Seeking a transdisciplinary and culturally germane science: The future of ethnopharmacology

Revisiting the ethnomedicinal, ethnopharmacological, phytoconstituents and phytoremediation of the plant Solanum viarum Dunal

Solanum viarum, a perennial shrub, belongs to the family Solanaceae known for its therapeutic value worldwide. As a beneficial remedial plant, it is used for treating several disorders like dysentery, diabetes, inflammation, and respiratory disorders. Phytochemistry studies of this plant have shown the presence of steroidal glycoside alkaloids, including solasonine, solasodine, and solamargine. It also has flavonoids, saponins, minerals, and other substances. S. viarum extracts and compounds possess a variety of pharmacological effects, including antipyretic, antioxidant, antibacterial, insecticidal, analgesic, and anticancer activity. Most of the heavy metals accumulate in the aerial sections of the plant which is considered a potential phytoremediation, a highly effective method for the treatment of metal-polluted soils. We emphasize the forgoing outline of S. viarum, as well as its ethnomedicinal and ethnopharmacological applications, the chemistry of its secondary metabolites, and heavy metal toxicity. In addition to describing the antitumor activity of compounds and their mechanisms of action isolated from S. viarum, liabilities are also explained and illustrated, including any significant chemical or metabolic stability and toxicity risks. A comprehensive list of information was compiled from Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science using different key phrases (traditional use, ethnomedicinal plants, western Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, S viarum, and biological activity). According to the findings of this study, we hope that this review will inspire further studies along the drug discovery pathway of the chemicals extracted from the plant of S. viarum. Further, this review shows that ethnopharmacological information from ethnomedicinal plants can be a promising approach to drug discovery for cancer and diabetes.

Medicine in motion: Opportunities, challenges and data analytics-based solutions for traditional medicine integration into western medical practice

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Traditional pharmacopeias have been developed by multiple cultures and evaluated for efficacy and safety through both historical/empirical iteration and more recently through controlled studies using Western scientific paradigms and an increasing emphasis on data science methodologies for network pharmacology. Traditional medicines represent likely sources of relatively inexpensive drugs for symptomatic management as well as potential libraries of new therapeutic approaches. Leveraging this potential requires hard evidence for efficacy that separates science from pseudoscience.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a review of non-Western medical systems and developed case studies that illustrate the epistemological and practical translative barriers that hamper their transition to integration with Western approaches. We developed a new data analytics approach, in silico convergence analysis, to deconvolve modes of action, and potentially predict desirable components of TM-derived formulations based on computational consensus analysis across cultures and medical systems.

RESULTS

Abstraction, simplification and altered dose and delivery modalities were identified as factors that influence actual and perceived efficacy once a medicine is moved from a non-Western to Western setting. Case studies on these factors highlighted issues with translation between non-Western and Western epistemologies, including those where epistemological and medicinal systems drive markets that can be epicenters for zoonoses such as the novel Coronavirus. The proposed novel data science approach demonstrated the ability to identify and predict desirable medicinal components for a test indication, pain.

CONCLUSIONS

Relegation of traditional therapies to the relatively unregulated nutraceutical industry may lead healthcare providers and patients to underestimate the therapeutic potential of these medicines. We suggest three areas of emphasis for this field: First, vertical integration and embedding of traditional medicines into healthcare systems would subject them to appropriate regulation and evidence-based practice, as viable integrative implementation mode. Second, we offer a new Bradford-Hill-like framework for setting research priorities and evaluating efficacy, with the goal of rescuing potentially valuable therapies from the nutraceutical market and discrediting those that are pseudoscience. Third, data analytics pipelines offer new capacity to generate new types of TMS-inspired medicines that are rationally-designed based on integrated knowledge across cultures, and also provide an evaluative framework against which to test claims of fidelity and efficacy to TMS made for nutraceuticals.

Preclinical safety evaluation of the aqueous extract from Mangifera indica Linn. (Anacardiaceae): genotoxic, clastogenic and cytotoxic assessment in experimental models of genotoxicity in rats to predict potential human risks

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Medicinal plants widely used by the population contain significant concentrations of biologically active compounds and, although they have proven pharmacological properties, can cause DNA damage and develop fatal diseases.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study aimed to evaluate the genotoxic, cytotoxic potential and clastogenic effects of the aqueous extract from Mangifera indica leaves (EAMI) on rats submitted to experimental genotoxicity models and through the SMART test performed in Drosophila melanogaster.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The comet assay and the micronucleus test were performed on peripheral and bone marrow blood, respectively, of Wistar rats, orally treated with EAMI at doses of 125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg/bw for 28 days. In the SMART test, the standard cross between three mutant D. melanogaster strains was used. Larvae were treated with EAMI at different concentrations, and the wings of adult flies were evaluated for the presence/frequency of mutant spots and compared to the negative control group.

RESULTS

Phytochemical analysis of EAMI indicated high levels of flavonoids. The tests performed in rats showed that EAMI did not present significant genotoxic or clastogenic effects. The results showed a critical dose-dependent cytoprotective effect exerted by EAMI. This result was attributed to the high content of polyphenols and flavonoids. The biotransformation metabolites of EAMI did not present genotoxic activity, as demonstrated by the SMART test.

CONCLUSIONS

These results are relevant since they provide safety information about a plant species of great therapeutic, economical, nutritious and ethnopharmacological value for the population.

The rise of medicalization of plants in Brazil: A temporal perspective on vernacular names

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Brazilian plant species used in folk medicine have acquired several popular names related to commercial medicines in recent decades. This fact has directly effect to the medicalization process.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Evaluate the rise of medicalized popular names of medicinal plants in Brazil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medicalized popular names of medicinal plants were recorded from 314 ethnobotanical articles in eleven scientific journals published between 1980 and 2017.

RESULTS

The review included 141 ethnobotanical articles containing medicalized names from 314 articles consulted. The presence of medicalized names in Brazilian ethnobotanical studies has increased significantly since the 2000s. A total of 85 medicalized popular names were recorded according with phonetic and graphical similarity. The most cited medicalized names were Anador, Insulin, Terramycin, Vick, Novalgin and Penicillin. The prevalence of medicalized name citations in ethnobotanical surveys over non-medicalized names for several species indicates the existence of medicalized plant species.

CONCLUSION

Since the 2000s, an increasing number of ethnobotanical studies revealed the appropriation of drug names by folk medicine through the changes of vernacular names of medicinal plants. This medicalization process is mostly related to the expansion of the Brazilian Unified Health System, pharmaceutical industry marketing and Non-Governmental Organizations in the last decades.

Taste of phytocompounds: A better predictor for ethnopharmacological activities of medicinal plants than the phytochemical class?

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Understanding the patterns that shape traditional medical knowledge is essential for accelerating ethnopharmacological progress. According to Ayurveda, medicinal plants that belong to different taxa, but which have similar taste, may display similar (ethno)pharmacological activities (EPAs) (Bhishagratna, 1998; Sharma and Dash, 2006).

AIM OF THE STUDY

To understand the patterns that govern the distribution of herbal EPAs in Ayurveda and to evaluate the potential concordance between chemical class or taste of the constituent phytocompounds and EPAs.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A mixed database (PhytoMolecularTasteDB) was constructed for Ayurvedic medicinal plants by integrating modern data (medicinal plant composition, phytochemical taste) with traditional data (ethnopharmacological activities of plant). PhytoMolecularTasteDB contains 431 Ayurvedic medicinal plants, 94 EPAs, 223 chemical classes of phytocompounds and 438 herbal tastants. Potential global or individual associations between chemical classes/taste of the phytoconstituents and EPAs were statistically analyzed.

RESULTS

There was no global statistical correlation between the various chemical classes of phytocompounds and EPAs, although there were several individual correlations. The results suggest the existence of a global statistical correlation (besides several individual correlations) between the plant "molecular taste" (various taste-based classes of phytocompounds) and EPAs.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that phytochemical taste may be more relevant than chemical class for EPAs prediction.

Ethnoveterinary perspectives and promising future

In this review, we have discussed the recent potential effects of plants and their derivatives in treating diseases of veterinary importance in livestock. The therapeutic value of these natural products depends upon their bioactive metabolites that are developed and isolated from crude plants, thus produced a selective action on the body. The crises of drug resistance in most pathogenic bacteria and parasites that cause economic loss in animals necessitate developing new sources for drugs to overcome therapeutic failure. We summarized the different antibacterial and antiparasitic plants with their bioactive compounds that have widely used in animals. Finally, the environmental friendly feed additives that may be used as alternatives to an antibiotic growth promoter for broiler chickens were illustrated.

Technological Innovation Research in China and India: A Bibliometric Analysis for the Period 1991–2015

Although a substantial literature on the management of technological innovation exists, several scholars argue that much of this research has been rooted in Western contexts, where key assumptions are very different from those in emerging economies. Building on this viewpoint, we investigate the current state of knowledge on technological innovation in two of the largest and fastest growing emerging economies: China and India. We undertook a bibliometric analysis of author keywords and combined different quantitative approaches – frequency analysis, cluster analysis, and co-word analysis – to review 162 articles on technological innovation published about China and India for the period 1991–2015. From the analyses, the trends in technological innovation research in the two countries and the dominant themes of discussion were identified. These themes were further classified into eight sub-themes. Our key findings indicate a near absence of research on the management of technological innovation based on India, limited volume of research on indigenous aspects of innovation, and a lack of theory-building based on these countries’ contexts. Several suggestions for future research are offered based on the gaps identified.

Antimicrobial activity of Nigerian medicinal plants

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is currently one of the major threats facing mankind. The emergence and rapid spread of multi- and pan-drug-resistant organisms (such as vancomycin-, methicillin-, extended-spectrum β-lactam-, carbapenem- and colistin-resistant organisms) has put the world in a dilemma. The health and economic burden associated with AMR on a global scale are dreadful. Available antimicrobials have been misused and are almost ineffective with some of these drugs associated with dangerous side effects in some individuals. Development of new, effective, and safe antimicrobials is one of the ways by which AMR burden can be reduced. The rate at which microorganisms develop AMR mechanisms outpaces the rate at which new antimicrobials are being developed. Medicinal plants are potential sources of new antimicrobial molecules. There is renewed interest in antimicrobial activities of phytochemicals. Nigeria boasts of a huge heritage of medicinal plants and there is avalanche of researches that have been undertaken to screen antimicrobial activities of these plants. Scientific compilation of these studies could provide useful information on the antimicrobial properties of the plants. This information can be useful in the development of new antimicrobial drugs. This paper reviews antimicrobial researches that have been undertaken on Nigerian medicinal plants.

Maya phytomedicine in Guatemala - Can cooperative research change ethnopharmacological paradigms?

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

This paper presents one of the first large-scale collaborative research projects in ethnopharmacology, to bring together indigenous stakeholders and scientists both in project design and execution. This approach has often been recommended but rarely put into practice. The study was carried out in two key indigenous areas of Guatemala, for which very little ethnopharmacological fieldwork has been published.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To document and characterize the ethno-pharmacopoeias of the Kaqchikel (highlands) and Q'eqchi' (lowlands) Maya in a transdisciplinary collaboration with the two groups Councils of Elders.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The project is embedded in a larger collaboration with five Councils of Elders representing important indigenous groups in Guatemala, two of which participated in this study. These suggested healing experts reputed for their phytotherapeutic knowledge and skills. Ethnobotanical fieldwork was carried out over 20 months, accompanied by a joint steering process and validation workshops. The field data were complemented by literature research and were aggregated using a modified version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and Trotter & Logan's consensus index.

RESULTS

Similar numbers of species were collected in the two areas, with a combined total of 530 species. This total does not represent all of the species used for medicinal purposes. Remedies for the digestive system, the central nervous system & behavioral syndromes, and general tissue problems & infections were most frequent in both areas. Furthermore, remedies for the blood, immune & endocrine system are frequent in the Kaqchikel area, and remedies for the reproductive system are frequent in the Q'eqchi' area. Consensus factors are however low. The Kaqchikel, in contrast to the Q'eqchi', report more remedies for non-communicable illnesses. They also rely heavily on introduced species.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The transdisciplinary research design facilitated scientifically rigorous and societally relevant large-scale fieldwork, which is clearly beneficial to indigenous collaborators. It provided access and built trust as prerequisites for assembling the largest comparative ethnopharmacological collection, vastly extending knowledge on Maya phytotherapy. The collection represents knowledge of the two groups' most reputed herbalists and is a representative selection of the Guatemalan medicinal flora. ICD-10 proved useful for making broad comparisons between the groups, but more refined approaches would be necessary for other research objectives. Knowledge in the two areas is highly diverse and seems fragmented. New approaches are required to assess how coherent Maya phytotherapy is. The documented 'traditional' ethno-pharmacopoeias demonstrate dynamic change and acculturation, reflecting the two linguistic groups' sociocultural history and context. This highlights the adaptive potential of phyto-therapeutic knowledge and calls the equation of local indigenous pharmacopoeias with 'traditional' medicine into question. We suggest using the term 'local' pharmacopoeias, and reserving the term 'traditional' for the study of indigenous pharmacopoeias with a clear delineation of ancient knowledge.

Perceptions and uses of plants for reproductive health among traditional midwives in Ecuador: moving towards intercultural pharmacological practices

Despite the fact that plants have played an important role in midwifery in many cultures, there are very few in-depth studies on the plants traditionally used by midwives. The aim of this study is to analyse the perceptions and the uses of medicinal plants for reproductive health among indigenous midwives in the city of Otavalo, Ecuador. The article also aims to analyse the perceptions of traditional midwives regarding allopathic drugs for reproductive health and their possible overlapping uses of medicinal plants and allopathic drugs. The data are drawn from an ethnographic study carried out in Ecuador. In total, 20 traditional midwives have been interviewed. Individual and in-depth interviews also took place with a sample of 35 women as well as with five nurses and two doctors working at San Luis Hospital in Otavalo. The study shows that cultural health management and the incorporation of the beliefs and practices relating to women's reproductive health can represent a starting point towards the search for more successful strategies in reproductive health.

Challenges in developing medicinal plant databases for sharing ethnopharmacological knowledge

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Major research contributions in ethnopharmacology have generated vast amount of data associated with medicinal plants. Computerized databases facilitate data management and analysis making coherent information available to researchers, planners and other users. Web-based databases also facilitate knowledge transmission and feed the circle of information exchange between the ethnopharmacological studies and public audience. However, despite the development of many medicinal plant databases, a lack of uniformity is still discernible. Therefore, it calls for defining a common standard to achieve the common objectives of ethnopharmacology.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study is to review the diversity of approaches in storing ethnopharmacological information in databases and to provide some minimal standards for these databases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Survey for articles on medicinal plant databases was done on the Internet by using selective keywords. Grey literatures and printed materials were also searched for information. Listed resources were critically analyzed for their approaches in content type, focus area and software technology.

RESULTS

Necessity for rapid incorporation of traditional knowledge by compiling primary data has been felt. While citation collection is common approach for information compilation, it could not fully assimilate local literatures which reflect traditional knowledge. Need for defining standards for systematic evaluation, checking quality and authenticity of the data is felt. Databases focussing on thematic areas, viz., traditional medicine system, regional aspect, disease and phytochemical information are analyzed. Issues pertaining to data standard, data linking and unique identification need to be addressed in addition to general issues like lack of update and sustainability. In the background of the present study, suggestions have been made on some minimum standards for development of medicinal plant database.

CONCLUSION

In spite of variations in approaches, existence of many overlapping features indicates redundancy of resources and efforts. As the development of global data in a single database may not be possible in view of the culture-specific differences, efforts can be given to specific regional areas. Existing scenario calls for collaborative approach for defining a common standard in medicinal plant database for knowledge sharing and scientific advancement.

Novel use patterns of Salvia divinorum: unobtrusive observation using YouTube™

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE AND AIMS: The traditional use of the Hallucinogenic sage, Salvia divinorum has been of ethnopharmalogical interest for some time. This plant, endemic to Oaxaca Mexico and traditionally used by the Mazatec, is now utilized worldwide for its psychoactive effects. This use demonstrates a novel use pattern which is distinctly different from Mazatec use. This study offers a new methodology to study emerging global plant use and assesses the users' experience with it. The aim of this research was to develop a new methodology to collect and analyze archived data on the World Wide Web, specifically videos which depict Salvia divinorum use.

METHODS

The basis of the methodology for this project was unobtrusive observation which allows the researcher to observe without influencing the event which is being observed. Qualitative, ethnographic data was used in conjunction with quantitative meta data collected by a customized web crawler programed to archive YouTube™ data.

RESULTS

Using this methodology enabled us to understand reported uses and the users' experiences as expressed on the World Wide Web. The main result of this research was the documentation of a distinct, novel use pattern of Salvia divinorum which has developed outside of Oaxaca; a use pattern which differs in a number of ways from traditional, Mazatec use. The majority of the YouTube™ videos analyzed were found to present indications of a positive Salvia divinorum experience. This result highlighted the contradiction between ethnographic data and what is reported by the media. Finally the representation of Salvia divinorum on YouTube™ (and by inference the WWW as a whole) is a growing phenomena.

CONCLUSIONS

While anthropological and more specifically medico-anthropological research has, for many years, embraced the dynamics of cultures, until recently, ethnopharmalogical research has generally focused on 'traditional' plant use, failing to capture the dynamic elements of plant/human interaction and framing research in the past or as decontextualized largely descriptive reports. Global migration and urban environments formed a basis for looking at the interplay of continuity and change. Such cultural dynamics are exacerbated by the opportunities which the WWW offers.

Documentation and quantitative analysis of the local knowledge on medicinal plants among traditional Siddha healers in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu, India

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

India has a population with high degree of medical pluralism. Siddha system of Indian traditional medicine is practiced dominantly by the people in Tamil Nadu. The traditionally trained Siddha healers still play an important role in the rural health care. Their knowledge is comparatively more vulnerable than the documented traditional knowledge. Thus, the present study was aimed to document and quantitatively analyze the local knowledge of the traditional Siddha healers in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu, India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The results presented in this paper are the outcome of series of interviews conducted between January and August, 2010 consisting of 196 field days. After getting prior informed consent, interviews were conducted and successive free-listing was used in the interviews in order to make informants cite the medicinal plants that they have used. By this way 96 healers were interviewed and their data were quantitatively analyzed using various indices such as Informant Consensus Factor (F(ic)), Fidelity Level (FL), Informant Agreement on Remedies (IAR) and Cultural Importance Index (CII).

RESULTS

This study recorded the ethno-medicinal usage of 227 species which were used to prepare 611 formulations for the treatment of 36 illness categories. The knowledge holders had the experience of minimum 20 years. There was unevenness in male-female ratio. Regarding the medicinal plants, easily available plants were holding significantly high number of citations, IAR and CII values. Nine illness categories had a high F(ic) value, compared to others. Species with high citations in these groups were Moringa oleifera (aphrodisiacs), Acalypha indica (dermatological ailments), Dodonaea viscosa (musculo-skeletal disorders), Solanum trilobatum (pulmonary ailments), Phyllanthus amarus (jaundice), Piper nigrum (adjuvant) Allium cepa (hemorrhoids), Azadirachta indica (antiseptic) and Tribulus terrestris (urinary ailments).

CONCLUSION

Quantitative analysis of the data had revealed that the easily available species hold a high consensus and cultural importance. Future biomedical studies using the medicinal plants enumerated in this study, particularly those with high number of citations and high F(ic) values might yield some novel prototypes. Such studies will also be useful to assess the efficacy and safety of these herbal treatments to take decisions on the health care of rural India.

Bridging the "two cultures" in ethnopharmacology: barriers against interdisciplinarity in postgraduate education

As significant contributors to the generation, dissemination and publication of scientific knowledge, graduate students have considerable leverage on publication trends and the future direction of ethnopharmacology. The rigid discipline-oriented framework of academia is often cited as responsible for impeding interdisciplinarity, particularly for fields such as ethnopharmacology which span both the natural and social science domains. Funding opportunities, funding eligibility periods, time-to-degree patterns and departmental expectations and requirements for graduate students enrolled in the natural sciences are considerably different than for those in the social sciences. Consequently, adequate acquisition of ethnographic data is often compromised. Encouraging students to think across disciplines, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and flexibility in regards to the time and financial constraints imposed by departments and funding agencies would increase the likelihood of contextualizing bioscientific data with adequate traditional empirical knowledge, and ultimately embrace the core objectives on which the JEP was conceived.

The future is written: impact of scripts on the cognition, selection, knowledge and transmission of medicinal plant use and its implications for ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology

AIM OF THE STUDY

Apart from empirically learned medicinal and pharmacological properties, the selection of medicinal plants is dependent on cognitive features, ecological factors and cultural history. In literate societies the transmission of medicinal plant knowledge through texts and, more recently, other media containing local as well as non-local knowledge has a more immediate and a more prolonged effect than oral transmission. Therefore, I try to visualize how field based studies in ethnobiology and especially medical ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology run the risk of repeating information and knowledge and illustrate the importance of differentiating and acknowledging the origin, transmission and rationale of plant use made by humans.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Reviewing literature dealing with the traditional parameters (e.g. hot/cold dichotomy, organoleptic properties, doctrine of signatures) influencing the selection and transmission of plant use in a juxtaposition to our recent finding of causal influence of text on local plant use. Discussing the passing down of knowledge by text as a special case of oblique/one-to-many knowledge transmission.

RESULTS

Historical texts on materia medica, popular books on plant use, clinical studies, and informants of ethnobotanical field studies generate a circle of information and knowledge, which progressively conditions the results of ethnobotanical field studies. While text reporting on phytotherapeutical trends may cause innovation through the introduction of "new" applications to local customs, persistently repeating well established folk remedies leads to the consolidation of such uses adding a conservative dimension to a local pharmacopoeia, which might not actually be there to that extent.

CONCLUSIONS

Such a "shaping" of what might appear to be the results of a field investigation is clearly outside the ordinary principles of scientific enquiry. The traditional pillars of ethnobotanical field studies - that is, "input to drug discovery" and "conservation of cultural heritage" - are also incompatible with this process. Ethnobotancial field studies aimed at a contribution to natural products research and/or the conservation of cultural heritage, as well as those aimed at an assessment and validation of local pharmacopoeias should differentiate between local plant use and widespread as well as modern knowledge reported in popular textbooks and scientific literature.

From the field into the lab: useful approaches to selecting species based on local knowledge

Ethnopharmacological field studies are indispensable for identifying plants that can be selected for their pharmacological effects and chemical composition. Although the subjective interpretation of results by the researcher is crucial, quantitative data analysis is a useful tool to identify the most promising pharmacological plants. It has been stated that such semi-quantitative information increases the likelihood of finding promising ethnopharmacological leads, but so far no critical review has assessed what standards best meet the requirements of biomedical research. Systematic database searches using SCOPUS, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, Science Citation Index, and Medline with the keywords “ethnobotany,” “ethnopharmacology,” “index,” and “consensus” in research from the last 5 years form the basis of the current analysis, which identifies particularly useful tools like factor of informant consensus, fidelity level, use-value, and relative importance. A key feature for further field studies is that they should provide clear information on a range of topics like; detailed data of the importance of these resources within a culture, data of the uses of the species, how and where the plants are collected, drying and storage processes, preparation method, used doses, and administration. In addition, they must include a collection of records about how the people feel after the plant use, disappearance of specific symptoms and possible side effects.

Medicinal Plants Used in Mapuche Traditional Medicine in Araucanía, Chile: Linking Sociocultural and Religious Values with Local Heath Practices

The vast majority of the medicinal plants in Chile have been studied from a pharmacological point of view. These studies, although giving important insights into the understanding of the Mapuche’s traditional medicine in terms of the therapeutical value of the plants, fail, however, to portray the numerous sociocultural and symbolic aspects of this form of medicine. This article aims to overcome this shortcoming by analyzing the sociocultural and religious values of medicinal plants among the Mapuche’s rural communities in Araucanía, Chile, as well as their role in traditional medicine. The methods utilized combined participant observation with individual interviews with local shamans (machi) and villagers. Data from free-list interviews and conversations with research participants were used to develop a series of semi-structured interview questions on knowledge of herbal medicines and plants. Data show that the therapeutic efficacy of Mapuche medicine is not only based on ‘‘active agents’’ but is also related to the symbolic and religious meaning attributed to the treatments by healers and patients. The article concludes that in order to fully understand the therapeutic efficacy of the plants, it is thus necessary to comprehend the sociocultural context in which they are used.

The relevance of traditional knowledge systems for ethnopharmacological research: theoretical and methodological contributions

BACKGROUND

Ethnopharmacology is at the intersection of the medical, natural, and social sciences. Despite its interdisciplinary nature, most ethnopharmacological research has been based on the combination of the chemical, biological, and pharmacological sciences. Far less attention has been given to the social sciences, including anthropology and the study of traditional knowledge systems.

METHODS

I reviewed the literature on traditional knowledge systems highlighting its potential theoretical and methodological contributions to ethnopharmacology.

RESULTS

I discuss three potential theoretical contributions of traditional knowledge systems to ethnopharmacological research. First, while many plants used in indigenous pharmacopoeias have active compounds, those compounds do not always act alone in indigenous healing systems. Research highlights the holistic nature of traditional knowledge systems and helps understand plant's efficacy in its cultural context. Second, research on traditional knowledge systems can improve our understanding of how ethnopharmacological knowledge is distributed in a society, and who benefits from it. Third, research on traditional knowledge systems can enhance the study of the social relations that enable the generation, maintenance, spread, and devolution of cultural traits and innovations, including ethnopharmacological knowledge. At a methodological level, some ethnopharmacologists have used anthropological tools to understand the context of plant use and local meanings of health and disease. I discuss two more potential methodological contributions of research on traditional knowledge systems to ethnopharmacological research. First, traditional knowledge systems research has developed methods that would help ethnopharmacologists understand how people classify illnesses and remedies, a fundamental aspect of folk medicinal plant selection criteria. Second, ethnopharmacologists could also borrow methods derived from cultural consensus theory to have a broader look at intracultural variation and at the analysis of transmission and loss of traditional ethnopharmacological knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

Ethical considerations in the ethnopharmacology of the 21st century should go beyond the recognition of the Intellectual Property Rights or the acquisition of research permits, to include considerations on the healthcare of the original holders of ethnopharmacological knowledge. Ethnopharmacology can do more than speed up to recover the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples to make it available for the development of new drugs. Ethnopharmacologists can work with health care providers in the developing world for the local implementation of ethnopharmacological research results.

How scientific is the science in ethnopharmacology? Historical perspectives and epistemological problems

This commentary is based on a general concern regarding the low level of self-criticism (-evaluation) in the interpretation of molecular pharmacological data published in ethnopharmacology-related journals. Reports on potentially new lead structures or pharmacological effects of medicinal plant extracts are mushrooming. At the same time, nonsense in bioassays is an increasing phenomenon in herbal medicine research. Only because a dataset is reproducible does not imply that it is meaningful. Currently, there are thousands of claims of pharmacological effects of medicinal plants and natural products. It is argued that claims to knowledge in ethnopharmacology, as in the exact sciences, should be rationally criticized if they have empirical content as it is the case with biochemical and pharmacological analyses. Here the major problem is the misemployment of the concentration-effect paradigm and the overinterpretation of data obtained in vitro. Given the almost exponential increase of scientific papers published it may be the moment to adapt to a falsificationist methodology.

Extending the temporal context of ethnobotanical databases: the case study of the Campania region (southern Italy)

BACKGROUND

Ethnobotanical studies generally describe the traditional knowledge of a territory according to a "hic et nunc" principle. The need of approaching this field also embedding historical data has been frequently acknowledged. With their long history of civilization some regions of the Mediterranean basin seem to be particularly suited for an historical approach to be adopted. Campania, a region of southern Italy, has been selected for a database implementation containing present and past information on plant uses.

METHODS

A relational database has been built on the basis of information gathered from different historical sources, including diaries, travel accounts, and treatises on medicinal plants, written by explorers, botanists, physicians, who travelled in Campania during the last three centuries. Moreover, ethnobotanical uses described in historical herbal collections and in Ancient and Medieval texts from the Mediterranean Region have been included in the database.

RESULTS

1672 different uses, ranging from medicinal, to alimentary, ceremonial, veterinary, have been recorded for 474 species listed in the data base. Information is not uniformly spread over the Campanian territory; Sannio being the most studied geographical area and Cilento the least one. About 50 plants have been continuously used in the last three centuries in the cure of the same affections. A comparison with the uses reported for the same species in Ancient treatises shows that the origin of present ethnomedicine from old learned medical doctrines needs a case-by-case confirmation.

CONCLUSION

The database is flexible enough to represent a useful tool for researchers who need to store and compare present and previous ethnobotanical uses from Mediterranean Countries.

Antimicrobial activity of South African medicinal plants

This paper reviews the antimicrobial research undertaken on South African medicinal plants during the period 1997-2008. Antimicrobial methods (disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), bio-autography) are briefly discussed and an analysis of the publications reviewed indicates that the majority of papers use MIC assays for antimicrobial determination. Antimicrobial investigations on extracts are presented where the most active plants are identified from screening publications. A summary of some bioactive compounds are given with data restricted to papers reporting quantitative antimicrobial activity equivalent to or below 200 microg/ml. Antimicrobial activities on the essential oils of indigenous medicinal aromatic plants are also reviewed. An overview is given on what activities (extracts, compounds and oils) should be considered noteworthy for publication. Studies focusing on geographical ethnobotany, specific pathogenesis, formulation aspects and in vivo investigations are examined. Future recommendations to consider include pathogen selection, interactive studies and dosage administrations.

First comprehensive contribution to medical ethnobotany of Western Pyrenees

BACKGROUND

An ethnobotanical and medical study was carried out in the Navarre Pyrenees, an area known both for its high biological diversity and its cultural significance. As well as the compilation of an ethnopharmacological catalogue, a quantitative ethnobotanical comparison has been carried out in relation to the outcomes from other studies about the Pyrenees. A review of all drugs used in the area has also been carried out, through a study of the monographs published by the institutions and organizations responsible for the safety and efficacy of medicinal plants (WHO, ESCOP, and the E Commission of the German Department of Health) in order to ascertain the extent to which the Navarre Pyrenees ethnopharmacology has been officially evaluated.

METHODS

Fieldwork was carried out over two years, from November 2004 to December 2006. During that time we interviewed 88 local people in 40 villages. Information was collected using semi-structured ethnobotanical interviews and the data was analyzed using quantitative indexes: Ethnobotonicity Index, Shannon-Wiener's Diversity, Equitability and The Informant Consensus Factor. The official review has been performed using the official monographs published by the WHO, ESCOP and the E Commission of the German Department of Health.

RESULTS

The ethnobotanical and medical catalogue of the Navarre Pyrenees Area comprises 92 species, of which 39 have been mentioned by at least three interviewees. The quantitative ethnobotany results show lower values than those found in other studies about the Pyrenees; and 57.6% of the Pyrenees medical ethnobotany described does not figure in documents published by the above mentioned institutions.

CONCLUSION

The results show a reduction in the ethnobotanical and medical knowledge in the area of study, when compared to other studies carried out in the Pyrenees. Nevertheless, the use of several species that may be regarded as possible sources for pharmacological studies is reported here such as the bark of Sambucus nigra, the roots of Fragaria vesca, or the leaves of Scrophularia nodosa. These species are not currently approved by the WHO, ESCOP and the E Commission of the German Department of Health, institutions that, apart from encouraging the greater use of plants for medicinal purposes, may help in the design of development plans for these rural areas by validating their traditional medicine.

Hypoglycemic effect of Tournefortia hirsutissima L., on n-streptozotocin diabetic rats

The hypoglycemic effect of aqueous and butanolic extracts from Tournefortia hirsutissima (Boraginaceae) was determined on neonatal induced streptozotocin diabetic rats (n-STZ). Oral administration of water extracts at doses of 20 and 80mg/kg, and butanolic extracts (8 and 80mg/kg) significantly lowered the plasma glucose levels in diabetic rats within 3h. Glibenclamide was used as reference and showed similar hypoglycemic effect. Our results support the traditional use of the plant as a hypoglycemic agent; we observe a dose-dependent action of the extracts. HPLC analysis confirmed that the aqueous and butanolic extracts had the same chemical composition.

Does the taste matter? Taste and medicinal perceptions associated with five selected herbal drugs among three ethnic groups in West Yorkshire, Northern England

In recent years, diverse scholars have addressed the issue of the chemosensory perceptions associated with traditional medicines, nevertheless there is still a distinct lack of studies grounded in the social sciences and conducted from a cross-cultural, comparative perspective. In this urban ethnobotanical field study, 254 informants belonging to the Gujarati, Kashmiri and English ethnic groups and living in Western Yorkshire in Northern England were interviewed about the relationship between taste and medicinal perceptions of five herbal drugs, which were selected during a preliminary study. The herbal drugs included cinnamon (the dried bark of Cinnamomum verum, Lauraceae), mint (the leaves of Mentha spp., Lamiaceae), garlic (the bulbs of Allium sativum, Alliaceae), ginger (the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, Zingiberaceae), and cloves (the dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, Myrtaceae). The main cross-cultural differences in taste perceptions regarded the perception the perception of the spicy taste of ginger, garlic, and cinnamon, of the bitter taste of ginger, the sweet taste of mint, and of the sour taste of garlic. The part of the study of how the five selected herbal drugs are perceived medicinally showed that TK (Traditional Knowledge) is widespread among Kashmiris, but not so prevalent among the Gujarati and especially the English samples. Among Kashmiris, ginger was frequently considered to be helpful for healing infections and muscular-skeletal and digestive disorders, mint was chosen for healing digestive and respiratory troubles, garlic for blood system disorders, and cinnamon was perceived to be efficacious for infectious diseases. Among the Gujarati and Kashmiri groups there was evidence of a strong link between the bitter and spicy tastes of ginger, garlic, cloves, and cinnamon and their perceived medicinal properties, whereas there was a far less obvious link between the sweet taste of mint and cinnamon and their perceived medicinal properties, although the link did exist among some members of the Gujarati group. Data presented in this study show how that links between taste perceptions and medicinal uses of herbal drugs may be understood as bio-cultural phenomena rooted in human physiology, but also constructed through individual experiences and culture, and that these links can therefore be quite different across diverse cultures.

Analyzing factors that influence the folk use and phytonomy of 18 medicinal plants in Navarra

BACKGROUND

This article analyzes whether the distribution or area of use of 18 medicinal plants is influenced by ecological and cultural factors which might account for their traditional use and/or phytonymy in Navarra. This discussion may be helpful for comparative studies, touching as it does on other ethnopharmacological issues: a) which cultural and ecological factors affect the selection of medicinal plants; b) substitutions of medicinal plants in popular medicine; c) the relation between local nomenclature and uses. To analyze these questions, this paper presents an example of a species used for digestive disorders (tea and camomile: Jasonia glutinosa, J. tuberosa, Sideritis hyssopifolia, Bidens aurea, Chamaemelum nobile, Santolina chamaecyparissus...), high blood pressure (Rhamnus alaternus, Olea europaea...) or skin diseases (Hylotelephium maximum, H. telephium, Anagallis arvensis, A. foemina).

METHODS

Fieldwork began on January 2004 and continued until December 2006. During that time we interviewed 505 informants in 218 locations in Navarra. Information was collected using semi-structured ethnobotanical interviews, and we subsequently made maps using Arc-View 8.0 program to determine the area of use of each taxon. Each map was then compared with the bioclimatic and linguistic map of Navarra, using the soil and ethnographic data for the region, and with other ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies carried out in Europe.

RESULTS

The results clearly show that ecological and cultural factors influence the selection of medicinal plants in this region. Climate and substrate are the most important ecological factors that influence the distribution and abundance of plants, which are the biological factors that affect medicinal plant selection.

CONCLUSION

The study of edaphological and climatological factors, on the one hand, and culture, on the other, can help us to understand why a plant is replaced by another one for the same purposes, either in the same or in a different area. In many cases, the cultural factor means that the use of a species is more widespread than its ecological distribution. This may also explain the presence of synonyms and polysemies which are useful for discussing ethnopharmacological data.

Insect management products from Malian traditional medicine--establishing systematic criteria for their identification

In material-resource poor countries like Mali, traditional practices incorporate the use of plants for medicinal purposes. Ethnobotanical research has documented traditional uses of plants, while concomitant studies by natural product chemists, ethnobotanists, and microbiologists have verified the efficacy of using traditional medicinal plants that have proven antimicrobial activity. These plants may also be used to protect agricultural crops pre-harvest and post-harvest from insect herbivory. In Mali, subsistence farmers, regional scientists, and extension specialists rely on local plants for many medicinal needs and are amenable to using traditional plant materials for insect pest management. The goal of this research was to develop Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies using Malian traditional medicine as a discovery lead. The discovery premise was based on identifying plants through a matrix approach utilizing agricultural scientists, traditional practitioners, and subsistence farmers. We hypothesized that plants used in traditional medicine with antimicrobial activity lead to potential insect pest management agents. To test our hypothesis, we developed a four-step process for selecting Malian plant species. Seven criteria were selected to create a systematic matrix to identify the most promising plant materials for practical, affordable, ecologically-sound insect management by Malian farmers. In the first step of the process, we developed a list of 294 medicinal Malian plant species which were evaluated using the matrix. Sixty-seven plant species met our main criteria. After the environmental soundness of these species was evaluated using four minor criteria, 50 species emerged from this pre-chemical, pre-bioassay process for further consideration in IPM programs in Mali.

Brazilian plants with possible action on the central nervous system: a study of historical sources from the 16th to 19th century

Brazil is a country rich in biodiversity, endemism, and cultural diversity, inhabited by different types of population. European expeditions and the migratory processes that began in the 16th century greatly contributed both to cultural diversity and to Brazilian popular therapeutics, and produced the first records on medicinal plants in Brazil. This study comprises a bibliographical survey of historic books found in Sao Paulo libraries (16th through 19th centuries) on medicinal plants exerting effects on the central nervous system (CNS). Thirty-four plants native to Brazil were selected from the reading of the books. Of these 34 plants, 13 were also recorded in ethnopharmacological studies among modern Brazilian communities and 16 have been studied phytochemically. Only eight have been the object of pharmacological studies, six of these, recently, with a request for a patent. Results showed that most of the species recorded in this study have been reported as medicinal for centuries, but have never been the object of pharmacological investigation down to the present time. Such results provide ideas for a selection of these species as potentially bioactive to be included in future pharmacological studies.

Mexican migrant ethnopharmacology: pharmacopoeia, classification of medicines and explanations of efficacy

This paper describes the ethnopharmacological knowledge of women in an urban Mexican migrant community in Athens, GA, USA. Data were collected using free-list, pile-sort and semi-structured interviews. The pharmacopoeia of this community includes herbal remedies, over-the-counter medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and prescription medicines. Multi-dimensional scaling analysis of pile-sort data revealed that Mexican women living in Athens classify medicines into four categories: herbal remedies, salves, pastillas (pills-both prescription and non-prescription) and other commercial preparations. Herbal remedies are viewed as natural and safe while pastillas are thought to be dangerous and potentially addictive. Comparisons of Mexican explanations for the actions of five medicines (Matricaria recutita L. [Asteraceae], Mentha spp. L. [Lamiaceae], Ruta spp. L. [Rutaceae], Ocimum basilicum L. [Lamiaceae] and paracetemol) with the pharmacological literature show several similarities and confirm that migrant women use these medicines effectively. Mexican migrant women use medicinal plants in combination with commercially produced medicines, but most have a strong preference for the herbal remedies that they make themselves, over drugs prescribed by physicians. Some of their descriptions of the actions of medicines are supported by the pharmacological literature, but ethnopharmacologists have not fully investigated all of the attributes that migrant women ascribe to them.

Ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology--interdisciplinary links with the historical sciences

In this paper we use three disparate examples to highlight the relevance of historical methods in the context of ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology. Unfortunately, in ethnopharmacology we have only very few examples where such historical depth is possible. On the other hand the first hand data available through ethnopharmacological research, may be of relevance for interpreting historical information. Three distinct methods were used successfully in the retrospective exploration of diachronic data. In order to gain an insight into historical developments in the use of plant species and evolution of pharmacopoeias we used a botanico-historical approach (Rosmarinus officinalis), one that combines linguistic and statistical methods (Popoluca/Mixe), and one that uses historical documentary evidence (Ch'orti). We hope that this methodological discussion encourages a wider use of such historical methods in ethnopharmacology and related areas of research.

Survey of medical ethnobotanicals for dental and oral medicine conditions and pathologies

Ethnomedical questionnaires were distributed in Chicago, Costa Rica, and Colombia to identify the most common over-the-counter (OTC) plant or plant-based products advocated for treating oral pain, ulcerative conditions, and cancer within these locations. Over 100 plants or plant-based herbal preparations and commercial products, purchased from local botanical markets and pharmacies, were advocated for the treatment of oral medicine conditions. Locally familiar and common language names were attributed to the plant products at the time of purchase. Plant products or plant-based commercial products containing plant-based essential oils, anesthetic constituents, and or chemical compounds recommended as OTC oral medicine preparations were systematized, tabulated, and correlated with the published phytotherapeutic literature. Though pharmacognostic research is available for some of the species collected, further ethnographic research is needed to correlate common names with the accurate taxonomic identification for each plant species. Furthermore, epidemiological research is needed to verify the use and standardized dosage for OTC ethnomedicine preparations for oral medicine conditions. Pharmacognostic research and clinical trails which can verify taxonomy, dose, safety, active principles, and efficacy of these OTC oral medicine products must be enhanced in order to verify the claimed validity in contemporary, global, oral medicine practice.

Disappearing, displaced, and undervalued: a call to action for Indigenous health worldwide

"What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and peculiarities, by eliminating different civilisations and cultures, progress weakens life and favours death. The ideal of a single civilisation for everyone implicit in the cult of progress and technique, impoverishes and mutilates us. Every view of the world that becomes extinct, every culture that disappears, diminishes a possibility of life!"

Indigenous health in Latin America and the Caribbean

This review is the second in a series on Indigenous health, covering different regions and issues. We look briefly at the current state of Indigenous health in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region with over 400 different indigenous groups and a total population of 45 to 48 million people. We describe the complex history and current reality of Indigenous peoples' situation within the American continent. We discuss the importance of Indigenous health systems and medicines, and look at changing political environments in the region. The paper concludes with a discussion of the changing political and legislative environment in Latin American countries.