Some Indian medicinal plants, their pharmacological action and synthesis of embelic Acid

Abstract

From the earliest times medicine has been a curious blend of superstition, empiricism and of sagacious observation out of which ultimately science is made. Of these three strands, superstition, empiricism and observation, medicine was constituted in the days of the priest physicians of Egypt and Babylonia; of the same three strands it is still composed. The p r o p o r t i o n s have, however, varied significantly. An increasingly alert and determined effort, running through the ages, has endeavoured to expel superstition, to narrow the range of empiricism and to enlarge, refine and systematise the scope of observation. Superstition is easily recognisable, but the line between an empirical and scientific observation is not so clear. Empiricism does not endeavour to penetrate more deeply and gets no further. On the other hand a scientific observer is not content with mere facts; he asks the reasons and seeks to establish further relationships, while the empiricist practising his rule of thumb works disjointedly and tends to remain in reference to any particular observation just where he is. This difference between empiricism and a sustained scientific research of known facts in short is the subject of these investigations.