Introduction

"Apothecary," comes from the Latin "apotheca" and even earlier from the Greek "apothéké."

From the oldest civilizations herbal remedies were used to treat various pains and diseases. Therefore, the art and science of mixing the medicines by an apothecary have evolved. Apothecary was used to define different terms at various times – from a person who makes medical treatments to a store that sells herbal remedies. Apothecary’s colourful history ranges from pharmacists and midwives to medical experts and surgeons.

When talking about herbal cures it is interesting to explore Chinese medicine as in ancient times it was referred to as "herbal medicine." Due to this, Chinese apothecaries used a bundle of hay under the eaves as their sign, symbolizing herbal medicine, while others used to put huge word plate. It is worth finding the reasons why Traditional Chinese medicine is still well-accepted in the mainstream medical care throughout East Asia, and why it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the Western world. More and more people are willing to take more natural remedies hoping to cure themselves.

Have all the cures been in the herbs but we didn’t know how to use it?

It is interesting and important to explore the establishment, development of apothecaries as they lead to the introduction of our modern pharmacies and to find their role in the development of current pharmacies.

Provisional topics are be provided for this blog. The aim of writing the blogs is to cover the establishment, the development of apothecary, its influence to modern pharmaceutical industry and other interesting areas related to this area. Please feel free to give any suggestions, your interests and creativity in writing the blogs.

Chinese Apothecary

16^th century – diethyl ether first prepared as “sweet oil of vitriol” and in 1799 nitrous oxide by Humphrey Davy were used to liven up parties before introduced as anaesthetic agents in the mid 19^th century. History of anaesthetic agents

Mid 17^th century – Robert Boyle “found” treatment for malaria

1692 – “Collection of choice remedies”

Early 19^th century – homeopathy introduced by Hahnemann

1805 – purification of morphine from opium by German apothecary Friedrich Serturner

1847 – creation of first pharmacology institute (in his own house) in Estonia by Rudolf Buchheim

1853 – Aspirin was first synthesized, rediscovered in 1857 in Bayer, commercialised in 1899

1859 – amyl nitrite was made – to be claimed as first “rational” therapeutic drug; used in angina

1878 – bacteria was discovered as a cause of disease by Pasteur

~ 1878 Paul Ehrlich insisted that “Corpora non agunt nisi fixata – a drug will not work unless it is bound”

First half 20^th century – dramatic revitalisation of therapeutics

1980 – emergence of biotechnology as a major source of new therapeutic agents in the form of antibodies