The Evolution of Pharmacy: From Traditional Remedies to Modern Pharmaceuticals

Abstract

Pharmacy is an ancient science which developed parallel with the medicine from the very beginning of human civilization. The roots of pharmacy started to the very beginning of human civilization (Zunic et al., 2017). People collected the medicinal herbs in order to alleviate their health problems. The first written records about the medicinal plants are from Sumerians, Babylonians and Egyptians. The scientific foundations of the pharmacy were set up in antique period by the books of Dioskurides and Galen. With the books of Dioskurides medicine and pharmacy entered in the Roman Empire and later on in Greece. The more important progress in the pharmacy was done in the Arab countries. The translation of Greek written heritage into the Arabic language preserved the Greek literature from the extinction. Because of the numerous Arabic translations of the Greek books, the Arab countries became the center of knowledge during the Dark Ages in Europe. In the second half of the 14th century many Arabic books were translated into Latin which helped to the Renaissance of Europe. The beginning of the New Age was marked by the invention of the printing press in 1440. The first printed book in the world was the Holy Bible. The first printed book in the medicine and pharmacy was the Latin translation of the Materia medica by Dioskurides. Europe was hit by the Plague which killed almost one-third of the population. The all hygiene measures, including the establishment of the public baths were abolished by the Church. The book of Galen on the hygiene was ignored. The separation of doctors and pharmacists occurred in 1240.