Pharmacopoeia: Pharmakon means “a drug” and poein means “to make”. Pharmacopoeia is defined as a compressive book which is issued under the authority of government and contains a list of drug and formulae used for medicinal preparation with description and the tests for those substances and the standards to which they must confirm.
History of Indian Pharmacopoeia: The government of India directed the Drugs Technical Advisory Board to list the drugs that are used in India, which are not mentioned in British Pharmacopoeia and also recommend the standards to be prescribed to maintain uniformity and the chemical tests to be used to establish identity and purity. The Government of India published the Indian Pharmacopoeial List in 1946 as a supplement to British Pharmacopoeia. The term list in the title was ‘misleading’ in that, the book not only contained a list of drugs which were of substantial medicinal value but also laid down standards. The Indian Pharmacopoeial List contained about 180 monographs and a number of appendices prepared on the lines of the British Pharmacopoeia. Approximately 100 monographs were on vegetable drugs growing in India and on their galenicals. `The drugs of plant origin such as artemesia, bael, berberis, cannabis, ispaghula, kaladana, kurchi, myrobalan,picrorhiza, punarnava, rauwalfia, vasakaetc.were included in it. Similarly several oils such as ajowan,cassia, chaulmoogra, neem and pudina were included it. The appendices gave detail for a number of determinations referred to in the monographs.
The Pharmaceuticals and Drugs Research Committee of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research decided in February 1947 to compile a ’Brochure’ to highlight the information and clinical users of the important indigenous drugs of India. Later on it was decided to prepare a ’Codex’ instead of Brochure on the lines of the British Pharmaceutical Codex.
The first Indian Pharmaceutical Codex published in 1953.The Codex consisted of two parts. The part carried about 190 general monographs on natural product and drugs of vegetable and animal origin, and a few chemicals. The second part consisted of formulary of galenicals and other preparations. After the publications of the Indian Pharmacopoeial List the Government of India, constituted an eleven member Indian Pharmacopoeial Committee in 1948, in their notification No. F.1-1/48-DS dated 23rd November, 1948, for preparing the Pharmacopoeia of India. The tenure of the office of the members of the Committee was five years. It was extended by one year vide Government notification no F.6-10/53- DSdated 21st November 1953. In compiling the monographs of the first Pharmacopoeia of India, help was taken from all available established scientific data in the modern Pharmacopoeia, such as British Pharmacopoeia, the United States Pharmacopoeia, and the international Pharmacopoeia and from scientific institutions interested in drugs and Pharmaceuticals products. The first edition of Pharmacopoeia of India was compiled and then published in 1955. The second edition of Pharmacopoeia of India was compiled and then published in 1966. The third edition of Pharmacopoeia of India was compiled and then published in 1985. The fourth edition of Pharmacopoeia of India was compiled and then published in 1996. The fifth edition of Pharmacopoeia of India was compiled and then published in 2007. The seventh edition of Pharmacopoeia of India was compiled and then published in 2010. The eight edition of Pharmacopoeia of India was compiled and then published in 2014.