History of Medicine BSCI 493 February 27 2008
History of Medicine BSCI 493 February 27, 2008
A Brief History • • 2000 BC: Here, eat this root. 1000 AD: That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer. 1850: That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion. 1920: That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill. 1945: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this penicillin. 1955: Oops… bugs mutated. Here, take this tetracycline. 1960 – 1999: 39 more “oops”. Here, take this more powerful antibiotic! • 2000: The bugs have won! Here, eat this root.
Plants for Medicine • • • 2700 BC: Emperor Shennung: earliest study of herbal medicine. 1500 BC: Ebers papyrus written. 370 – 285 BC: Theopharastus summarizes all information on plants; classified plants according to size. 77 AD: Dioscorides publishes De. Materia Medica. 1440: Printing invented; the “Herbals” started. 1600’s: Germany is the center of botanical activity. 1707 – 1778: The Linnean Period. The sexual system of classifying plants and the Latin binomial is used. 1785: Williams Withering publishes “An account of the foxglove and some of its medicinal uses. ” The first scientific paper on folk medicine! Late 1800’s – early 1900’s: Isolation of purer drugs from natural sources, such as early morphine (1816), strychnine (1817), atropine (1819), quinine and colchicine (1820). 1899: The German company Bayer is the first to commercialize a synthetic drug based on an early remedy: aspirin. Late 1900’s: beginning of the era of drug discovery based on naturally occurring substances and herbal remedies.
Why the increasing interest in “natural medicines”? • Dissatisfaction with conventional medicines • Increasing self-medication • Interest in preventative medication • Concerns about side effects of conventional medicines • Consumer preference for natural products • Increasing documentation of their effectiveness.
Cost: Pharmeceuticals vs. Botanicals* • Cholesterol – Mevacor: $1. 92 – Garlic: $0. 56 • Sleep aid – Halcion: $0. 89 – Valerian: $0. 14 • Prostate medication – Porscar: $2. 17 – Saw palmetto: $0. 86 • Topical ointment – Zostrix: $15. 50 – Cayenne & lanolin: $0. 05 Cost per day as of March 8, 1994. data copyright 1995, Peggy Brevoort, East Herb Inc.
References • David M. Eisenberg, Ronald C. Kessler, Cindy Foster, Frances E. Norlock, David R. Calkins, and Thomas L. Delbanco. Unconventional Medicine in the United States -- Prevalence, Costs, and Patterns of Use. New England Journal of Medicine Jan 28, 1993; 328(4): 246252. http: //content. nejm. org/cgi/content/full/328/4/246 • Students are responsible for only the abstract for this journal.
- Slides: 6