{{Short description|Study of traditional medicine practiced in ethnic groups}} {{Medical anthropology}}
'''Ethnomedicine''' is a study or comparison of the traditional medicine based on bioactive compounds in plants and animals and practiced by various ethnic groups, especially those with little access to western medicines, e.g., indigenous peoples. The word ''ethnomedicine'' is sometimes used as a synonym for ''traditional medicine''.<ref name="Acharya 2008 p440">Acharya, Deepak and Shrivastava Anshu: ''Indigenous Herbal Medicines: Tribal Formulations and Traditional Herbal Practices''. Aavishkar Publishers Distributor, Jaipur / India 2008, {{ISBN|978-81-7910-252-7}}, p. 440.</ref>
Ethnomedical research is interdisciplinary; in its study of traditional medicines, it applies the methods of ethnobotany and medical anthropology. Often, the medicine traditions it studies are preserved only by oral tradition.<ref name="Acharya 2008 p440"/> In addition to plants, some of these traditions constitute significant interactions with insects on the Indian Subcontinent,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mozhui |first1=Lobeno |last2=Kakati |first2=L. N. |last3=Meyer-Rochow |first3=Victor Benno |date=2021-03-22 |title=Entomotherapy: a study of medicinal insects of seven ethnic groups in Nagaland, North-East India |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |volume=17 |issue=1 |page=17 |doi=10.1186/s13002-021-00444-1 |issn=1746-4269 |pmc=7986042 |pmid=33752694 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wilsanand |first1=V |last2=Varghese |first2=P |last3=Rajitha |first3=P |date=October 2007 |title=Therapeutics of insects and insect products in South Indian traditional medicine |url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/1001 |journal=Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge |language=en-US |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=563–568 |issn=0972-5938}}</ref> in Africa, or elsewhere around the globe.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
Scientific ethnomedical studies constitute either anthropological research or drug discovery research.<ref>{{citation|author=Kai Lamottke, Christophe Ripoll, Robert Walczak |date=2011 |pages=52–56 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260943788_The_Roots_of_Innovation |periodical=European Biopharmaceutical Review |title=The roots of innovation |volume=15}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Anthropological studies examine the cultural perception and context of a traditional medicine. Ethnomedicine has been used as a starting point in drug discovery,<ref>{{citation|author=Guido François, Tania Steenackers, Laurent Aké Assi, Wolfgang Steglich, Kai Lamottke, Jörg Holenz, Gerhard Bringmann |date=1999 |issue=7 |pages=582–588 https://doi.org/10.1007/s004360050598 |periodical=Parasitology Research |title=Vismione H and structurally related anthranoid compounds of natural and synthetic origin as promising drugs against the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum: structure-activity relationships |volume=85|doi=10.1007/s004360050598 |pmid=10382608 }}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> specifically those using reverse pharmacological techniques.
==Ethnopharmacology== {{more medical citations needed|section|date=July 2019}} [[File:Opium poppy.jpg|thumb|The opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum'', used in traditional medicine for millennia, is the source of the alkaloids Opium, morphine, codeine and heroin.]]
Ethnopharmacology is a related field which studies ethnic groups and their use of plant compounds. It is linked to pharmacognosy, phytotherapy (study of medicinal plants) use and ethnobotany, as this is a source of lead compounds for drug discovery.<ref name="medicalanthropology">{{cite book | title=Medical Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and Method | chapter=Ethnopharmacology: The Conjunction of Medical Ethnography and the Biology of Therapeutic Action | pages=132–133, 151 | year=1996 | publisher = Praeger Publishers | location=Westport, Connecticut |author1=Thomas M. Johnson |author2=Carolyn F. Sargent }}</ref> A 2026 study combined the analysis of more than 41,000 historical Chinese medical recipes with nuclear receptor profiling and identified several plant fractions capable of modulating glucocorticoid receptor activity, illustrating how traditional pharmacopeias can serve as starting points for modern drug discovery.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Prackwieser | first1 = J | last2 = Houtman | first2 = R | last3 = Kievits | first3 = T | last4 = Melchers | first4 = D | last5 = Guan | first5 = H | last6 = Seifert | first6 = G | last7 = Konietschke | first7 = F | last8 = Lamottke | first8 = K | last9 = Unschuld | first9 = P U | last10 = Kirk | first10 = N | title = Data mining historical Chinese medical recipe collections and nuclear receptor profiling identify plant fractions that modulate glucocorticoid receptor activity | journal = Frontiers in Pharmacology | year = 2026 | volume = 16 | article-number = 1681729 | doi = 10.3389/fphar.2025.1681729 | doi-access = free}}</ref> Emphasis has long been on traditional medicines, although the approach also has proven useful to the study of modern pharmaceuticals.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1007/s10787-015-0232-5| pmid=26002695| pmc=4508364|title = A history of the term "DMARD"| journal=Inflammopharmacology| volume=23| issue=4| pages=163–171|year = 2015|last1 = Buer|first1 = Jonas Kure}}</ref><ref name="Buer_2014">{{cite journal | vauthors = Buer JK | title = Origins and impact of the term 'NSAID' | journal = Inflammopharmacology | volume = 22 | issue = 5 | pages = 263–7 | date = Oct 2014 | pmid = 25064056 | doi = 10.1007/s10787-014-0211-2 | hdl = 10852/45403 | s2cid = 16777111 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> According to a 2023 paper for newcomers to the field, "the responsibility of today's ethnopharmacologists involves contributing towards species protection, conservation of traditional knowledge and indigenous cultures, as well as advocating for local communities both nationally and internationally."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schultz |first=Fabien |last2=Garbe |first2=Leif‐Alexander |date=2023 |title=How to approach a study in ethnopharmacology? Providing an example of the different research stages for newcomers to the field today |url=https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/prp2.1109 |journal=Pharmacology Research & Perspectives |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |doi=10.1002/prp2.1109 |issn=2052-1707 |pmc=10375576 |pmid=37497567}}</ref>
It involves studies of the: # identification and ethnotaxonomy (cognitive categorisation) of the (eventual) natural material, from which the candidate compound will be produced # traditional preparation of the pharmaceutical forms # bio-evaluation of the possible pharmacological action of such preparations (ethnopharmacology) # their potential for clinical effectiveness # socio-medical aspects implied in the uses of these compounds (medical anthropology).
==See also== {{div col |colwidth=22em}} *Ayurveda *Ethnobotany *Herbalism *Pharmacognosy *Shamanism *Traditional medicine {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Roberta |last2=Balick |first2=Michael J. |year=2001 |title=Ethnomedicine: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Healing |journal=Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=28–30 |pmid=11347282 |url=http://www.nybg.org/files/scientists/mbalick/Ethnomedicine_Ancient%20Wisdom%20for%20Contemporary%20Healing.pdf |access-date=12 June 2013}} * [http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft1j49n6b2/ Fábrega, Horacio, Jr. Evolution of Sickness and Healing. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.] Access Apr. 2015 *{{cite book |last=Willem |first=Jean-Pierre |author-link=Jean-Pierre Willem |title=L'Ethnomédecine, une alliance entre science et tradition |trans-title=Ethnomedicine: An Alliance Between Science and Tradition |language=fr |year=2006 |publisher=Jouvence & Biocontact |location=Paris |isbn=978-2-88353-472-8}} *{{cite book |last=Willem |first=Jean-Pierre |author-link=Jean-Pierre Willem |title=Mémoires d'un médecin aux pieds nus |trans-title=Memoires of a Barefoot Doctor |language=fr |year=2009 |publisher=Éditions Albin Michel |location=Paris |isbn=978-2-226-18987-5}} {{Ethnobiology}} {{Traditional Medicine}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ethnomedicine}} Category:Ethnobiology Category:Medical anthropology Category:Traditional medicine