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Ethnobotany |
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Ethnobotany (Greek ethnos, ‘people’ + botanikos, ‘of plants’) is the scientific re-evaluation of traditional botanical knowledge. The field covers plants which produce food, materials and drugs. James Cook was a pioneering ethnobotanist when he suggested that that the breadfruit plant, which he had encountered in the Pacific islands, would make an ideal food for slaves in the West Indies. The modern science is primarily concerned with the search for new drugs in plants from areas such as the Far East and the South American rainforests. Investigation of traditional medicines and medical folklore can lead to plants which have potential medical uses. Conventional scientific drug-screening techniques are then employed and have turned up a wide range of natural compounds which have activity against many of the major diseases from cancer to malaria. RB
See also pharmacology; toxicology. |
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