Talk:Pharmacy of Ancient Times

Introduction

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics form a very important and substantial part of medicine. As the proverb goes, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the efficacy of medical science depends in large measure on the nature of the medications administered." Therefore, the richness of medical advancement has to be judged largely by the affluence in the variety and quality of the pharmacopeia and pharmacy.

Channels of Administration

A general principle is laid down that medicine should be administered by the channels through which it can reach the core of the disease at the earliest. In today's world, the channels of administering a drug have increased, but they all fall within the above comprehensive precept.

The administration of the diseases through a certain channel gives desired results very quickly as below :

• In the disease of the stomach, the medicine is administered by the mouth.
• In the diseases of the head, nasal medications are administered.
• In diseases affecting the colon, the medications are given by the rectum.
• In local diseases arising in the various regions of the body and in acute spreading infections, pimples, and similar lesions, local applications are the best suitable to the part afflicted.

The Field of Pharmacology

The field of pharmacy includes the knowledge of all the things used as medicines. One should know the following parameters of each drug used as medicine:

• Nature
• Quality
• Efficacy
• Season of availability
• Examination
• Procurement
• Preservation
• Medicated
• Dosage
• Administration

Types of Medicines

Atreya has classified the drugs into fifty classes according to their properties and each class contains ten drugs. The physician, the drugs, the attendant, and the patient constitute the four basic factors of the treatment. This is the simplest, easiest and most systematic classification. Among the four requisites for curing a disease, medicinal drugs is as eminent as the physician.

Caraka classifies medicine into two kinds. These two superb concepts of Ayurveda were held in such a high esteem that they obtained recognition as two special branches of the Ayurveda. The group of drugs for positive health is sub-divided into further two parts:

1. Vitalizer - Medicine that promotes vigor in healthy people
2. Virilific - Medicine that cures the disease in sick people.

Vitalizers

Vitalizers aid in achieving long life, resilient memory and intelligence, strong immunity, youth, lustrous complexion, sweet voice, and optimum strength of the body. The vitalizers are so-called because they help to replenish the vital fluids of health.

Virilific

The virilifics were used to produce progeny of the highest caliber. Progeny was considered to be the preserver of the traditions ideals and aspirations of men. The use of virilifics was recommended solely for this purpose. Moreover, they gave positive health, immunity against inroads of diseases, and retarded aging. While going through the description of these two processes, get information about the high ideology and practicality of men in ancient times. While explaining the word Rasayana, Atreya describes the properties of a Rasayana drug.

Significance of Few Medicinal Drugs

Caraka enumerates the necessary qualifications of a good drug as follows: :-

1. Abundance
2. Applicability
3. Usability in multifarious modes
4. Richness of quality

These four are said to be the tetrad of desiderata in drugs.

Significance of Long Pepper

Drug action is fully described in Caraka. For instance, in Caraka Samhita, we find a concise but full description of long pepper. It is pungent in taste, sweet after digestion, heavy, neither too unctuous nor too hot, deliquescent and esteemed as medicine. It produces beneficial and harmful effects. If administered at the proper time and measures, it induces a very beneficial effect on the body. But if continued for over a long period, it results in a morbid cumulative effect of arousing Kapha. It aggravates Pitta on account of its hot property and is not able to allay Vata because of its meagreness of unctuous and hot qualities. Due to these qualities, long pepper should not be used in excess.

Similar descriptions of salts and alkali are given. We find detailed actions and properties of various kinds of milk in Caraka Sutra-sthana. A detailed description of the effects of wines on the body is given in Caraka.

Preparation of Drugs

As per Caraka

On the topic of the preparations and effects of the drugs, Caraka says that there should be a proper medication that requires to be taken in small doses, quick in action, and curative of even an excessive degree of morbidity. Medicine should be easy to take, light in digestion, palatable, pleasing, curative of the particular disease, not harmful even if complications arise, not very depressant, and possessed of the most agreeable smell, color, and taste.

Rules for Preparing Drugs

The prescriptions of drugs were arranged in such a way that they contained the above-mentioned qualities. The processes for these preparations were explained and rules for the nomenclature of these preparations also were framed to bring about a certain uniformity. Rules were also framed regarding the use of drugs containing diametrically opposite properties in these preparations if it was found necessary to add a particular drug for the sake of taste, appearance or smell. It has been laid down that a compound preparation is named after the basic drug which forms its principal active ingredient.

In the prescription of a compound, the emetic nut forms the basic or principal drug while wines and any other things occupy the secondary role as constituents, vehicles or excipients. They followed the main drug in the prescription just as the attendants followed the king. Even the antagonism of this potency does not vitally impair the main effects of the principal drugs, while admixture of drugs of similar potency intensifies its action. The use of articles that are of antagonistic potency to the disease is allowed in a drug to impart pleasant color, taste, touch, and odor suitable to the conditions of a disease.

Symbolic Representation of Drugs

In the modern method of writing a prescription the letter R, a symbol for 'recipe', is always found at the beginning. This sign or symbol is called superscription. The symbol 'R' is the symbol of the planet 'Jupiter'. It is better to use symbols rationally than blindly.

Ayurvedic Aspect for Drugs

Ayurveda enjoins on the patient to chant some sacred hymns while taking the medicine. These sacred hymns are given in Caraka. The chanting of a hymn would not seem obsolete in the present scenario, but we must probe behind the unique practice and try to evaluate the concept of chanting. This can be inferred only if we study the other ideologies of the same period.

Minuteness and singleness are the two qualities of a mind. The mind cannot work at two places at the same time. So one must concentrate on the work at hand otherwise it will not be successful. Based on this reasoning, the chanting of a hymn becomes helpful in shifting the attention of the mind busy occupied with other affairs to concentrate on the medicinal dose. Therefore Atreya says:-

If a person after cleansing his mind of its impurities like passion and other inauspicious sentiments and concentrating his mind on the treatment, takes this dose, it brings about the most desirable results.

Technique of Prescription

The second stage or step in a prescription is the writing of it. It consists of the basis or the chief ingredient, adjuvant, and corrigent. The nomenclature of the prescriptions is based on the names of the chief ingredients followed by the compounding of other ingredients, e. g. In English, 'Co' is the shortened form of the compound used for this purpose e. g 'Pulvis glycyrrhiza co'. This similarity in the nomenclature of prescriptions was prevalent both in the East and the West. This manifests that the science of drugs is one only but the ignorance can lead to manifold differences.

Therapeutics

In therapeutics, the mere knowledge of the properties and actions of the drugs in the prescription is not the end in itself. Therapeutics is an artistic science. Caraka says:

The art of prescription depends upon the knowledge of dosage and time and on this art, in return, depends on success; hence the skillful physician stands ever superior to those possessing merely a theoretical knowledge of drugs. Though treating with the right prescriptions, if the physician is ignorant of the knowledge of the place, he cannot achieve success in the treatment. There exist many differences like men with regards to age, vitality, constitution, etc.

The preparations should be made by the doses. We generally believe that standardization is the last word in modern medical science, but we shouldn't ignore that accuracy in measurement is the first step in scientific progress. Logical reasoning for everything and accuracy was the motto of the scientific age of the country which began about 600 B. C. The science of logic and Sankhya was written due to this concept.

Dietary Regulations

The laxity in the accuracy of measurement was not a practice in that era. Only the accuracy and exact measures of medicinal doses were not the only criteria, even food was to be taken in measured quantities. While narrating the principle of hygiene, the first chapter on the subject begins with the topic of measured quantity of food while sick. The word measured has been derived from the word 'mātrā'. While the English word 'dose' is derived from the word 'to give'. The English word simply denotes give; while the Sanskrit word asserts 'measures'. This proves that accuracy in measuring is emphasized more in the Ayurvedic term. The food was required to be taken in measured quantities.

Determining the Dosage

The complete treatment depends on dosage. There can be no compounding of drugs without assuring it's the measure of dosage. The dosage of medicines is dependent upon the individual patient. An under-dose of medication cannot cure the disease just as a small quantity of water cannot quench a great fire. While the medicine given in over-dose will prove harmful just as excessive watering harms the crops. So, after carefully considering the security of the disease and the strength of the medication, the physician should administer it, neither in too large dose nor in too small dose.

The dosage of drugs given in the section is with reference to moderate-bowelled persons of average age and strength. This should be regarded as the standard for pharmaceutical purposes and larger or smaller doses have to be prepared keeping that standard in view. The drug should be administered after a full investigation of the morbid humor, the medications, clime and season, homologation of the patient, his digestive power, psychic conditions, age, and vitality. The after-potion concept of Ayurveda is by the theory of humors. The dose of medicine was to be followed by some after-potion prescribed as a corrective to the medication in accordance with the constitutional tendency of the patient or the humoral imbalance of the disease condition.

Toxicology

Toxicology is one of the chief branches of Ayurveda. The knowledge of toxicology in the country was more advanced than in other countries. When Alexander invaded India, he had ordered that whenever any treatment for poisoning was necessary, only an Indian physician should be called. This is evidence of the country's expertise in toxicology. Poison girls were reared to be used against enemies. It was the practical application of the theory of immunization in the body by gradual and constant administration of poison. The country had many poisonous animals and vegetation. Kings were always under constant vigilance against poisoning and so a physician was always in attendance to protect the king against food poisoning etc.

During wars, poisoning was resorted to for killing individuals as well as for mass murders. The knowledge of snake poison was also profound. There are plenty of snakes in the country and hence the knowledge about snakes and toxicology came to be known as a special branch of study. The classification, recognition, and description of the serpents are remarkable.. Snake poison was used as a medicine also. Atreya has prescribed it for the incurable condition of Tridosa Udara, mostly a malignant growth.

The science of toxicology was the result of varied experiments. Poisonous substances were identified through sensory tests, fire, or by mixing them with water and other materials and also by administering them to beasts and birds. We have findings that about 25 beasts and birds were thus used in such experiments.

Incompatibility of Drugs

The list of terms describing the actions of drugs surprises us even today. We find more than 500 terms used in this connection. Atreya, while fully recognizing the physical, pharmaceutical, and physiological incompatibilities, goes further and describes 18 points that should be considered in deciding the incompatibility of a drug.

That substance is unwholesome which is incompatible from the point of view of country, season, gastric fire, measure, homogenization, Vata and other body humors, preparation, potency, bowel tendency state of the patient, rules of eating, things to be avoided or observed, cookery combination, palatability, richness of quality and rules of eating. Food as well as medicine should preferably be incompatible with eighteen points.

The Golden Period of Ayurveda

The golden period of Ayurveda was from 600 B.C. to 600 A. D. Pharmacy had reached the scientific stage at this period as denoted by Caraka and Susruta. Caraka further declares that then they evolved the all-comprehensive concept. According to both the masters of this science, Caraka, and Susruta, there is no substance in the world that is not medicine. They knew the uses of practically all the known substances.

Classification of Basic Drugs

The source of drugs can be classified differently into three groups namely:

1. Animals - Honey, milk, bile, fat, marrow, blood, flesh, excrement, urine, skin, semen, bone-sinews, horns, nails, hooves, hair, and inspissation bile These are the substances used in medicine from the animal world.
2. Minerals - Gold, ores, fine metals, sand, lime, red and yellow arsenic, gems, red ochre, and antimony are the mineral products used in medicine.
3. Vegetables - The vegetable group is further divided into four classes. The fruits, creepers, flowery fruits, and herbs. Roots, bark, pith, exudation, stalk, juice, sprouts, alkalies, milk, fruit, flower, ash, oils, thorns, leaves, buds, bulbs, and off-shoots are the plant products used in medicine.

Geographical Significance of Drugs

In addition to these classifications, clear instructions were given regarding the kind of country, season, and clime of culling of herbs, selections of herbs, and the methods of storage. Regarding the country, we have a detailed description in Caraka Kalpa. Place or clime is of three kinds.

1. Jungle
2. Wetland
3. Ordinary land

Description of all the kinds of land is based on the season and time of culling the herbs we have in Caraka. Out of them, the drugs should be culled as put forth in their proper season and have attained their fullness of growth, taste, potency, and smell. In this verse, detailed descriptions are given as to how and when the herbs should be culled. Minute instructions regarding the selection of drugs are given in Caraka Cikitsā-sthāna.

The best habitats for medicinal plants are the mountain ranges of the Himalayas. The fruits are grown in the Himalayas and are therefore to be properly culled every season, rich with juice and potency, mellowed by the sun, wind, shade, and water. It should not be nibbled by bird or beast, unspoiled and unmarked with cuts or diseases.

Storage of Himalayan Herbs

We shall now describe the modes of administration and the excellent effects of these fruits. Very valuable instructions are given in Caraka Kalpasthana regarding the storage of herbs. It says that the herbs should be stored in the houses with the doors opening to the east or the north and the rooms should be windproof, fireproof, waterproof, moisture-proof, smoke-proof, dust-proof, mice-proof and quadruped.

Determinants of Herbs

To ascertain the action of the drugs on the human body, the great sages evolved the five determinants viz., taste, quality, potency, post-digestive effect, and specific action. This system enabled them to study completely all the drags necessary for the therapeutics. These drugs were chiefly administered through the natural channel of the mouth and hence the arrangement of Rasa or tastes came into prominence, the sense of taste played an important part in the oral administration of drugs. This arrangement and metaphysics of taste in six categories is a specialty of Ayurveda and it has been so arranged as to fit well arithmetically with the Tridosa theory.

The properties and actions of inedible drugs were experienced by senses other than that of taste and so a comprehensive scheme of twenty or more kinds of properties was evolved which could be tested by other sense-organs. Some drugs acted more powerfully than usually expected and so or potency of the drug became one of the determining factors.

Vipakgyan

Another peculiarity of Ayurveda is its theory that the drugs while entering the body submit themselves to the process of digestion. As a background of this theory, the concept of Ayurveda that diet and drugs fall in the same category is of significant attention. The Upanisads consider the food also as medicine. The difference between the diet and the drugs is not fundamental, taste is predominant in diet while potency is predominant in drugs and it is a natural corollary that just as the diet gets digested in the system, even the drug also is digested in the system. It is on this sound fundamental theory that Ayurveda forbids the administration of another drug before the first drug is digested. In this manner, the post-digestive effect, the form that a drug is turned into after being digested and its action on the body is apprehended. These form the subject matter of vipakgyan.

Action of Drug

Last but not least comes the specific action of a drug. Even in this modern scientific age, no scientific explanation can be given for the specific properties of certain drugs because they are beyond the ken of the present stage of science. When the knowledge of a specific action attains perfection, there will be no need for research but so long as there is room for research, we must admit that the knowledge is incomplete.

These five-fold deliberations on drugs comprehensively cover the whole field. As Ayurveda has conceived diet and drug to be one, the properties and the actions of the substance that comprise our diet have been subjected to the same process of study and exposition as those of the drugs. This is a specialty and peculiarity of Ayurveda.

The Varieties of Preparation

Base for Preparing Drugs

Caraka in the first chapter of Kalpa-sthana tells something more regarding the varieties of preparations. One should consider that drugs differ with respect to land, season, source, flavor, taste, potency, post-digestive effect, and specification and even the patients also differ concerning their body, morbid tendency, constitution, age, vitality, gastric fire, proclivities, homologation and stage of disease. Caraka has described in Kalpa chapter six hundred purgative preparations that are pleasant in their variety of smell, color, taste, and touch of drugs, although the extent of the possible preparations from these drugs is innumerable.

Preparation of Drugs

The various processes in practice now are nearly all represented in the aphoristic list given by Caraka. Preparation is the process performed to modify the natural properties of substances. This process also modifies the properties of substances radically. This modification is brought about by dilution, application of heat, clarification, emulsification, storing, maturing, flavoring, impregnation, preservation, and the material of the receptacle.

This indicates that pharmacy had advanced significantly in those days. The ten arts described by Sukracarya include most of the processes used in modern pharmacy. A fully developed culinary art was possible in India, as shown by ancient texts. Even today, India is recognized for its excellence in cooking and the works of onand bear testimony to our statement.

Suitable Factors for Drug Preparation in the Country

India had a near monopoly on sugar production. When Alexander’s soldiers first encountered sugar, they referred to it as sweet chalk. After the 12th century, sugar exports to the West increased, but it was still used mainly as a medicine and sold at a high price. The use of tropical spices like cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and saffron was a key feature of India. These spices were a major reason for foreign invasions by Italy, Arabia, Portugal, Holland, and England, who sought to control the spice trade.

The heightened sense of smell in people from the East, compared to the West, played a role in India’s pharmaceutical practices. Natural environments also varied, with the Himalayas producing fragrant plants, while the Alps had visually attractive but less fragrant flora. A Vaidya was often in charge of the royal kitchen, where medicated food, serving as both nourishment and medicine, was prepared. Additionally, medicines for princes and aristocrats were customized based on their tastes and lifestyles, and sugar was abundant, leading to various wine preparations.

India also understood the importance of salt. Caraka listed 15 types of salts, and alkaline substances from plants, animals, and minerals were commonly prepared. The preparation of medicated drugs was widespread, and pharmacy was a prominent aspect of that era. Factors such as the country’s size, diverse seasons, advancing civilization, and growing interest in leisure activities contributed to the development of pharmacy.

Time for Administering Drugs

The time for the administration of drugs should be fixed according to morbidity, constitution, age, and season. Ayurveda gives the following ten times for administering the medicine:

1. On an empty stomach
2. Pre-prandial
3. Post-prandial
4. In between the two meals
5. In the middle of the meal
6. Mixed with the meal
7. Beginning and end of the meal
8. Repeatedly
9. With each morsel of food
10. In-between morsels

This is followed by a detailed exposition as to why the medicines are to be taken at particular periods. The brief survey of pharmacy, theoretically and practically in the ancient era, would suffice to give an idea of the development of the science in its multiple aspects. Some of the aspects which have not been excelled by modern science are also a part of ancient pharmacy. The rich ancient heritage needs proper research so that we can proudly hold it before the scientific world and declare it as one of our richest contributions to science.

Vedic Period

Sections of Veda

Veda is believed to have six branches. These branches are:

1. Phonetics
2. Grammar
3. Etymology
4. Astrology
5. Canons of ritual
6. Prosody

Kalpa

Out of these, the canons of ritual are defined as the order of rituals which is spoken of as Kalpa. Ayurveda was considered to be at par with the Vedas. As we have a section of Kalpa in Ayurveda similarly we also have a section on Kalpa in Veda. 

Peculiarity of Pharmacy in Vedic Era

In the Vedic period, we find that single herbs, minerals, and animal substances were prescribed. But the prescriptions were not compound during that time meaning composed of more than one substance which is a regular practice in this era. This peculiarity existed in the pre-historic period. At that time simple prescriptions were the order of the day throughout the world. Magic and black art were probably practiced to some extent in the Misra Desa which is called the Syama, Syava, or the black county. The word Syama might likely be the origin of the words kimia, alchemy, and chemistry.

Preservation of Corpse

The secret prescription for the preservation of mummies is an instance to prove their advanced knowledge in chemical pharmacy. We are getting more and more enlightenment on Mohenjo-daro and from the findings that have come to light we learn that ghlajlt and other drugs have been found there even after thousands of years of oblivion. This shows that this special branch of knowledge had developed in the country in primitive years.

The art of preserving dead bodies was not unknown in ancient India. In Ramayana, Ayodhya-Kanda, we find that the corpse of King Dasaratha was preserved in medicated oil. In Visnu Purana, we find that the corpse of Nimi was preserved by being embalmed with fragrant oils and resins.

In Kasi-khanda, there is the description of the corpse of a Brahman's mother being preserved in the following manner. The corpse was washed and then embalmed in yaksakadarma which is a specially medicated balm and enveloped severally with Netra-vastra, silk cotton, colored cloth, and Nepalese blanketing. The corpse was conveyed in a copper coffin from Rameswaram to Kasi.

References

• The Caraka Samhita published by Shree Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society, Jamnagar, India