You’re on a blog about Pharmacology, but after all, what is Pharmacology? And what does a pharmacologist do?
To begin with, let’s clear up a common misconception. It’s very common for people to think that Pharmacology and Pharmacy are the same thing, since the names are so similar. I myself—the journalist writing this—have often heard people say that I “have a PhD in Pharmacy.” And this mistake has come from all directions: from family members unfamiliar with the field to researchers from other biomedical areas.
Pharmacy is an undergraduate degree, that is, an occupation related to medicines and other associated fields. Pharmacists can work in many different areas: from the well-known professional you find behind the counter at a drugstore to those responsible for quality control of products in the food and cosmetics industries.
But our focus here is to understand what a pharmacologist does. Pharmacology is a science studied by professionals from different backgrounds. Pharmacists, physicians, biologists, nurses, dentists, among many others, can become pharmacologists.
Pharmacology is more closely linked to scientific research and the development of new medicines. It studies how substances chemically interact with living organisms. This includes everything from understanding how a painkiller reduces back pain to figuring out how an insecticide kills the mosquito that keeps you awake at night.
Regardless of whether the substance studied has a therapeutic or toxic effect, it can be an object of research for pharmacologists. When the study involves therapy, prevention, or diagnosis, the field is called Medical Pharmacology. When the focus is on toxic effects, it is called Toxicology. Both are areas within Pharmacology!
The curiosity that changed everything
Today, pharmacologists use cutting-edge technology in their research, but the path to this point was a long one. As far back as Prehistory, the pharmacological effects of natural substances were already recognized. For example, Neanderthals from the El Sidrón cave in Asturias self-medicated their dental abscesses with a plant called poplar and with the fungi that grew on it. This combination is a natural source of salicylic acid (a natural analgesic and the active principle of aspirin) and penicillin (a natural antibiotic).
Similar behaviors have been observed in other animal species, such as the great apes: chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas. They chew plants with antibacterial properties and then apply the material to their own open wounds or to those of other members of the group.
Humans began to ask why those therapeutic or toxic effects occurred. This is how pharmacological curiosity was born. Several historical events and legends reveal the rise of this type of thinking, such as the Legend of Kaldi. Manuscripts from Yemen, dated to the year 575 AD, tell the story of a shepherd named Kaldi who curiously observed the behavior of his goats.
At night, they would disappear and then return energetic and jumpy. By following them, Kaldi discovered that the goats were running off to ingest coffee beans directly from local shrubs. After consuming the beans himself, Kaldi also felt euphoric. According to the legend, this is how coffee consumption began among humans and, consequently, how the effects of caffeine were discovered.
When science began to test, not just believe
Despite many observations of the effects of substances, it still took many years for Pharmacology to evolve scientifically. For a long time, science was dominated by a way of thinking that sought to explain the universe without conducting experiments. As a result, diseases and treatments were accepted without any scientific proof. This type of thinking led to beliefs that today seem absurd to Medicine, such as the idea that certain wounds could be cured by applying a balm to the weapon that caused the injury, without treating the injured person.
Only at the end of the 17th century did experimentation and observation become important practices. In Europe, physicians began to scientifically verify the therapeutic effectiveness of plants and other compounds and to use them in clinical practice. This led to the emergence of Materia Medica, the precursor of Pharmacology. It consisted of records containing information about substances used in the treatment of diseases and their therapeutic properties.
However, this knowledge was still very superficial. It was known that a given substance produced an effect, but not how that effect occurred. Only at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century did François Magendie and his student Claude Bernard (both French physicians) begin to develop experimental Pharmacology. Advances in Chemistry in the following centuries made it possible to isolate substances. Thus, it became possible to identify exactly which component of a plant, for example, was responsible for a particular therapeutic effect. This component is called a drug, as is the case with caffeine, a drug present in coffee.
Major pharmacological revolutions
Over the last approximately 150 years, Pharmacology has undergone a true revolution: the discovery of receptors. Receptors are specific sites in the body with which drugs interact to produce their effects. This idea began with the observations of Paul Ehrlich in dye industries. He raised the possibility that chemical receptors existed in tissues, where dyes would “stick.” Ehrlich then suggested that receptors would also exist in living organisms, where drugs could act.
According to this logic, parasites that infect a person would have receptors different from human receptors. These parasite receptors could be targets for toxic substances that would not affect human receptors. In this way, it would be possible to kill the parasites without harming the host. Ehrlich called this type of medicine a “magic bullet.” His studies led to the creation of antimicrobial chemotherapy, such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, and antiparasitic drugs. These medicines are now the main treatment for infections.
What do pharmacologists research today?
With the discovery of receptors, it became possible to uncover the mechanism of action of drugs. The mechanism of action explains how drugs act at the molecular level to produce their effects. Discovering these mechanisms is one of the central pillars of Pharmacology, and many pharmacologists dedicate years of laboratory work to this pursuit.
In addition, pharmacologists study many other interactions between drugs, toxins, and organisms. For example: whether a drug is eliminated in the urine after exerting its effect; whether a toxin can accumulate in the brain and cause irreversible damage; whether a medication can be safely used during pregnancy without affecting the fetus; or what happens when a snake bites a person and injects its venom.
The possibilities for research within Pharmacology are practically infinite. It is a broad, dynamic field in constant evolution. And the more we discover, the more we realize how much there is still to learn and share with the world.
Now that you know a little more about Pharmacology and what a pharmacologist does, leave in the comments your suggestions for pharmacology topics you’d like us to talk about here.
To learn more:
Self-medication in Prehistory (DOI: 10.64628/ADE.5dajhff6p)
Neanderthals and self-medication (DOI: 10.1038/nature21674)
Animals that self-medicate (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1419966111)
The origin of coffee and the Legend of Kaldi
LOUIS SANDFORD GOODMAN et al. As bases farmacológicas da terapêutica de Goodman & Gilman. Porto Alegre, Brazil: Mcgraw-Hill Education, 2012.
KATZUNG, B. G. Basic & clinical pharmacology. 14. ed. New York: Mcgraw-Hill Education, 2018.
Written by:
Mia Schezaro Ramos
Pharmacist. Ph.D. in Pharmacology. Science journalist, illustrator, trans, Nintendo enthusiast, K-pop fan, and dependent on physical exercise to stay sane.