ethnomedicine

{{Short description|Study of traditional medicine practiced in ethnic groups}}

Ethnomedicine is a study or comparison of the traditional medicine based on bioactive compounds in plants and animals and practiced by various ethnic groups, especially those with little access to western medicines, e.g., indigenous peoples. The word ethnomedicine is sometimes used as a synonym for traditional medicine.Acharya, Deepak and Shrivastava Anshu: Indigenous Herbal Medicines: Tribal Formulations and Traditional Herbal Practices. Aavishkar Publishers Distributor, Jaipur / India 2008, {{ISBN|978-81-7910-252-7}}, p. 440.

Ethnomedical research is interdisciplinary; in its study of traditional medicines, it applies the methods of ethnobotany and medical anthropology. Often, the medicine traditions it studies are preserved only by oral tradition. In addition to plants, some of these traditions constitute significant interactions with insects on the Indian Subcontinent,{{Cite journal |last1=Mozhui |first1=Lobeno |last2=Kakati |first2=L. N. |last3=Meyer-Rochow |first3=Victor Benno |date=2021-03-22 |title=Entomotherapy: a study of medicinal insects of seven ethnic groups in Nagaland, North-East India |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=17 |doi=10.1186/s13002-021-00444-1 |issn=1746-4269 |pmc=7986042 |pmid=33752694 |doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last1=Wilsanand |first1=V |last2=Varghese |first2=P |last3=Rajitha |first3=P |date=October 2007 |title=Therapeutics of insects and insect products in South Indian traditional medicine |url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/1001 |journal=Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge |language=en-US |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=563–568 |issn=0972-5938}} in Africa, or elsewhere around the globe.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Scientific ethnomedical studies constitute either anthropological research or drug discovery research.{{citation|author=Kai Lamottke, Christophe Ripoll, Robert Walczak |date=2011 |pages=52-56 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260943788_The_Roots_of_Innovation |periodical=European Biopharmaceutical Review |title=The roots of innovation |volume=15}} Anthropological studies examine the cultural perception and context of a traditional medicine. Ethnomedicine has been used as a starting point in drug discovery,{{citation|author=Guido François, Tania Steenackers, Laurent Aké Assi, Wolfgang Steglich, Kai Lamottke, Jörg Holenz, Gerhard Bringmann |date=1999 |issue=7 |pages=582–588 https://doi.org/10.1007/s004360050598 |periodical=Parasitology Research |title=Vismione H and structurally related anthranoid compounds of natural and synthetic origin as promising drugs against the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum: structure-activity relationships |volume=85}} specifically those using reverse pharmacological techniques.

Ethnopharmacology

File:Opium poppy.jpg, used in traditional medicine for millennia, is the source of the alkaloids Opium, morphine, codeine and heroin.]]

Ethnopharmacology is a related field which studies ethnic groups and their use of plant compounds. It is linked to pharmacognosy, phytotherapy (study of medicinal plants) use and ethnobotany, as this is a source of lead compounds for drug discovery.{{cite book | title=Medical Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and Method | chapter=Ethnopharmacology: The Conjunction of Medical Ethnography and the Biology of Therapeutic Action | pages=132–133, 151 | year=1996 | publisher = Praeger Publishers | location=Westport, Connecticut |author1=Thomas M. Johnson |author2=Carolyn F. Sargent }} Emphasis has long been on traditional medicines, although the approach also has proven useful to the study of modern pharmaceuticals.{{Cite journal | doi=10.1007/s10787-015-0232-5| pmid=26002695| pmc=4508364|title = A history of the term "DMARD"| journal=Inflammopharmacology| volume=23| issue=4| pages=163–171|year = 2015|last1 = Buer|first1 = Jonas Kure}}{{cite journal | vauthors = Buer JK | title = Origins and impact of the term 'NSAID' | journal = Inflammopharmacology | volume = 22 | issue = 5 | pages = 263–7 | date = Oct 2014 | pmid = 25064056 | doi = 10.1007/s10787-014-0211-2 | hdl = 10852/45403 | s2cid = 16777111 | hdl-access = free }}

It involves studies of the:

identification and ethnotaxonomy (cognitive categorisation) of the (eventual) natural material, from which the candidate compound will be produced
traditional preparation of the pharmaceutical forms
bio-evaluation of the possible pharmacological action of such preparations (ethnopharmacology)
their potential for clinical effectiveness
socio-medical aspects implied in the uses of these compounds (medical anthropology).

ethnomedicine

Ethnopharmacology

See also

References

Further reading