INVESTIGADORES
LADIO Ana Haydee
artículos
Título:
Editorial. Medical Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacology in Latin America
Autor/es:
ALBUQUERQUE, ULYSSES; COOPER EDWIN; MARÍA FRANCO TRINIDADE MEDEIROS; NÓBREGA ALVES R; LADIO
Revista:
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Editorial:
Hindawi
Referencias:
Año: 2012 p. 1 - 3
ISSN:
1741-4288
Resumen:
Through their long exposure and experience with natural resources, many local communities in Latin America have developed health care practices. Thousands of years of observation and experimentation have helped in developing different empirical medical systems, as well as knowledge of plants, animals, and minerals. Such knowledge is the subject of medical ethnobiology and ethnopharmacology, disciplines that before being exclusive actually complemented each other. In the broadest sense, both medical ethnobiology and ethnopharmacology attempt to make sense and to understand traditional medical systems: the first from perceptions, healing strategies, natural resources used to fight diseases or maintain health; the second from traditional medicines, either plants, animals, or minerals. We can find new and different types of approaches and theoretical and methodological developments such as ethnopharmacological evaluations of traditional drugs unknown so far; the inclusion of historical perspective in ethnopharmacological studies; the migration influence on traditional medical systems both in industrialized countries and remote locations, or a greater focus on urban contexts in ethnopharmacology. Moreover, the integrative aspect is noteworthy; it includesmedical ethnobotany and zootherapy (the treatment of human diseases using drug-based therapies derived from animals). Recent developments in methods and theory, like any evolving discipline, promote discussions of theoretical scenarios and help us understand the contexts of traditional medical systems as well as methods and techniques that enable access to these systems. Perhaps, a very common approach has been the development of quantitative techniques to access information about animals and plants used in these medical systems, in order to constitute a way to objectively select resources for phytochemical and pharmacological studies. Ethnopharmacological evaluations of traditional drugs is perhaps an approach that concentrates most investigations, focusing on an assessment of traditional preparations regarding their effectiveness. Both animals and plants provide extensive resources for new Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) approaches which may prove important for future applications. Despite criticism about errors in experimentation and data interpretation this approach has proven useful.