparation), sulphur, iron, copper sulphate, potassium sulphate, mercurials and tinctures and fluid extract of various plants for treatment of diseases.

4. Revolts in medicine

• By the beginning of 19th century the principle of shotgun prescription flourished (Shotgun prescription is one that contains a number of substances with no therapeutic efficacy. It is a result of ignorant attempt to cure the disease, no matter what may be its nature).
• Gregory advocated methods like venesection, leeching emetics and drastic purgatives. Large doses of purgatives were given. The patient either survived or died. This sort of symptomatic treatment was referred to as allopathy meaning ‘other suffering’. This term allopathy is now being used to refer modern medicine.
• Samuel Hahnemann introduced homeopathy meaning ‘similar suffering’ at the commencement of 19th century. In Greek, “homos” means same and “patheia” means suffering. He was known as the father of homeopathy. Homeopathy introduced by him had two newer principles that ‘like cures like’ and ‘dilution potentiates the action of drugs’. 

5. Modern medicine era

• Buccheim, a professor of Dorpat University who was known as the father of Pharmacology set up the first laboratory to study pharmacology. He discarded many remedies because rational scientific action or explanation could not be demonstrated in his laboratory.
• By the middle of the 19^th century, modern medicine had brought to fight disease only one effective weapon ie.immunization against smallpox.
• Later in quick succession came the anaesthetics and antiseptics. In the last quarter, the causative organisms for malaria, plaque, cholera etc. were identified.
• Beginning in the 20^th century, the fresh wind of synthetic chemistry began to revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry and with it the science of pharmacology.
• New synthetic drugs, such as barbiturates and local anaesthetics, began to appear and the era of antimicrobial chemotherapy began with the discovery of arsenical compounds for the treatment of syphilis by Paul Ehrlich in 1909. He was known as the father of chemotherapy.
• Further breakthroughs came with the discovery of sulphonamides by Gerhard Domagk in 1935 and the development of penicillin during worldwar II.
• The addition of drugs to the therapeutic jungle is growing with rapid pace from the later half of the 20^th century.