Kurdish ethnomedicine in the context of historic migration.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Community displacement and cultural integration influence the use of plants for medicine. This study enhances our understanding of how communities adapt their medical practices in response to environmental changes.

Aim Of The Study: We investigate how Kurds in SE Iran (Balochi Kurds), displaced between the 16th and 18th centuries from their homeland in NW Iran, retained and adapted their medicinal knowledge.

Ethnopharmacology, ethnomedicine, and wildlife conservation.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: There are longstanding traditions of animal-derived products being employed as medicines, and they continue to be important in many traditional cultural healthcare practices. However, the populations of numerous so-used animals are known to be threatened with extirpation by such practices. Ethnopharmacological studies documenting these animal-derived drugs are not only interesting from an anthropological standpoint, but they are also relevant from a wildlife conservation perspective - especially since ethnopharmacologists are intermediaries between indigenous and scientific communities, placing them at the forefront of being able to ethically access information to address these issues.

Are we romanticizing traditional knowledge? A plea for more experimental studies in ethnobiology.

In answer to the debate question "Is ethnobiology romanticizing traditional practices, posing an urgent need for more experimental studies evaluating local knowledge systems?" I suggest to follow-up on field study results adopting an inclusive research agenda, and challenge descriptive data, theories, and hypotheses by means of experiments. Traditional and local knowledge are generally associated with positive societal values by ethnobiologists and, increasingly also by stakeholders. They are seen as a way for improving local livelihoods, biocultural diversity conservation and for promoting sustainable development.

Food drugs as drivers of therapeutic knowledge and the role of chemosensory qualities.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Chemosensory qualities of botanical drugs are important cues for anticipating physiologic consequences. Whether a botanical drug is used for both, food and medicine, or only as medicine depends on taste preferences, nutritional content, cultural background, and the individual and overall epidemiological context.

Material And Methods: We subjected 540 botanical drugs described in De Materia Medica having at least one oral medical application to a tasting panel.

Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs.

The perception of taste and flavour (a combination of taste, smell, and chemesthesis), here also referred to as chemosensation, enables animals to find high-value foods and avoid toxins. Humans have learned to use unpalatable and toxic substances as medicines, yet the importance of chemosensation in this process is poorly understood. Here, we generate tasting-panel data for botanical drugs and apply phylogenetic generalised linear mixed models to test whether intensity and complexity of chemosensory qualities as well as particular tastes and flavours can predict ancient Graeco-Roman drug use.

Trends of Medicinal Plant Use over the Last 2000 Years in Central Europe.

Medicinal plant knowledge in Central Europe can be traced back from the present to antiquity, through written sources. Approximately 100 medicinal plant taxa have a history of continuous use. In this paper, we focus on use patterns over time and the link between historical and traditional uses with the current scientific evidence.

The rise and fall of mandrake in medicine.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Mandrake (Mandragora sp.) is one of the most famous medicinal plants. It has been in continuous medical use throughout written history and is still in use today in popular medicine.

The relevance of quantitative ethnobotanical indices for ethnopharmacology and ethnobotany.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: As an interdisciplinary field of research ethnopharmacology draws on methodologies and methods from a variety of disciplines. A range of ethnobotanical indices are frequently used to transform primary data obtained through field studies into statistical measures. These indices are claimed to serve as a proxy for efficacy or drug discovery (Fidelity Level 'FL') and to show the importance of botanical drugs and plants used as medicines (Relative Importance 'RI', Use Value 'UV' or Cultural Importance Index 'CI', Cultural Value Index 'CV', Relative Frequency of Citation 'RFC').

Ethnomedicine and neuropsychopharmacology in Mesoamerica.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The burden of disease caused by mental and neurological disorders is increasing globally, to a disproportionate degree in Latin America. In contrast to the many psychoactive plants with a use history in Mesoamerican cultures, the translation to the wider population of knowledge around numerous botanicals used contemporarily by indigenous Mesoamerican societies to treat psychological and neurological disorders did not receive the same attention.

Material And Methods: We used the previously published Mesoamerican Medicinal Plant Database to extract species and associated botanical drugs used as treatments for illnesses associated with the nervous system by Mesoamerican cultures in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Phylobioactive hotspots in plant resources used to treat Chagas disease.

Globally, more than six million people are infected with , the causative protozoan parasite of the vector-borne Chagas disease (CD). We conducted a cross-sectional ethnopharmacological field study in Bolivia among different ethnic groups where CD is hyperendemic. A total of 775 extracts of botanical drugs used in Bolivia in the context of CD and botanical drugs from unrelated indications from the Mediterranean a compiled by Dioscorides two thousand years ago were profiled in a multidimensional assay uncovering different antichagasic natural product classes.

Canthin-6-one ameliorates TNBS-induced colitis in rats by modulating inflammation and oxidative stress. An in vivo and in silico approach.

Canthin-6-one (Cant) is an indole alkaloid found in several botanical drugs used as medicines, reported to be gastroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-diarrheal and anti-proliferative. We aimed to explore Cant in the management of colitis using a trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced rat model. Cant (1, 5 and 25 mg/kg) was administered by oral gavage to Wistar rats followed by induction of colitis with TNBS.

Traditional Herbal Medicine in Mesoamerica: Toward Its Evidence Base for Improving Universal Health Coverage.

The quality of health care in Mesoamerica is influenced by its rich cultural diversity and characterized by social inequalities. Especially indigenous and rural communities confront diverse barriers to accessing formal health services, leading to often conflicting plurimedical systems. Fostering integrative medicine is a fundamental pillar for achieving universal health coverage (UHC) for marginalized populations.

The genus Orobanche as food and medicine: An ethnopharmacological review.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The genus Orobanche consists of annual, biennial or perennial fleshy parasitic herb species, many of which are in use as traditional medicines and wild gathered foods since a long time. Recently, Orobanche spp. are increasingly accepted as edible medicines with nourishing properties.

A review of the antimicrobial potential of herbal drugs used in popular Italian medicine (1850s-1950s) to treat bacterial skin diseases.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Before the advent of modern antibiotics, microbial infections were treated with herbal medicine or cauterization. Literature from the latter half of the nineteenth to the early mid-twentieth century, when antibiotics became widely available, arguably holds the most progressive information about herbal remedies to treat bacterial skin diseases. The corpus of literature produced in Italy during that period is not easily accessible and mostly out of print.

Astringent drugs for bleedings and diarrhoea: The history of Cynomorium coccineum (Maltese Mushroom).

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The botanical identity of the ancient vernacular cynomorium does not correspond to the modern scientific genus while it is not clear how many species of hipocistis (Cytinus sp.) were differentiated by the ancient physicians and whether Cynomorium coccineum was subsumed. The early history of therapeutic uses related to the herbal drugs derived from these parasitic taxa is therefore not easily accessible.

The historical development of pharmacopoeias and the inclusion of exotic herbal drugs with a focus on Europe and Brazil.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: In spite of the rich bio-cultural diversity found in the Neotropics relatively few herbal drugs native to South America are included in the global pharmacopoeia.

Material And Methods: In the attempt to historically explain the inclusion of herbal drugs into official pharmacopoeias we consider the disparate epidemiology and cultural evolution of the New and the Old World. We then trace the development of pharmacopoeias and review forces that worked towards and against the synchronization of pharmacopoeias and highlight the role of early chemical and pharmacological studies in Europe.

Chemical Variability of the Essential Oil of Boiss. from Lebanon, Assessed by Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and Common Component and Specific Weight Analysis (CCSWA).

Boiss., an endemic plant to Lebanon, is widely acknowledged in Lebanese traditional medicine. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of the drying method, region, and time of harvest on yield and chemical composition of essential oils (EOs).

Ethnopharmacology of Love.

Elixirs conferring eternal youth or inducing amatory and erotic attraction have been searched for without success. Lovesickness is a widespread affliction resulting from unrequited love and/or the impossibility for physical and emotional union. The symptoms are reflections of altered dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, testosterone and cortisol levels and range from frenzy and intrusive thinking to despair and depression, sharing traits with the neurochemistry of addiction and compulsive behavior disorder.

Recommended standards for conducting and reporting ethnopharmacological field studies.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: What are the minimum methodological and conceptual requirements for an ethnopharmacological field study? How can the results of ethnopharmacological field studies be reported so that researchers with different backgrounds can draw on the results and develop new research questions and projects? And how should these field data be presented to get accepted in a scientific journal such as the Journal of Ethnopharmacology? The objective of this commentary is to create a reference that covers the basic standards necessary during planning, conducting and reporting of field research.

Materials And Methods: We focus on conducting and reporting ethnopharmacological field studies on medicinal plants or materia medica and associated knowledge of a specific people or region. The article highlights the most frequent problems and pitfalls, and draws on published literature, fieldwork experience, and extensive insights from peer-review of field studies.

Best practice in research: Consensus Statement on Ethnopharmacological Field Studies - ConSEFS.

Background: Ethnopharmacological research aims at gathering information on local and traditional uses of plants and other natural substances. However, the approaches used and the methods employed vary, and while such a variability is desirable in terms of scientific diversity, research must adhere to well defined quality standards and reproducible methods OBJECTIVES: With ConSEFS (the Consensus Statement on Ethnopharmacological Field Studies) we want to define best-practice in developing, conducting and reporting field studies focusing on local and traditional uses of medicinal and food plants, including studies using a historical approach.

Methods: After first developing an initial draft the core group invited community-wide feedback from researchers both through a web-based consultation and a series of workshops at conferences during 2017.

Traditional Mediterranean and European herbal medicines.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Written history allows tracing back Mediterranean and European medical traditions to Greek antiquity. The epidemiological shift triggered by the rise of modern medicine and industrialization is reflected in contemporary reliance and preferences for certain herbal medicines.

Materials And Methods: We sketch the development and transmission of written herbal medicine through Mediterranean and European history and point out the opportunity to connect with modern traditions.

The taste of heat: How humoral qualities act as a cultural filter for chemosensory properties guiding herbal medicine.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Organoleptic properties, and more specifically chemosensory cues, have been shown to guide therapeutic applications of medicinal plants. Humoral qualities, on the other hand, are widely believed to be an abstract concept, mainly applied post hoc to validate therapy. However, the nexus between humoral qualities, chemosensory properties, and medicinal plant uses has never been systematically assessed.

Reverse ethnopharmacology and drug discovery.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Ethnopharmacological investigations of traditional medicines have made significant contributions to plant-derived drugs, as well as the advancement of pharmacology. Drug discovery from medicinal flora is more complex than generally acknowledged because plants are applied for different therapeutic indications within and across cultures. Therefore we propose the concept of "reverse ethnopharmacology" and compare biomedical uses of plant taxa with their ethnomedicinal and popular uses and test the effect of these on the probability of finding biomedical and specifically anticancer drugs.