History of drugs with special reference to Indian contribution

The Knowledge of drugs is as old as man himself. The methods used by him to find remedies against different ailments rested to a great extent on Psychical effects and certain simple procedures like blood letting and cupping. However, attempts were also made to obtain efficient cure by drugs mainly by the vegetable and to some degree from animal and mineral kingdoms. Thus, on the basis of the historical evidences it can be said that, the history of drugs is spread over a long period and also the contribution made by the Indian physicians in this regard is not less than that of the physicians of other countries.