Herbal Medicine and Apothecaries

The list of medicinal agents grew with the arrival of exotic plants and spices brought back from the New World. Chemistry and botany was now a required skill of pharmacists. Research to determine the efficacy of botanical drugs – served as a catalyst for the scientific fields of pharmacology and pharmacogynosy. Many apothecary shops in the 1800’s were still operated by physicians even though pharmacists were being increasingly recognized. Herbal medicine was common practice in the early colonization of the United States. Roles of Early Pharmacy Practitioners Pharmacists in the colonies were druggists, doctors, merchants or storekeepers. Until the 19th century physicians typically owned the dispensary that distributed drugs to patients. 1820 - Development of the United States formulary known as the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). 1852 - The American Pharmacist Association (APhA) addressed adulteration of imported drugs. Late 1800’s community pharmacist compounded many herbs and chemicals for medicinal use. 1886 - John Pemberton, began to sell a tonic called Coca-Cola. 1893 - Caleb Bradham, created Pepsi-Cola. 20th century pharmaceutical manufacturing began to take hold. The traditional compounding tasks (formulating own liquids, powders and rolling their own pills) became less common, pharmacy became more scientific and technical. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) is credited with many innovations in practice and training programs.