This work, published in Barcelona in 1686, is an antidotary or pharmacopoeia that records the art of preparing and using medicines of the time. It was written by the physician Joan d’Alòs, professor of medicine and pharmacy, and representative of the Protomedicato of the Principality of Catalonia, an institution created in the 15th century to oversee the practice of health professions (physicians, surgeons, and pharmacists) as well as to carry out teaching and training functions for these professionals.
Despite the importance of institutions such as the Protomedicato, the “Pharmacopea Cathalana” is considered a non-official pharmacopoeia, since it was not produced in agreement with the College of Apothecaries. Nevertheless, Joan d’Alòs sought to remedy the lack of copies of the third edition of the Concordia, the only reference for nearly a century, and to provide an updated work for the practice of the pharmaceutical profession.