Ethnopharmacology
Encyclopedia
Ethnopharmacology is the scientific study of ethnic groups and their use of drugs.
Ethnopharmacology is distinctly linked to plant use, botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

, as this is the main delivery of pharmaceuticals.

It is also often associated with ethnopharmacy
Ethnopharmacy
Ethnopharmacy is the interdisciplinary science that investigates the perception and use of pharmaceuticals , within a given human society....

. However, ethnopharmacology differs from ethnopharmacy
Ethnopharmacy
Ethnopharmacy is the interdisciplinary science that investigates the perception and use of pharmaceuticals , within a given human society....

 in that it is the biological evaluation of how effective traditional medicine
Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...

s are, whereas ethnopharmacy
Ethnopharmacy
Ethnopharmacy is the interdisciplinary science that investigates the perception and use of pharmaceuticals , within a given human society....

 deals instead with much broader considerations of drug use. These considerations are related to the perception, use, and management of pharmaceuticals within a given human society.

It is also related to pharmacoepidemiology
Pharmacoepidemiology
Pharmacoepidemiology is the study of the use of and the effects of drugs in large numbers of people.To accomplish this study, pharmacoepidemiology borrows from both pharmacology and epidemiology. Thus, pharmacoepidemiology is the bridge between both pharmacology and epidemiology...

.

When investigating a natural product used by a culture as a medicine, it is important that the methods of collection, extraction and preparation are the same or similar to those used by the ethnic group. This is to ensure consistency and legitimacy of the experimentation.

See also

  • Ethnobotany
    Ethnobotany
    Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....

  • Pharmacognosy
    Pharmacognosy
    Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well...

  • Natural product drug discovery
  • Latin American and Caribbean Bulletin of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
    Latin American and Caribbean Bulletin of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
    The Latin American and Caribbean Bulletin of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, or Boletin latinoamericano y del caribe de plantas medicinales y aromaticas is a bimonthly scientific publication directed to diverse professionals and technicians linked to the field of medicinal and aromatic plants...

  • Alain Touwaide
    Alain Touwaide
    Alain Touwaide is a Belgian historian of medicine and sciences currently researching at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C....

  • Christian Rätsch
    Christian Rätsch
    Christian Rätsch is a German writer ethnopharmacology and psychoactive plants and animals. Rätsch is an anthropologist and author. He was born in 1957 in a Bohemian community in Hamburg, Germany. His father was an opera singer, his mother a ballet dancer...


External links

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