The Pharmacopoeia of Siddha medicines was first published by IMPCOPS IN 1956. It was prepared by Dr. V. Narayanaswami HPIM and Dr. C.S. Uthamaroyan HPIM in English. Tamil and Telugu translations were later published by IMPCOPS. In all these editions the drug names and indications were given in Tamil.
In the forth edition, these terms are translated and given in simple English. The names of drugs unique to the system are given in Tamil, but these are just a few.
The object is that the practitioners who are not familiar with Siddha terminology and yet interested to know the medicines of Siddha system and their preparation, may understand better from this book. It is with this view that even the indications of the medicines in diseases are given in English.
The first 310 pages of the book present the names and details of 226 Siddha medicines. In the following 200 pages, a glossary giving the equivalents in South Indian Languages, Sanskrit and also Hindi is provided. (Total 508 items are listed, starting from “ABRUS” and ending with ‘ZIZYPHUS OENOPLIA”) The Publishers” object is that these common Siddha medicines widely used by the Practitioners of Siddha system may also be known to the Practitioners of other Systems of medicines.
The glossary and the other appendices should first be studied to gain familiarity with the drugs and processes and then the general introductions to each section may be gone through by the readers for making the most out of this book.