Medical Plants/Enthobotany/Traditional Medicne

Mary MulcahyJoyce V. Cadwallader

BioQUEST 2008

Goals--JVC

Develop an interdisciplinary course on Medicinal Plants/Enthnobotany/Traditional Medicine

Met general studies guideline of having two perspective involved in the class

Science (Biology)Social Science (Culture)

Goals--Mary

TITLE: Ethnobotany as a Hook to Generate Interest in Plant Research

Major Purpose of this Exercise:To demonstrate to students through investigative, fun exercises the value of botanical knowledge & skills* in the discovery of new medicines.

Goals--Mary

*Partial definition of botanical knowledge & skills:-how to identify plants in the field-how to construct and understand laboratory tests for biological active compounds in plants -how to comprehend the binomial classification system-how to interpret evolutionary relationships among plants

Goals--Mary

-how to reconstruct phylogenies of plants

-how to describe the morphology of plants

-how to interpret molecular data on plants

-how people (including indigenous people, healers, shaman, and others) use plants

Objectives for course--JVC

To understand the importance of plants materials as basis of therapyTo understand the indigenous people’s dependence on natural remediesTo increase awareness of the plant materials already in use as medicinesTo investigate the cultural aspects of plants used as medicine.To be able to identify, classify, preserve, and describe, research and investigate plant materials

Introduction

The introduction to the course(s) would start with the documentary film, The Shaman’s Apprentice. After the film, discussion of the film will take place.Readings will be provided for different class periods and a selection of the following activities will be incorporated in the class.

Activities

Activity #1: Searching for biologically active compounds in plants

Activity #2: Case Study to Search for Bioactive Chemicals in a Simulated Plant Flora.

Activity #3:. Plant Diversity in Human Medicine

Activities (continued)

Activity #4: Develop questionnaire to survey people about what they know about medicinal plants.

Activity #5: Collect, process, and mount an herbarium specimen of a plant on campus that has medicinal properties.

Activities continued

Activity #6: Student becomes expert in one traditional medicine and give a presentation on it which would include: picture and description of plant, uses, geographical distribution, active ingredients if known, and current status of research on the plants medicinal properties.

Activity #7: Case Study:

Indian Paintbrush

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile ?symbol=cast12

Case Study

It is 1916 in Kenya, East Africa. You have returned from delivering supplies to your husband and friends who are the forces (mainly English) who are fighting the German. You start to develop symptoms where you lose your balance and fall. You remember having a ….

Assessment

Depending on the goals, i.e., which course, the assessments will differ.For the Medicinal Plants course, one of the assessment is a college-wide assessment which must deal with a controversial issue which is explored from the two perspectives, science and social science--which will probably mean that economics of saving the plants will be involved.

References

Balick, M. and Cox, P. (1996) Plants, People, and Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany. New York, N.Y.: Sceintific American Library.

Cherry, L. and Plotkin, M. 1998. The Shaman’s Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

Ekunsanmi, Toye J. 2005. A Classroom Demonstration of Garlic Extract and Conventional Antibiotics' Antimicrobial Activity. Bioscene Vol. 31(Issue 3): pp. 4-9. Available at: http://acube.org/volume_31/v31-3p4-9.pdf

Ethnobotany: Evolution of a Discipline. 1995. Edited by R. E. Schultes and S. von Reis. Portland, OR: Dioscordies Press.

Procheş, Şerban; Wilson, John R.U.; Vamosi, Jana C.; Richardson, David M. 2008. Plant Diversity in the Human Diet: Weak Phylogenetic Signal Indicates Breadth. BioScience Vol. 58 (Number 2), pp. 151-159.

References

Simpson, B. and Conner, M. 1995. Economic Botany: Plants in Our World. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

The Shaman’s Apprentice. 2001. Narrated by Susan Saradon. Miranda Smith Productions.