ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY

Introduction to Ethnopharmacology
• Scientific study of materials used by ethnic and cultural groups as
medicines
• Interdisciplinary scientific exploration of biologically active agents
traditionally employed or observed by man
• “Ethno” means race and culture, originally from the Greek “ethnos”
which means “people, nation, class, caste, tribe; a number of people
accustomed to living together”
Introduction to Ethnopharmacology
• Correlates ethnic groups, their health, physical habits, and
methodology in creating and using medicines
• Subject is mainly concerned with observation, description, and
experimental investigation of biological activity of plants and animals
used in traditional medicine of past and present cultures
Terms and Definitions
1. Ethnobotany
• Term first introduced by American botanist John Harshberger in 1896
as “the study of plant use by humans”
• Studies the relationship between humans and plants in all its
complexity
• Based on detailed observation and study of the use a society makes of
plants, including all the beliefs and cultural practices associated with
this use
Terms and Definitions
2. Ethnomedicine
• Comparative study of how different cultures view disease and how they treat
or prevent it
• Medical beliefs and practices of indigenous cultures
• Ethnomedical systems lack the division between mind and body
• Many ethnomedical systems support a belief in a singular body force or
“bioenergy” as the source of human health, including the traditional systems of
Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine of India. These systems focus
strongly on preventative measures and use of natural elements such as herbs,
food, and spices, as well as, exercise and massage components to heal
Terms and Definitions
3. Ethnopharmacology
• Term first used in 1967 by Efron et al. who used it in the title of a book on
hallucinogens: “Ethnopharmacological Search for Psychoactive Drugs”
• Preventive and therapeutic modalities other than western medicine
• Can be considered as a branch of ethnobotany
Terms and Definitions
4. Ethnoecology
• Term coined by Martine in 1995
• Discipline which integrates and encompasses all studies which describe
local people’s interaction with the natural environment, including
subdisciplines such as ethnobiology, ethnobotany, ethnoentomology and
ethnozoology
Folklore VS Ethnopharmacology
FOLKLORE: Common knowledge in the population as a whole, largely
concerning remedies for minor conditions, based on relatively innocuous
material

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY: Knowledge of few specialists who are regarded

by society as able to correctly diagnose and treat disease states, generally
using more potent products
History of Ethnopharmacology
• Historically, ethnopharmacology was the origin of all medicines and
natural products were the most important source of drugs
• Ethnopharmacology has provided some very notable past successes,
including:
• Morphine (isolated in 1804)
• Quinine (isolated in 1820)
• Digitoxin (isolated in 1841)
• Ephedrine (isolated in 1897)
• Tubocurarine (isolated in 1935)
History of Ethnopharmacology
• More recent developments undergoing trials and with an
ethnopharmacological association include:
• Artemisinin for malaria
• Components from marigolds for psoriasis
• Flavones as anti-anxiety compounds
• Prostratin as an anti-viral
Areas of Research
Four general types of herbal medicine exists:
I. Asian
II. European
III. Indigenous
IV. Western
Areas of Research
• Ayurveda is the most ancient health care system, practiced widely in
India, and Sri Lanka.
• Ayurveda (Ayur: Life; Veda: Science) means science of life in Sanskrit
and aims at holistic management of health and disease
• Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is said to be based on more than
3,500 years of Chinese Medical Practice
• TCM includes various forms of herbal medicine: acupuncture, cupping
therapy, massage (tui na), bonesetter (die- da), exercise (qigong), and
dietary therapy. One of the basic tenets of TCM is that the body's vital
energy (ch'i or qi) is circulating through channels, called meridians,
that have branches connected to bodily organs and functions
Areas of Research
• In Western World, Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the
Roman army wrote a five-volume work between 50 and 70 CE - “De
Materia Medica” or “On Medical Materials” which is a
pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants, it included descriptions of
thousands of medicinal plants which continue to be used as crude
drug preparations and serve as source of important pure chemicals
that have become mainstays of modern therapy.
Objectives of Ethnopharmacology
• Investigate, evaluate, rescue and document important cultural
heritage before it is lost
• Evaluate natural products, particularly herbal drugs from traditional
and folklore resources
• Perform botanical identification and descriptions of use and effects of
traditional remedies
• Carry out phytochemical and pharmacological studies
Scopes of Ethnopharmacology
• Poisons
• Pest control
• Agriculture
• Cosmetics
• Fermentation Processes
• Active Substances exploited as leads for drug development
Ethnopharmacology and Integrative Medicine
• Natural products have been the source of many active ingredients in
Western Medicine
• In the “olden days”, before advancement of high-throughput
screening and pre-genomic era, > 80% of drug substances were
obtained from natural products or inspired by natural compounds
• Traditional systems of medicines need more evidence-based studies
on both crude drugs and purified phytomolecules
• Ultimate aim is validating traditional preparations, either through
isolation of active substances, or through various pharmacological
findings
Ethnopharmacology and Integrative Medicine
Ethnopharmacological Research
In recent times, there has been increased interest in the Research in
Natural Products Chemistry:
• Unmet therapeutic needs, including drug resistance and long-term
toxicity
• Remarkable diversity of both chemical structure and biological
activities of naturally occurring secondary metabolites
• Every botanical agent contains hundreds of molecules and bioactive
compounds. Each of the bioactive may have the capability to
modulate one or more targets
Ethnopharmacological Research
• Development of novel and sensitive techniques to detect biologically
active natural products
• Improved techniques to isolate, purify, and structurally characterize
these active constituents
Ethnopharmacology and Drug Development
• Ethnopharmacological approach is based on botany, chemistry and
pharmacology (observation, identification, description and
experimental investigation)
• Process of drug development typically begins with an ethnobotanist,
and ethnopharmacologist, who collects and identifies plant(s) of
interest
• Ethnobotanists perform research on the uses and concepts of plants in
cultures and societies (popular knowledge)
• Ethnopharmacologists research the medicinal uses of plants and their
properties from popular culture data
General Strategies For Screening and
Evaluation of Traditional Medicines

I. Literature Survey
II. Plant Selection
III. Plant Collection and Processing
IV. Drug Screening Procedures
General Strategies For Screening and
Evaluation of Traditional Medicines
I. Literature Survey
• A comprehensive literature survey must be carried out prior to any
biological testing in screening of traditional medicine
• Essential to obtain information on previous work, various uses in
different parts of the world, whether the plants are widespread or
found in few areas, whether they are known to be toxic or not
General Strategies For Screening and
Evaluation of Traditional Medicines
II. Plant Selection
• Involves the decision on which material to collect and on what basis,
may be based upon:
 Folkloric Information
 Presence of Phytochemical Constituents
 Random Selection
• Priority should be given to plants that already have evidence of safety
and efficacy based on local use or published data
General Strategies For Screening and
Evaluation of Traditional Medicines
III. Plant Collection and Processing
• After plant selection, botanical identity must be established and site
for their procurement located
• Specimen must be collected at the appropriate time and season as
chemical constituents of plants vary from season to season or at
different times of the day.
• Collection must be done carefully to minimize adulteration
General Strategies For Screening and
Evaluation of Traditional Medicines
IV. Drug Screening Procedure
The stages involved in the development of medicinal
substances include:
• Evaluation of Literature Date (screening and evaluation)
• Animal Experiments (preclinical screening)
• Formulation Studies
• Clinical Trials (clinical screening)
END.