ABSTRACT
The nineteenth century experienced some major pharmacological breakthroughs, especially in the extraction and purification of the active principles of plant-based drugs. Pharmacists and doctors were able to sell and administer powerful alkaloid substances such as morphine, codeine, quinine and cocaine whose purity, strength and dosage could at last be regulated (Porter, 1997: 333-4). There is little doubt that such advances made the use of traditional natural product remedies appear unscientific, unless they were exploited as sources of active compounds rather than as drugs themselves. Consequently, 'since the late 1800s, when specific agents were isolated and characterized, the need for standardization and synthesis of natural substances favoured the development of the drug industry' (Duffin, 1999: 107).
