Abstract

Pharmaceutical and Medical Chemistry

Author(s): Evanna Smith

Only once it was widely acknowledged that the qualities of a medicine's active ingredients determine it’s pharmacological and subsequently its therapeutic effects did medicinal chemistry become a recognised scientific field. Prior to the development of synthetic organic chemistry, which happened to occur almost at the same time as pharmacology evolved into an experimental science, medicinal goods were mostly made from natural resources, particularly plants; to a lesser extent, mineral products were also used. The shape and colour of plant (parts) were thought to be indicative of the biological processes.