中国科学院上海药物研究所建于1932年。解放前称国立北平研究院药物研究所,全所人员不到10人,主要从事中草药化学成分的分离提取研究工作。当时无药理及临床的配合协作,所分得的成分,只能根据熔点、元素分析等数据测定分子式,鉴定为已知或未知,而未能发展成为药物。对中药延胡索、钩吻、麻黄等化学成分,曾做了较系统的研究,在当时的历史条件下,在植物化学研究方面,可算具有一定水平。解放后我所归中国科学院领导,称中国科学院药物研究所。在党和政府的关怀下,得到了比较迅速的发展。考虑到必须将我所办成为名副其实的药物研究所,既能结合任务,针对某些疾病和医学问题开展研 Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was established in 1932. Before the liberation, the National Institute of Materia Medica, Peiping Research Institute, had less than 10 employees and was mainly engaged in the research on the separation and extraction of chemical constituents from Chinese herbs. At that time, there were no pharmacological and clinical cooperation, and the components that were obtained could only be determined based on melting points, elemental analysis, and other data, and were identified as known or unknown and failed to develop into drugs. A systematic study of the chemical constituents of traditional Chinese medicines such as Corydalis yanhusuo, hook-knot, and ephedra has been conducted. Under the historical conditions at that time, the research on phytochemistry could be considered to have a certain level. After the liberation, I was led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and called the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Under the care of the party and the government, it has achieved relatively rapid development. Considering that I must be established as a veritable pharmaceutical research institute, it is possible to combine tasks and develop research on certain diseases and medical problems.