Drug Information Q&A Q1: What was pharmaceuticals originally?

Answer

Pharmaceuticals were originally derived from many plants, some animals, and minerals found in nature. They were empirically found in nature and used to treat various diseases, pains, wounds, and other conditions.

Explanation

Plants have been actively used as medicines since ancient times in both the East and West. Around 4000 B.C., the Sumerians, who founded the Mesopotamian civilization, left behind clay tablets in which the names of numerous plants were already recorded as having medicinal uses.

The Chinese classic of medicinal texts, the "Shingno-Honzo Jing" is said to have been written around 100 AD. Sinnoh was a legendary emperor in ancient China, who was regarded as the god of medicine because he tested the efficacy of herbs and tree roots by eating them himself.

The legend of Shinnou eventually made its way to Japan, and by the Edo period (1603-1867), statues of Shinnou were enshrined in the homes of doctors and drug wholesalers.

The world's first systematic and scientific pharmaceutical journal, Materia Medica, was written around 100 A.D. by the ancient Greek pharmacologist Pedanius Dioscorides. Dioscorides is said to have been the physician to the Roman Emperor Nero, and wrote about the medicinal herbs he collected while traveling with his troops from place to place, as well as their uses and other knowledge he had amassed.

In Japan, temples where women have long held strong beliefs, such as Hasedera Temple in Nara, where Murasaki Shikibu and other women of the Heian period (794-1185) paid devoted homage, and Taimadera Temple, known for the legend of Princess Chujo, who wove a huge mandala in a single night, have been planting various medicinal herbs and making them available to the public. Many temples where women have long been worshipped planted a variety of medicinal herbs and used them as medicines for women. Today, both of these temples are tourist attractions known as "temples of peonies.

Peony is a flower that looks like a peony when it stands, a button when it sits, and a lily when it walks. The plants mentioned in these words, which have been well-known as metaphors for beauty since ancient times, were all medicines for women's diseases.

Peony (crude drug = peony) has been used to treat coldness, irregular menstruation, and postpartum fatigue; botan (crude drug = botanpi) has been used for menstrual difficulties and constipation; and lily (crude drug = lily) has been used to treat mastitis.

The deep connection between medicines and plants can be seen in the origin of the word "kusuri" (medicine). The Chinese character "yaku" is a combination of the characters "kusakanmuri" and "raku," which means "to cut into small pieces," or "to chop up.

According to the Daikenkai (Japanese language dictionary), the word "kusuri" was changed from "kusa sen (kuso sen)". Kusanri means to roast grass. The most common medicine was made from plants that had been finely crushed or roasted.

Chart/Column

1｜Statue of Kanno

Chinese Yakusojin. In ancient China, the legendary Chinese emperor Shen Nong licked plants and trees, investigated their efficacy, and taught them to others.
In Japan, too, a statue of Shen Nong can be seen enshrined in an old doctor's house or apothecary's shop. Even today, the god is so popular that a festival is held in Doshomachi, Osaka, where many pharmaceutical companies gather. On the other hand, in Nihonbashi-honmachi, where many of Tokyo's pharmaceutical companies are located, a festival is held in honor of Ohonamuchi no Mikoto and Sukunahikono-no Mikoto, the deities of the ancestors of medicine.

Source: Collection of Naito Museum of Pharmaceutical Science

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