Page |1

PHARMACOGNOSY
Pharmacognosy, known initially as materia medica, A. PLANT SOURCES
may be defined as the study of crude drugs obtained  Drugs obtained from plants consist of entire
from plants, animals, and mineral kingdom and their plants, whereas senna leaves and pods, nux
constituents. vomica seeds, ginger rhizome and cinchona
bark are parts of plants.
Derived from two Latin words:  Though in a few cases, as in lemon and orange
peels and in colchicum corm, drugs are used
pharmakon- "a drug" in fresh condition, and most of the drugs are
gignoso- "to acquire knowledge of" dried after collections.
 Crude drugs may also be obtained by simple
A DRUG IS DEFINED AS: physical processes like drying or extraction
 A substance recognized by an official with water. Therefore, aloe is the dried juice
pharmacopeia or formulary. of leaves of Aloe species, opium is the dried
 A substance intended for use in the diagnosis, latex from poppy capsules and black catechu
cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of is the dried aqueous extract from the wood of
disease. Acacia catechu.
 A substance (other than food) intended to  Plant exudates such as gums, resins and
affect the structure or any function of the balsams, volatile oils and fixed oils are also
body. considered as crude drugs.
 A substance intended for use as a component  Further drugs used by physicians and
of a medicine but not a device or a surgeons or pharmacists, directly or indirectly,
component, part, or accessory of a device. like cotton, silk, jute and nylon in surgical
 Biological products are included within this dressing or kaolin; diatomite used in filtration
definition and are generally covered by the of turbid liquid or gums; wax, gelatin, agar
same laws and regulations, but differences used as pharmaceutical auxiliaries of flavoring
exist regarding their manufacturing processes or sweetening agents or drugs used as
(chemical process versus biological process.) vehicles or insecticides are used in
pharmacognosy
WHO COINED THE TERM "PHARMACOGNOSY"
There is historical misinformation about who created B. ANIMAL SOURCES
the term pharmacognosy.  Drugs obtained from animals are entire
animals, as cantharides; glandular products,
According to some sources, it was C. A. Seydler, a like thyroid organ or extracts like liver
medical student at Halle, Germany, in 1815; he wrote extracts.
his doctoral thesis titled "Analectica  Similarly, fish liver oils, musk, bees wax,
Pharmacognostica". certain hormones, enzymes and antitoxins are
products obtained from animal sources.
However, The physician J. A. Schmidt (Vienna) used  Gelatin is obtained from ox and sheep, Wool
that one in his "Lehrbuch der materia medica" in fat from sheep, Beeswax from honeycomb,
1811, to describe the study of medicinal plants and Cochineal from insects are some examples of
their properties. drugs obtained from land animals.
 Spermaceti, Shark liver oil, Cod liver oil,
CRUDE DRUGS halibut liver oil are some of the drugs
Plants or animals, or their parts which after collection obtained from marine animals.
are subjected only to drying or making them into
transverse or longitudinal slices or peeling them in C. MINERAL SOURCES
some cases.  Drugs from mineral sources are kaolin, chalk,
diatomite and other bhasmas of Ayurveda.
Most of the crude drugs used in medicine are  Several silicates such as Kaolin, Bentonite,
obtained from plants, and only a small number come Diatomite and compounds of Na, K, Al, Ca, Mg
from animal and mineral kingdoms. etc. are obtained from Mineral sources
including Sulphur and Iodine.
Page |2

PHARMACOGNOSY
D. MICROBIAL SOURCES 2. Leaves: Digitalis, Eucalyptus, Gymnema, Mint,
 Well-known antibiotics produced by a group Senna,Spearmint, Squill, Tulsi, Vasaka, Coca,
of microorganisms yielding antibiotics such as Buchu, Hamamelis, Hyoscyamus, Belladonna,
actinomycin, amphotericin, chloramphenicol, Tea.
erythromycin, kanamycin, neomycin, 3. Barks: Arjuna, Ashoka, Cascara, Cassia,
gentamicin, streptomycin and tetracycline. Cinchona, Cinnamon, Kurchi, Quillia, Wild
 Aspergillate group of fungi produce antibiotics cherry.
such as penicillin, griseofulvin and 4. Flowering parts: Clove, Pyrethrum, Saffron,
cephalosporin. Santonica, Chamomile
 Among the bacteria, genus Bacillus produces 5. Seeds: Bitter almond, Black Mustard,
antibiotics such as polymyxin B and bacitracin. Cardamom, Colchi-cum, Ispaghula, Kaladana,
 Ergot alkaloids also are obtained from a Linseed, Nutmeg, Nux vomica,
resting stage of a fungus 6. Hair and Fibres: Cotton, Hemp, Jute, Silk, Flax
 Algae are source of limited number of drugs B. UNORGANIZED DRUGS
such as Agar and Alginate 1. Dried latex: Opium, Papain
2. Dried Juice: Aloe
ORGANIZED VS. UNORGANIZED 3. Dried extracts: Agar, Alginate, Black catechu,
 Organized drugs are direct parts of plants and Pale catechu,Pectin
consist of cellular tissues. 4. Waxes: Beeswax, Spermaceti, Carnauba wax
 Unorganized drugs, even though prepared 5. Gums: Acacia, Guar Gum, Indian Gum,
from plants are not the direct parts of plants Sterculia, Tragacanth
and are prepared by some intermediary 6. Resins: Asafoetida, Benzoin, Colophony,
physical processes, such as incision, drying or copaiba, Mastic, Coal tar, Tar, Tolu balsam,
extraction with water and do not contain Storax, Sandarac.
cellular tissue. 7. Volatile oil: Turpentine, Anise, Coriander,
 Thus aloe, opium, catechu, gums, resins and Peppermint,Rosemary, Sandalwood,
other plant exudates are unorganized drugs. Cinnamon, Lemon, Caraway, Dill, Clove,
Sr. Organized Unorganized Eucalyptus, Nutmeg, Camphor.
No. 8. Fixed oils and Fats: Arachis, Castor,
1 The drugs obtained The drugs which is Chalmoogra, Coconut,Cotton seed, Linseed,
from the direct parts of prepared from plants by Olive, Sesame, Almond, Theobroma, Cod-
the plants and some process like drying or
containing cellular extraction is called as liver, Halibut liver, Kokum butter
structure are called as unorganized drugs. 9. Animal Products: Beeswax, Cod Liver Oil
organized drugs.
2 They may be of plant or They may be plant, animal
animal origins. and mineral origins. EVALUATION OF PLANT DRUGS
3 They are parts of plant They are products of plant Evaluation of a drug ensures the identity of a drug and
of animal. or animal.
determines the quality and purity of drugs. The main
4 They have cellular They do not have cellular
structure. structure. reasons behind the need for evaluation of crude drugs
5 Generally they are Generally they are are biochemical variation in the drug, effect of
identified by identified by organoleptic
morphological characters.
treatment and storage of drugs, and the adulterations
characters. and substitutions
6 Microscopic studies are Microscopic studies are not METHODS:
required. required. A. ORGANOLEPTIC EVALUATION
7 They have They do not have
B. MICROSCOPICAL EVALUATION
morphological morphological characters.
characters. C. CHEMICAL EVALUATION
Sandalwood [stem] Agar D. PHYSICAL EVALUATION
8 E. BIOLOGIC EVALUATION
Cinchona [bark] Gum acacia
Saffron [flowers] Gelatine F. INSTRUMENTAL EVALUATION
Senna [leaves] Honey PREPARATION OF DRUGS FOR COMMERCIAL
Kurchi [flowers] Bees wax
MARKET
1. COLLECTION OF CRUDE DRUGS
A. ORGANIZED DRUGS 2. HARVESTING OF CRUDE DRUGS
1. Woods: Quassia, Sandalwood and Red 3. DRYING OF CRUDE DRUGS
4. GARBLING (DRESSING)
Sandalwood 5. PACKING OF CRUDE DRUGS
6. STORAGE OF CRUDE DRUGS
Page |3

PHARMACOGNOSY
GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRUDE DRUGS:
1. Carbohydrates 8. Hormones
2. Glycosides 9. Enzymes
3. Tannins
4. Lipids
5. Volatile Oils
6. Resins
7. Alkaloids

ORIGIN (40)
Page |4

PHARMACOGNOSY
Views on the beginning of life on planet Earth have symptoms of illness, the prescription and directions
forever remained controversial and an unending for compounding, then an invocation to the gods.
subject of debate. Nevertheless, we can say with Ancient Babylonian methods find counterpart in
certainty that the vegetable kingdom was already today's modern pharmaceutical, medical, and spiritual
there when man made his appearance on Earth. As care of the sick.
man began to acquire closure acquaintance with his
environment, he began to know more about plants, as 3. PHARMACY IN ANCIENT CHINA
these were the only curative agents he had. As he
progressed and evolved, he was not only able to sort Chinese Pharmacy, according to legend, stems from
on as to which plant served for eating and which did Shen Nung (about 2000 B.C.), emperor who sought
not, but he went beyond and began to associate out and investigated the medicinal value of several
curative characteristics with certain plants, classifying hundred herbs. He reputed to have tested many of
them as painkillers, febrifuge (reduce fever),
them on himself, and to have written the first Pen T-
antiphlogistics (anti-inflammatory/fever), soporific
(induces sleep) and so on. This must have involved no Sao, or native herbal, recording 365 drugs. Still
doubt, a good deal of trial and error, and possibly worshiped by native Chinese drug guilds as their
some deaths in the beginning also, but as it happened patron god, Shen Nung conceivably examined many
antidotes against poisons were also discovered. As we herbs, barks, and roots brought in from the fields,
shall see later, drug substitutes were also swamps, and woods that are still recognized in
forthcoming. All these states of affairs indicate that Pharmacy today. In the background is the "Pa Kua," a
the origin of pharmacognosy, i.e. the study of natural
mathematical design symbolizing creation and life.
curative agents points towards the accent of human
beings on mother earth, and its historical account Medicinal plants include podophyllum, rhubarb,
makes it clear that pharmacognosy in its totality is not ginseng, stramonium, cinnamon bark, and, in the
the work of just one or two continental areas but the boy's hand, ma huang, or Ephedra.
overall outcome of the steadfast work of many of the
bygone civilizations like the Chinese, Egyptian, Indian, 4. DAYS OF THE PAPYRUS EBERS
Persian, Babylonian, Assyrian and many more. Many
of today’s wonderful modern drugs find their roots in Though Egyptian medicine dates from about 2900
the medicines developed by the tribal traditions in the B.C., best known and most important pharmaceutical
various parts of the world. record is the "Papyrus Ebers" (1500 B.C.), a collection
of 800 prescriptions, mentioning 700 drugs. Pharmacy
in ancient Egypt was conducted by two or more
I. BEFORE THE DAWN OF HISTORY
echelons: gatherers and preparers of drugs, and
From beginnings as remote and simple as these came
the proud profession of Pharmacy. Its development "chiefs of fabrication? or head pharmacists. They are
parallels that of man. Ancient man learned from thought to have worked in the "House of Life." In a
instinct, from observation of birds and beasts. Cool setting such as this, the "Papyrus Ebers" might have
water, a leaf, dirt, or mud was his first soothing been dictated to a scribe by a head pharmacist as he
application. By trial, he learned which served him directed compounding activities in the drug room.
best. Eventually, he applied his knowledge for the
benefit of others. Though the cavemen's methods 5. THEOPHRASTUS - FATHER OF BOTANY
were crude, many of today's medicines spring from Theophrastus (about 300 B.C.), among the greatest
sources as simple and elementary as those which early Greek philosophers and natural scientists, is
were within reach of early man. called the "father of botany." His observations and
writings dealing with the medical qualities and
2. PHARMACY IN ANCIENT BABYLONIA peculiarities of herbs are unusually accurate, even in
Babylon, jewel of ancient Mesopotamia, often called the light of present knowledge. He lectured to groups
the cradle of civilization, provides the earliest known of students who walked about with him, learning of
record of practice of the art of the apothecary. nature by observing her treasurers at firsthand. In his
Practitioners of healing of this era (about 2600 B.C.) hands he holds a branch of belladonna. Behind him
were priest, pharmacist and physician, all in one. are pomegranate blooms, senna, and manuscript
Medical texts on clay tablets record first the scrolls. Slabs of ivory, coated with colored beeswax,
Page |5

PHARMACOGNOSY
served the students as "slates." Writing was cut into preparing and compounding medicines ruled in the
the surface with a stylus. Western world for 1,500 years; and his name still is
associated with that class of pharmaceuticals
6. THE ROYAL TOXICOLOGIST - MITHRIDATES VI compounded by mechanical means - galenicals. He
Mithridates VI, King of Pontus (about 100 B.C.), was the originator of the formula for a cold cream,
though he battled Rome for a lifetime, found time to essentially similar to that known today. Many
make not only the art of poisoning, but also the art of procedures Galen originated have their counterparts
preventing and counteracting poisoning, subjects of in today's modern compounding laboratories.
intensive study. Unhesitatingly, he used himself as
well as his prisoners as "guinea pigs" on which to test 10. DAMIAN AND COSMAS - PHARMACY'S PATRON
poisons and antidotes. Behind him are rhizotomists, SAINTS
offering fresh, flowering aconite, ginger, and gentian. Twinship of the health professions, Pharmacy and
At lower right is a crater - a two-piece forerunner of Medicine, is nowhere more strikingly portrayed than
the champagne bucket. His famed formula of alleged by Damian, the apothecary, and Cosmas, the
panantidotal powers, "Mithridatum," was popular for physician. Twin brothers of Arabian descent, and
over a thousand years. devout Christians, they offered the solace of religion
as well as the benefit of their knowledge to the sick
7. TERRA SIGILLATA - AN EARLY "TRADEMARKED" who visited them. Their twin careers were cut short in
DRUG the year 303 by martyrdom. For centuries their tomb
Man learned early of the prestigious advantage of in the Syrian city of Cyprus was a shrine. Churches
trademarks as a means of identification of source and were built in their honor in Rome and other cities.
of gaining customers' confidence. One of the first After canonization, they became the patron saints of
therapeutic agents to bear such a mark was Terra Pharmacy and Medicine, and many miracles were
Sigillata (Sealed Earth), a clay tablet originating on the attributed to them.
Mediterranean island of Lemnos before 500 B.C. One
day each year clay was dug from a pit on a Lemnian 11. MONASTIC PHARMACY
hillside in the presence of governmental and religious During the Middle Ages remnants of the Western
dignitaries. Washed, refined, rolled to a mass of knowledge of Pharmacy and Medicine were preserved
proper thickness, the clay was formed into pastilles in the monasteries (fifth to twelfth centuries). These
and impressed with an official seal by priestesses, scientists are known to have been taught in the
then sun-dried. The tablets were then widely cloisters as early as the seventh century. Manuscripts
distributed commercially. from many islands were translated or copied for
monastery libraries. The monks gathered herbs and
8. DIOSCORIDES - A SCIENTIST LOOKS AT DRUGS simples in the field, or raised them in their own herb
In the evolution of all successful and enduring systems gardens. These they prepared according to the art of
of knowledge there comes a time when the the apothecary for the benefit of the sick and injured.
observations of many men, or the intensive studies of Gardens such as these still may be found in
one, transcend from the level of trade or vocation to monasteries in many countries.
that of a science. Pedanios Dioscorides (first century
A.D.), contributed mightily to such a transition in 12. THE FIRST APOTHECARY SHOPS
Pharmacy. In order to study materia medica, The Arabs separated the arts of apothecary and
Dioscorides accompanied the Roman armies physician, establishing in Bagdad late in the eighth
throughout the known world. He recorded what he century the first privately owned drug stores. They
observed, promulgated excellent rules for collection preserved much of the Greco-Roman wisdom, added
of drugs, their storage and use. His texts were to it, developing with the aid of their natural
considered basic science as late as the sixteenth resources syrups, confections, conserves, distilled
century. waters and alcoholic liquids. The apothecary is
9. GALEN - EXPERIMENTER IN DRUG COMPOUNDING examining logs of sandalwood offered by a traveling
Of the men of ancient times whose names are known merchant, while children indulge their taste for
and revered among both the professions of Pharmacy sweets with stalks of sugar cane. When the Moslems
and Medicine, Galen, undoubtedly, is the foremost. swept across Africa, Spain and southern France, they
Galen (130-200 A.D.) practiced and taught both carried with them a new pattern of Pharmacy which
Pharmacy and Medicine in Rome; his principles of western Europe soon assimilated.
Page |6

PHARMACOGNOSY
granted a charter in 1617 which formed a separate
company known as the "Master, Wardens and Society
13. AVICENNA - THE "PERSIAN GALEN" of the Art and Mystery of the Apothecaries of the City
Among the brilliant contributors to the sciences of of London" over vigorous protests of the grocers. This
Pharmacy and Medicine during the Arabian era was was the first organization of pharmacists in the Anglo-
one genius who seems to stand for his time - the Saxon world.
Persian, Ibn Sina (about 980-1037 A.D.), called
Avicenna by the Western world. Pharmacist, poet, 17. LOUIS HÉBERT, APOTHECARY TO NEW FRANCE
physician, philosopher and diplomat, Avicenna was an (CANADA)
intellectual giant, a favorite of Persian princes and Young Parisian Apothecary Louis Hébert answered the
rulers. He wrote in Arabic, often while secluded in the call of the New World in 1605, when he helped de
home of an apothecary friend. His pharmaceutical Monts and Champlain build New France's first
teachings were accepted as authority in the West until settlement, the Habitation, at Port Royal (Nova Scotia,
the 17th century; and still are dominant influences in Canada). Hébert looked after the health of the
the Orient. pioneers, cultivated native drug plants, and
supervised the gardens. At the waterfront, he
14. SEPARATION OF PHARMACY AND MEDICINE examined specimens of drug plants offered by
In European countries exposed to Arabian influence, Micmac Indians. These included Arum, (Jack-in-the-
public pharmacies began to appear in the 17th Pulpit), Eupatorium (Boneset), Verbascum (Mullein),
century. However, it was not until about 1240 A.D. and Hydrastis (Golden Seal). When the Habitation was
that, in Sicily and southern Italy, Pharmacy was destroyed by the English in 1613, he returned to his
separated from Medicine. Frederick II of Parisian apothecary shop. The lure of Canada was
Hohenstaufen, who was Emperor of Germany as well strong, however, and in 1617, he and the family
as King of Sicily, was a living link between Oriental and returned with Champlain to Quebec, where Hébert's
Occidental worlds. At his palace in Palermo, he "green thumb" gained him lasting fame as the first
presented subject Pharmacists with the first European successful farmer in what is now Canada.
edict completely separating their responsibilities from
those of Medicine, and prescribing regulations for 18. THE GOVERNOR WHO HEALED THE SICK
their professional practice. Many Europeans "of quality and wealth, particularly
those who were non-conformists in religion" were
15. THE FIRST OFFICIAL PHARACOPEIA attracted to the possibilities of the American Colonies.
The idea of a pharmacopoeia with official status, to be From Britain came John Winthrop, first Governor of
followed by all apothecaries, originated in Florence. Massachusetts Bay Colony and founder of Boston.
The Nuovo Receptario, originally written in Italian, Governor Winthrop, unable to induce professionals to
was published and became the legal standard for the the Colony, sought advice from English apothecaries
city-state in 1498. It was the result of collaboration of and physicians, and added to his small store of
the Guild of Apothecaries and the Medical Society - imported drugs those derived from plants native to
one of the earliest manifestations of constructive New England. In his home (about 1640), he made
interprofessional relations. The professional groups available as best he could the "art and mystery" of the
received official advice and guidance from the apothecary for his citizens.
powerful Dominican monk, Savonarola, (seated,
foreground) who, at the time, was the political leader 19. THE MARSHALL APOTHECARY
in Florence. Christopher Marshall, an Irish immigrant, established
his apothecary shop in Philadelphia in 1729. During 96
16. THE SOCIETY OF APOTHECARIES OF LONDON years, this pioneer pharmaceutical enterprise became
Trade in drugs and spices was lucrative in the Middle a leading retail store, nucleus of large-scale chemical
Ages. In the British Isles, it was monopolized by the manufacturing; a "practical" training school for
Guild of Grocers, which had jurisdiction over the pharmacists; an important supply depot during the
apothecaries. After years of effort, the apothecaries Revolution; and finally, it was managed by
found allies among court physicians. King James I, granddaughter Elizabeth, America's first woman
flanked by two "Beefeaters" wore heavily padded pharmacist. Christopher earned the title of "The
attire because of fear of stabbing. Upon persuasion by fighting Quaker" during the Revolution; his sons,
the philosopher-politician, Francis Bacon, the King Charles and Christopher, Jr., (shown as youths with
Page |7

PHARMACOGNOSY
their father, about 1754) earned individual fame and
carried on his fine traditions. 23. SERTÜRNER - FIRST OF THE ALKALOID CHEMISTS
Swedish pharmacist Scheele paved the way for
20. FIRST HOSPITAL IN COLONIAL AMERICA isolating organic plant acids; but it remained for a
Colonial America's first hospital (Pennsylvania) was young German apothecary, Friedrich Wilhelm Adam
established in Philadelphia in 1751; the first Hospital Sertürner, to give the world opium's chief narcotic
Pharmacy began operations there in 1752, principle, morphine; and to recognize and prove the
temporarily set up in the Kinsey house, which served importance of a new class of organic substances:
until the first hospital building was completed. The alkaloids. His first announcements challenged,
ingenuity of Benjamin Franklin was helpful in both. Sertürner in 1816 conducted a new series of bold,
First Hospital Pharmacist was Jonathan Roberts; but it startling experiments in his apothecary shop in
was his successor, John Morgan, whose practice as a Einbeck, including a series of physiologic tests on
hospital pharmacist (1755-56), and whose impact himself and three young friends. Recognition and
upon Pharmacy and Medicine influenced changes that fame followed. Relocating in an apothecary shop in
were to become of importance to the development of Hameln, Sertürner continued organic chemical
professional pharmacy in North America. First as experimentation and discovery throughout his life.
pharmacist, later as physician, he advocated
prescription writing and championed independent 24. CAVENTOU, PELLETIER AND QUINNE
practice of two professions. Taking their cue from Sertürner's alkaloidal
experiments, two French pharmacists, Messrs. Pierre-
21. SCHEELE - Greatest oF THE PHARMACISTS- Joseph Pelletier and Joseph-Bienaimé Caventou,
CHEMISTS isolated emetine from ipecacuanha in 1817;
During his few short years, Carl Wilhelm Scheele gave strychnine and brucine from nux vomica in 1818;
to the world discoveries that have brought its people then, in their laboratory in the back of a Parisian
incalculable advantages. Yet he never forgot that he apothecary shop, they tackled the problem that had
was, first of all, a pharmacist. Encouraged by baffled scientists for decades - wresting the secrets of
enlightened preceptors, all of his discoveries were the Peruvian barks that were so useful against
made in the Swedish pharmacists in which he worked, malaria. In 1820 Caventou and Pelletier announced
as apprentice, as clerk, and finally as owner, in Köping. the methods for separation of quinine and cinchonine
He began in a corner of the stock room of Unicorn from the cinchona barks; prepared pure salts, had
Apothecary in Gothenburg. With rare genius, he made them tested clinically, and set up manufacturing
thousands of experiments, discovered oxygen, facilities. Many other discoveries came from their
chlorine, prussic acid, tartaric acid, tungsten, pharmacy-laboratory; high honors were accorded
molybdenum, glycerin, nitroglycerin, and countless them.
other organic compounds that enter into today's daily
life, industry, health, and comfort. 25. AMERICAN PHARMACY BUILDS ITS
FOUNDATIONS
22. CRAIGIE - AMERICA'S FIRST APOTHECARY Faced with two major threats; deterioration of the
GENERAL practice of pharmacy, and a discriminatory
During his few short years, Carl Wilhelm Scheele gave classification by the University of Pennsylvania
to the world discoveries that have brought its people medical faculty, the pharmacists of Philadelphia held a
incalculable advantages. Yet he never forgot that he tempestuous protest meeting in Carpenters' Hall,
was, first of all, a pharmacist. Encouraged by February 23, 1821. At a second meeting, March 13,
enlightened preceptors, all of his discoveries were the pharmacists voted formation of: an association,
made in the Swedish pharmacists in which he worked, which became The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy;
as apprentice, as clerk, and finally as owner, in Köping. a school of pharmacy; and a self-policing board. Sixty-
He began in a corner of the stock room of Unicorn eight pharmacists signed the Constitution of the first
Apothecary in Gothenburg. With rare genius, he made pharmaceutical association in the United States;
thousands of experiments, discovered oxygen, American Pharmacy's first educational institution,
chlorine, prussic acid, tartaric acid, tungsten, bearing the same name, opened November 9.
molybdenum, glycerin, nitroglycerin, and countless
other organic compounds that enter into today's daily
life, industry, health, and comfort. 26. THE SHAKERS AND MEDICINAL HERBS
Page |8

PHARMACOGNOSY
First U.S. industry in medicinal herbs was carried on president; served 30 years on the U.S.P. Revision
by the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Committee; was for 22 years Editor of the American
Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers. Begun Journal of Pharmacy. In 1869, though retired, Procter
about 1820, and commercially important by 1830, the continued to edit the Journal in a small publication
medicinal herb industry grew, hit its peak in the office located beside the College's Tenth Street
1860's, then waned at the close of the century. The building. From retirement he returned to P.C.P.'s chair
Shakers gathered or cultivated some 200 varieties; of Pharmacy in 1872; literally died "in the harness," in
dried, chopped, and pressed them into "bricks"; 1874.
wrapped, labeled, and sold them to pharmacists and
physicians world-wide. Tons of solid and fluid extracts 30. A REVOLUTION IN PHARMACEUTICAL
also were produced. The Shaker label was recognized EDUCATION
for reliability and quality for more than a century. When Dr. Albert B. Prescott launched the pharmacy
course at the University of Michigan in 1868, critical
27. THE AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION attention was aroused because he abandoned the
Need for better intercommunication among traditional requirement of pregraduation
pharmacists; standards for education and apprenticeship. At the 1871 convention of the
apprenticeship; and quality control of imported drugs, American Pharmaceutical Association, he was denied
led to calling of a convention of representative credentials and ostracized. However, the Michigan
pharmacists in the Hall of the Philadelphia College of course pioneered other major changes: laboratory
Pharmacy, October 6 to 8, 1852. Under leadership of pharmacy, a definite curriculum that included basic
its first President, Daniel B. Smith, and first Secretary, sciences, and a program that demanded students' full-
William Procter, Jr., the twenty delegates launched time attention. During the next thirty years, Dr.
The American Pharmaceutical Association; mapped its Prescott had the satisfaction of seeing his once
objectives; and opened membership to "All revolutionary innovations generally adopted by
pharmaceutists and druggists" of good character who pharmaceutical faculties.
subscribed to its Constitution and to its Code of Ethics.
The Association continues to serve Pharmacy today. 31. THE PHARMACOPEIA COMES OF AGE
The first "United States Pharmacopoeia" (1820) was
28. EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN PHARMACY MEET the work of the medical profession. It was the first
Over the years, no real discord has existed between book of drug standards from a professional source to
representatives of European and American Pharmacy have achieved a nation's acceptance. In 1877, the
so far as ethical and scientific aims are concerned. But "U.S.P." was in danger of dissolution due to the lack of
when the groups met for the first time, at the Second interest of the medical profession. Dr. Edward R.
International Congress of Pharmacy in Paris, France, Squibb, manufacturing pharmacist as well as
August 21 to 24, 1867, there was a great divergence physician, took the problem to The American
of opinion on the subject of compulsory limitation of Pharmaceutical Association convention. Pharmacists
pharmacies. William Procter, Jr., leading the delegates formed a "Committee on Revision" chairmanned by
of The American Pharmaceutical Association, told the hospital pharmacist Charles Rice, assisted by
international body that "Public opinion is in America a pharmacist-educator Joseph P. Remington, and by Dr.
forceful agent of reform," and that, in his country, Squibb, their indefatigable collaborator. The "U.S.
"there is not the slightest obstacle toward a Pharmacopoeia" surged to new importance.
multiplication of drug stores save that a lack of
success." His declaration vividly documented the 32. THE STANDARDIZATION OF PHARMACEUTICALS
American Way of Pharmacy. Despite the professional skill and integrity of 19th-
century pharmacists, seldom did two preparations of
29. THE FATHER OF AMERICAN PHARMACY vegetable drugs have the same strength, even though
Rarely has a titular distinction been so deserved. prepared by identical processes. Plant drugs varied
William Procter, Jr., graduated from The Philadelphia widely in active alkaloidal and glucosidal content. The
College of Pharmacy in 1837; operated a retail first answer to this problem came when Parke, Davis
pharmacy; served the College as Professor of & Company introduced standardized "Liquor Ergotae
Pharmacy for 20 years; was a leader in founding The Purificatus" in 1879. Dr. Albert Brown Lyons, as the
American Pharmaceutical Association; served that firm's Chief Chemist, further developed methods of
organization as its first secretary; later, as its alkaloidal assay. Messrs. Parke and Davis recognized
Page |9

PHARMACOGNOSY
the value of his work, and in 1883, announced a list of One of the successful researchers in the development
twenty standardized "normal liquids." Parke-Davis of new chemical compounds specifically created to
also pioneered in developing pharmacologic and fight disease-causing organisms in the body was the
physiologic standards for pharmaceuticals. French pharmacist, Ernest Francois Auguste Fourneau
(1872-1949), who for 30 years headed chemical
33. WRESTING THE JUNGLE'S SECRETS laboratories in the world-renowned Institut Pasteur,
Expeditions in search of new medicinal plants in Paris. His early work with bismuth and arsenic
probably are as old as Pharmacy. Scientific compounds advanced the treatment of syphilis. He
adventurers, such as Henry Hurd Rusby (1855-1940), broke the German secret of a specific for sleeping
opened vast new horizons for the advancement of sickness; paved the way for the life-saving
Pharmacy and Medicine, late in the nineteenth sulfonamide compounds; and from his laboratories
century. Sent by Parke, Davis & Company in 1884 to came the first group of chemicals having recognized
Peru for supplies of coca leaves, Dr. Rusby crossed the antihistaminic properties. His work led other
Andes and journeyed down the Amazon to the investigators to broad fields of chemotherapeutic
Atlantic amid incredible hardships. He returned with research.
45,000 botanical specimens. Among them were many
new drug plants, including cocillana bark, 37. PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH
pharmaceutical preparations of which are still Research in some form has gone hand in hand with
important to Medicine. Dr. Rusby later became Dean the development of Pharmacy through the ages.
of the College of Pharmacy of Columbia University. However, it was the chemical synthesis of antipyrine
in 1883 that gave impetus and inspiration for
34. STANISLAS LIMOUSIN - PHARMACAL INVENTOR intensive search for therapeutically useful
One of those men singularly gifted in combining compounds. Begun by the Germans, who dominate
scientific knowledge with technical skill and with the field until World War I, the lead in pharmaceutical
inventive genius was the french retail pharmacist, research passed thereafter to the United States.
Stanislas Limousin (1831-1887). Among the many Research in Pharmacy came into its own in the late
devices which he introduced to Pharmacy and 1930's and early 1940's; has grown steadily since,
Medicine were the medicine dropper; the system of supported by pharmaceutical manufactures,
coloring poisons (such as corrosive sublimate); and universities, and government. Today it used
wafer cachets (which found favor prior to mass techniques and trained personnel from every branch
production of the gelatin capsule). His greatest of science in the unending search for new life-saving
contributions, however, were the development and and life-giving drug products.
perfection of apparatus for the inhalation and
therapeutic administration of oxygen; and invention 38. PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING COMES OF
of glass ampoules that could be sealed and sterilized AGE
for preservation of solutions for hypodermic use. Pharmaceutical manufacturing as an industry apart
from retail Pharmacy had its beginnings about 1600;
35. THE ERA OF BIOLOGICALS really got under way in the middle 1700's. It
When, in 1894, Behring and Roux announced the developed first in Germany, then in England and in
effectiveness of diphtheria antitoxin, pharmaceutical France. In America, it was the child of wars - born in
scientists both in Europe and in the United States the Revolution; grew rapidly during and following the
rushed to put the new discovery into production. Civil War; became independent of Europe during
Parke, Davis & Company was among the pioneers. The World War I; came of age during and following World
serum became available in 1895, and lives of War II. Utilizing latest technical advances from every
thousands of children were saved. Inoculation of branch of science, manufacturing Pharmacy
horses with diphtheria toxin was the first step of economically develops and produces the latest and
many in producing antitoxin. In 1903, Parke-Davis greatest in drugs in immense quantities, so that
received U.S. Biological License No. 1. New, improved everywhere physicians may prescribe them and
biological products have continued to become pharmacists dispense them for the benefit of all
available, climaxed in 1955 by poliomyelitis vaccine. mankind.

36. THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHEMOTHERAPY 39. THE ERA OF ANTIBIOTICS

P a g e | 10

PHARMACOGNOSY
Antibiotics are not new. Their actions probably were
first observed by Pasteur in 1877. However, the
second quarter of the 20th century marked the
flowering of the antibiotic era - a new and dramatic
departure in the production of disease-fighting drugs.
Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1929 went
undeveloped and Florey and Chain studied it in 1940.
Under pressure of World War II, the pharmaceutical
manufacturers rapidly adapted mass production
methods to penicillin; have reduced costs to 1/1000th
the original. Antibiotic discoveries came rapidly in the
'40's. Intensive research continues to find antibiotics
that will conquer more of men's microbial enemies.

40. PHARMACY TODAY AND TOMORROW

Pharmacy, with its heritage of 50 centuries of service
to mankind, has come to be recognized as of the great
professions. Like Medicine, it has come through many
revolutions, has learned many things, has had to
discard many of its older ways. Pharmacists are
among the community's finest educated people.
When today's retail pharmacist fills a prescription
written by a physician, he provides a professional
service incorporating the benefits of the work of
pharmacists in all branches of the profession -
education, research, development, standards,
production, and distribution. Pharmacy's professional
stature will continue to grow in the future as this
great heritage and tradition of service is passed on
from preceptor to apprentice, from teacher to
student, from father to son.