Historical Approaches in Ethnopharmacology

Lardos, Andreas

doi:10.1002/9781118930717.ch28

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Recently, research on ethnobotany and ethnopharmacological analysis of historical materials or egodocuments, related to preparations used in folk medicine, has become an important source of acquiring knowledge about new medicines [10, 16]. Our study may constitute a part of this trend.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical ethnopharmacology of the herbalists from Krummhübel in the Sudety Mountains (seventeenth to nineteenth century), Silesia

Spałek

Spielvogel

Proćków

et al. 2019

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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Background Krummhübel (after 1945, Karpacz) in the Sudety Mountains (now SW Poland) was called “the village of pharmacists”. At the end of the seventeenth century, there were 57 households, of which about 40 were inhabited by herbalists. Krummhübel herbalists were the first in the Sudety region who applied medicinal mixtures for the treatment of various diseases (using, among others, plants, oils, minerals and even viper venom) in contrast to previous herbalists who only indicated the use of individual plant species for specific diseases. Riesengebirge (in Polish Karkonosze) potions were sold in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia, and some of them could even be purchased in Scandinavia and England. The purpose of this paper is an ethnopharmacological analysis of historical texts of herbalists from Krummhübel. Based on their recipes, we analysed the use reports of drugs. Recently, research on ethnobotany and ethnopharmacological analyses of historical materials or egodocuments related to formulations used in folk medicine have become an important source of acquiring knowledge about new medicines. Methods Based on 46 recipes of Krummhübel herbalists re-written by Reitzig (1943), we analysed the use reports of drugs which included plant taxa and other constituents such as animal formulations, fungi, inorganic and organic substances and minerals as well as tinctures (with alcohol/spirit) and elixirs (without alcohol/spirit). For each usage mentioned in the text, we recorded (i) the putative botanical identity of the taxon; (ii) the plant family or origin of other than the plant constituent; (iii) the reported plant part; (iv) the number of the recipe; (v) the name of the recipe; (vi) the vernacular name of ingredient; (vii) the described symptom, ailment or specific use; (viii) our modern (viz. biomedical) interpretation of the described symptom or ailment; (ix) the mode of administration; and (x) the category of use under which we filed the specific use. We also cross-checked the medicinal plants of Krummhübel herbalists with the species described in old manuscripts and regional surveys and compared their use with contemporary plant use. Results The paper introduces the generated database comprising 348 use reports of 46 drugs based on 70 plant taxa and other constituents. Besides, we address patterns such as the frequent recommendation of Fabaceae herbs for respiratory system issue and gynaecology and Asteraceae for respiratory system and cardiovascular problems. Gastrointestinal use reports are based on Asphodelaceae, Burseraceae and Rosaceae species. Conclusions Remedies that lost importance over time as well as drugs used for diseases now controlled by conventional medicine may be interesting starting points for research on herbal medicine and drug discovery. It seems to be important to attempt to reproduce therapeutic mixtures from the preserved recipes of Krummhübel herbalists, which offers an o...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical ethnopharmacology of the herbalists from Krummhübel in the Sudety Mountains (seventeenth to nineteenth century), Silesia

Spałek

Spielvogel

Proćków

et al. 2019

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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“…Century-old traditions in all cultures reflect an immense knowledge of medicinal plant use, which is reflected by innumerable historical sources. This fact has been commonly accepted and dealt with in many publications with comprehensive bibliographies [4,47]. However, many methods to explore this potential did not lead to convincing results, especially if historical indications were directly correlated to modern applications or if the authors concentrated on a single defined species.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Pharmacognosia to DNA-Based Medicinal Plant Authentication – Pharmacognosy through the Centuries

Heinrich¹,

Anagnostou

2017

Planta Med

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For centuries, pharmacognosy was essential for the identification, quality, purity, and, until the end of the 18th century, even for the efficacy of medicinal plants. Since the 19th century, it concentrated on authenticity, purity, quality and the analysis of active substances, and was established as an academic branch discipline within pharmacy and continuously developed into a modern, highly sophisticated science. Even though the paradigm in pharmacy changed in the 19th century with the discovery of morphine and concentrated on single substances that could be synthesized fast by the upcoming industry, medicinal plants always remained an important element of the Materia medica, and during the last decades, medicinal plants continue to be a source of remedies, and natural products are an inspiration for new medicine. In this research, pharmacognostic skills remain an essential element, both with regards to identity, quality assurance of botanicals (both herbal medicines and supplements), and the discovery and development of new medicines. Over the years, the specific pharmacognostical tools have changed dramatically, and most recently, DNA-based techniques have become another element of our spectrum of scientific methods.

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“…Jedoch sind ethnopharmakologische Studien, welche diesen Konzepten zu Grunde liegen, oft nicht auf der Grundlage einer historischen Betrachtung entstanden. Vielmehr werden darin unter ‚traditionaler Medizin' in einer einseitigen synchronen Betrachtungsweise die derzeit praktizierten lokalen Therapieformen verstanden [25,26]. In vielen Fällen beschränkt man sich zudem auf mündlich überlieferte Traditionen, auch wenn diese schon seit Jahrhunderten von schriftlichen Traditionen beeinflusst wurden [27].…”

Section: Gesellschaftliche Dynamik üBer Zwei Generationenunclassified

Evidenz und Tradition am Beispiel der Phytopharmaka

Jütte¹,

Heinrich²,

Helmstädter³

et al. 2017

Z Phytother

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Zusammenfassung Hintergrund: Neben voll zugelassenen Phytopharmaka gibt es auch Produkte auf dem europäischen Arzneimittelmarkt, die auf Basis langjähriger Anwendung als traditionelle Arzneimittel registriert sind. Diese fallen durch das Raster des normalen Zulassungsverfahrens, weil sie den Wirksamkeitsnachweis, wie er zur Vollzulassung gesetzlich aufgrund einer EU-Richtlinie vorgeschrieben ist, derzeit nicht erbracht haben. Zur Zulassung ist unter anderem ein Traditionsnachweis erforderlich, der bislang unterschiedlich gehandhabt wird und nicht den erforderlichen Good Practice-Kriterien entspricht. Methode: Selektive Literaturrecherche in PubMed und medizin- und pharmaziehistorischen Datenbanken, Befragung von mit der Zulassung befassten Experten, Konsensuskonferenz mit Teilnehmern aus Allgemeinmedizin, Phytotherapie, Medizingeschichte, Pharmaziegeschichte, Biometrie, Ethnopharmakologie und Pharmazeutischer Industrie. Ergebnisse: Die derzeit für die Zulassung traditioneller pflanzlicher Arzneimittel geltende EU-Richtlinie aus dem Jahr 2004, in der ein Traditionsnachweis gefordert wird, ist ein regulatorisches Konstrukt und vor allem das Ergebnis eines politischen Prozesses, der zu einem pragmatischen Kompromiss führte. In dieser Richtlinie wird ein Traditionsbegriff verwendet, der den Bedeutungsumfang dieses Terminus nicht hinreichend reflektiert. Maßstab ist einzig das 30-jährige Vorhandensein eines definierten Handelspräparates auf dem Markt (davon 15 Jahre in der EU). Damit wird der wissenschaftliche Gehalt in Hinblick auf die verfügbare Evidenz nicht ausgeschöpft, da sich aus richtig aufbereiteten Informationen aus historischen Quellen wertvolle Erkenntnisse gewinnen lassen, die bislang ungenutzt bleiben. Dies gilt für Indikationen, Anwendungsmodalitäten und Effektivität ebenso wie für Aspekte der Anwendungssicherheit (‚Unschädlichkeit‘), die vollumfänglich in die Nutzen-Risiko-Bewertung angewandter Präparate im Registrierungsverfahren, aber auch in der therapeutischen Praxis einfließen sollten. Schlussfolgerung: Um das Kriterium einer evidenzbasierten Medizin zu erfüllen, ist es bei der Zulassung traditioneller pflanzlicher Heilmittel unabdingbar, über die formal-regulatorischen Vorgaben (30 Jahre, Produktbezug) hinaus alle zur Verfügung stehenden Fakten zu erfassen und zu bewerten. Dazu ist die jeweilige anerkannte wissenschaftliche Methodik (aus den Natur-, Lebens- und Geisteswissenschaften) anzuwenden.

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Historical Approaches in Ethnopharmacology

Cited by 13 publications

References 50 publications

Historical ethnopharmacology of the herbalists from Krummhübel in the Sudety Mountains (seventeenth to nineteenth century), Silesia

Historical ethnopharmacology of the herbalists from Krummhübel in the Sudety Mountains (seventeenth to nineteenth century), Silesia

From Pharmacognosia to DNA-Based Medicinal Plant Authentication – Pharmacognosy through the Centuries

Evidenz und Tradition am Beispiel der Phytopharmaka

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