ethnobotany

Question 1

• “ethno” study of culture
• “botany” study of plants
• scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants
• derived from Greek _______ (people) + ______ (of plants)
• The study of the diversity of human views and relationships with plants in different cultures, both past and present.

Answer 1

ethnobotany

• ethnos
• botanikos

Question 2

The study of how people of a particular culture and region make of use of indigenous plants

Relationship with pharmacognosy (the study of medicinal and toxic products from natural plant sources)

• Defined as the study of the reciprocal interactions between people and the biological organisms in their local environment
• A term coined in _____

Answer 2

• 1935

ETHNOBOTANY

Question 3

• Ethnobotany _____
• Ethnozoology _____
• Ethnobiology _____
• Ethnoecology _____

Answer 3

• Ethnobotany 1895
• Ethnozoology 1889
• Ethnobiology 1935
• Ethnoecology 1954

Question 4

Interest in ethnobiology and its branches is rising as a result of its important applications:

Answer 4

• In rural development
• In natural resource management and conservation
• In biodiversity prospecting
• In bioprospecting

Question 5

• Must understand and be sensitive to the dynamics of how cultures work
• Helped us to understand the frightening implications which loss of the rain forests

Answer 5

ethnobotanists

Question 6

HOW ARE ETHNOBOTANISTS TRAINED?

• diff fields????????
• Ethnopharmacologists are specifically looking at the pharmacological actions of plants with emphasis on those plants used in treatment of illness

Answer 6

Archeology, chemistry, ecology, anthropology, linguistics, history, pharmacology, sociology, religion and mythology

Question 7

ETHNOBOTANICAL DRUG DEVELOPMENT

Once the plants have arrived at the company’s research site, processing the plants for medicinal purposes begins.

The plants are processed and tested in studies completed by ethnopharmacologists.

Answer 7

Promising compounds are scaled up to provide gram quantities for animal testing to determine safety and efficacy.

The scale up process occurs again and hundreds of grams of selected compounds are provided for further studies which will, it is hoped, eventually lead to an effective, marketable drug suitable for human consumption.

This new product is the reward for all the time and effort of many individuals.

Question 8

Field ethnobotanists have not yet received the same level of support and respect.

New scientific journals and societies have begun to disseminate the studies of the ethnobotanists to peers, other scientists, and policy makers worldwide.

Answer 8

Ethnobotany issues are the focus of much public attention. Due to increased public interest and policy making in conservation, companies are looking to plants for new approaches to food, medicines, and energy sources.

University departments are opening positions for interdisciplinary-trained ethnobotanists.