Pharmacology Principles - History of Drug Use

Module One: Principles of Pharmacology - Section 1: History of Drug Use

• Definitions:

• Drugs: Any substance taken into a biological system, not for nutrition, that affects the organism's biological function. This includes chemicals, biological agents, and herbal products.

• Pharmacology: The science of drugs, including their uses, effects, and mechanisms of action.

• Historical Influences:

• Ancient China (2700 BC): Earliest recorded drug experiments. Emperor Shen Nung categorized drugs based on taste. Ma Huang, used for influenza and fever, yielded the modern asthma medication ephedrine.

• Ancient Egypt (1550 BC): Ebers papyrus, a medical textbook, documented drug use, particularly purgatives (bowel movements).

• Ancient Greece (380 BC): Theophrastus's textbook described therapeutics, including the use of opium.

• Influence of Religion:

• In ancient societies, medicine men combined medical practice with religious beliefs, leading to therapy influenced by both religion and magic.

• Plants with intoxicating substances were used to alter consciousness and communicate with deities. Example: Peyote cactus used in Mexico for spiritual purposes.

• Influence of Poisons:

• The concept of "the right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy" highlights the dose-dependent nature of drug effects.

• Curare: Indigenous people used curare as arrow poison, affecting voluntary muscles to cause paralysis. Later used as an anesthetic, enabling relaxation for surgeries. Modern anesthetics are based on curare derivatives.

• Ergot: Poisonous fungus growing on rye. During the Middle Ages, contaminated rye bread caused widespread epidemics, characterized by mental frenzy, hallucinations, and convulsions. A similar epidemic killed 20,000 people in Russia 250 years ago.

Explore the historical development of drug use in various ancient civilizations, including Egypt, China, and Greece. This quiz covers definitions of drugs and pharmacology, as well as significant milestones in the history of medicine influenced by cultural and religious factors.