Ethnopharmacology
Ethnopharmacology is the scientific study of ethnic groups and their use of drugs. Ethnopharmacology is distinctly linked to plant use, botany, as this is the main delivery of pharmaceuticals. [1]
It is also often associated with ethnopharmacy. However, ethnopharmacology differs from ethnopharmacy in that it is the biological evaluation of how effective traditional medicines are, whereas ethnopharmacy 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.
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.
[edit] See also
- Ethnobotany
- Pharmacognosy
- Natural product drug discovery
- Latin American and Caribbean Bulletin of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
- Alain Touwaide
- Christian Rätsch
[edit] References
- ^ Thomas M. Johnson, Carolyn F. Sargent (1996). "Ethnopharmacology: The Conjunction of Medical Ethnography and the Biology of Therapeutic Action". Medical Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and Method. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. pp. 132–133, 151.
