History of biochemistry
The term “biochemistry” itself is derived from the combining form "bio-", meaning "life", and "chemistry". The word is first recorded in English in 1848, while in 1877, Felix Hoppe-Seyler used the term ("Biochemie" in German) in the foreword to the first issue of "Zeitschrift für Physiologische Chemie" (Journal of Physiological Chemistry) as a synonym for physiological chemistry and argued for the setting up of institutes dedicate to its studies. Nevertheless, several sources cite German chemist Carl Neuberg as having coined the term for the new discipline in 1903, and some credit it to Franz Hofmeister.
Iatrochemistry
In 1609, Flemish chemist Jan Baptista van Helmont began a seven-year period of individual research, hoping to explore nature through chemistry, ultimately hoping to replace traditional learning. Van Helmont used chemical methods to study bodily products such as urine and blood. He studied the human body and its functions, and applied his knowledge of "chymistry" as a way of understanding and curing the body. Although he began as a follower of Paracelsus, van Helmont rejected many of his theories, most notably Galenic concept of the macrocosm with microcosm. In addition, van Helmont refused to accept the Paracelsian first principles (sulphur, salt, and mercury) as pre-existent in matter, believing instead that sulphur, salt and mercury were products of reactions that involved heat.