Ethnopharmacy

Ethnopharmacy

Ethnopharmacy is the interdisciplinary science that investigates the perception and use of pharmaceuticals (especially traditional medicines, but not only), within a given human society.

It deals with the study of the pharmaceutical means considered in relation to the cultural contexts of their use, e.g. the study of the cultural determinants that characterise the uses of these means within a culture.

It involves studies of the:
# identification and ethnotaxonomy (cognitive categorisation) of the (eventual) natural material, from which the remedy will be produced (medical ethnobiology: ethnobotany or ethnomycology or ethnozoology);
# traditional preparation of the pharmaceutical forms (ethnopharmaceutics);
# bio-evaluation of the pharmacological action of such preparations (ethnopharmacology);
# their clinical effectiveness (clinical ethnopharmacy);
# socio-medical aspects implied in the uses of these pharmaceuticals (medical anthropology/ethnomedicine).
# public health and pharmacy practice-related issues concerning the public use and/or the re-evaluation of these drugs.

Ethnopharmacy is often erroneously associated with ethnopharmacology, which is instead "only" focused on the bio-pharmacological evaluation of traditional medicines.

Ethnopharmacy shares instead a common terrain with medical anthropology and anthropology of pharmaceuticals.

External links

* [http://www.ethnobiomed.com/ Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine]
* [http://www.etnobotanica.de/ International Society of Ethnopharmacology]
* [http://www.andreapieroni.com Complete list of links to ethnopharmaceutical professional journals, associations, and databanks]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Economics of biodiversity — There have been a number of economic arguments advanced regarding evaluation of the benefits of biodiversity. Most are anthropocentric but economists have also debated whether biodiversity is inherently valuable, independent of benefits to… …   Wikipedia

  • Pharmacognosy — is the study of medicines derived from natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy [ [http://www.phcog.org/definition.html The American Society of Pharmacognosy ] ] defines pharmacognosy as the study of the physical, chemical,… …   Wikipedia

  • Ethnomedicine — is a sub field of ethnobotany or medical anthropology that deals with the study of traditional medicines: not only those that have relevant written sources (e.g. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda), but especially those, whose knowledge and… …   Wikipedia

  • Ethnopharmacology — is the scientific study correlating ethnic groups, their health, and how it relates to their physical habits and methodology in creating and using medicines. As an amalgamation of the social science of ethnology and the medical science of… …   Wikipedia

  • Traditional knowledge — Intellectual property law Primary rights Copyright · authors rights  …   Wikipedia

  • ethnopharmacology — noun The scientific study correlating ethnic groups, their health, and how it relates to their physical habits and methodology in creating and using medicines. See Also: ethnopharmacological, ethnopharmacologist, ethnopharmacy …   Wiktionary

  • Ethnoscience — has been defined as an attempt to reconstitute what serves as science for others, their practices of looking after themselves and their bodies, their botanical knowledge, but also their forms of classification, of making connections, etc. (Augé,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”