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Image of a poppy
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Ethnopharmacology is the study of the medical use of plants, fungi, animals, microorganisms, and minerals throughout different cultures ("Journal of Ethnopharmacology"). The biological and pharmacological effects of these substances are useful in today’s studies as they can provide insight into disease and illness in the cultures they’re used in, but also innovations in industrialized countries and their medical treatments, known as bioprospecting (Ghorbani, Naghibi, Mosaddegh 2006).
The field of ethnopharmacology is centered around understanding how and why traditional societies use these substances (Ghorbani, Naghibi, Mosaddegh 2006). The primary goal of ethnopharmacologists is to understand the purpose of these treatments and how they help the societies in which they are used.
From the use of the Chota-chand plant to treat snake bites among people in the Himalayan Mountains to the use of Peganum harmala L. seeds to treat "evil eye" in the Turkmen Sahra, ethnopharmacology has given scientists as immense amount of valuable information on different treatments and medicines. Ethnopharmacological research has given use drugs like morphine and codeine, derived from the poppy, which are all instrumental in today’s medical systems (Heinrich and Gibbons 2001). In addition to this, it has given us information on the medical implications of Anemone, a flower used to cure stomach issues, whooping cough, and numerous other ailments (Hao et al., 2017). Scientists can use the practices proven to work in traditional societies to develop new knowledge about plants and their uses in medicine. It is important for ethnopharmacologists to also examine how plant-based resources are used in industrialized societies, as it can help the development of new drug production and availability to the general public.
Anthropological concepts create tools that ethnopharmacologists can use to study plants and determine how the plants are studied in a laboratory and clinical setting (Etkin 1993). Scientists can then develop a profile that can be applied to both bioscientific research and traditional knowledge. Ethnopharmacology is based in chemistry, biology, and pharmacology, while combining medical, natural, and social sciences (Reyes-Garcia 2010).
Ethnopharmacology can expand to different fields that have a wide reach in scientific research ("International Society for Ethnopharmacology"). From chemistry and botany to anthropology and economics, the effects of ethnopharmacological sciences are far-reaching. The knowledge that we can learn from the interactions allows us to understand not only plants and their uses but also human life interaction.
Learn More
Recent findings in ethnopharmacology can be found at the Journal of Ethnopharmacology at the link below
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-ethnopharmacology
To get involved with or learn more about ethnopharmacology, visit the International Society of Ethnopharmacology at the link below
https://www.ethnopharmacology.org/index.htm
To learn more about the role of ethnopharmacology in modern society, read this article by Michael Heinrich
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3112271/
To learn about the future of ethnopharmacology, read through this research paper below
https://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C03/E6-79-24.pdf
To learn about an application of ethnopharmacology in Uganda, click here
http://www.ethnopharmacologia.org/prelude2018/pdf/biblio-ht-35-tabuti.pdf
To read about aging and its relation to ethnopharmacology, read below
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1043659615606202
Works Cited:
Etkin, NL. 1993. “Anthropological methods in ethnopharmacology.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 38(2-3): 93-104.
Ghorbani, A; Naghibi, F; Mosaddegh, M. 2006. "Ethnobotany, Ethnopharmacology, and Drug Discovery." Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2(2):109-118
Hao, Da-Cheng, Gu, Xiaojie, and Xiao, Peigen. 2017. "Anemone medicinal plants: ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and biology." Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B
Heinrich, Michael; Gibbons, Simon. 2001. “Ethnopharmacological in drug discovery: an analysis of its role and potential contribution.” Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 53: 425-432.
International Society for Ethnopharmacology. 2019. “International Society for Ethnopharmacology.” Retrieved October 17, 2019 (https://www.ethnopharmacology.org/index.htm).
International Society for Ethnopharmacology. 2019. “Journal of Ethnopharmacology: An Interdisciplinary Journal Devoted to Indigenous Drugs.” Retrieved October 17, 2019 (https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-ethnopharmacology).
Reyes-Garcia, V. 2010. “The relevance of traditional knowledge systems for ethnopharmacological research: theoretical and methodological contributions.” Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 6:32.
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