1. AN UPDATE OF
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
KARIM YAR ABBASI
INSTITUTE OF HORTICULTURAL
SCIENCES

2. ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
“the scientific study of materials used by
ethnic and cultural groups as medicines”
A branch of ethno botany the study of use of plants as medicines
A multidisciplinary subject involving
anthropologists,botanists,chemists and pharmacologists.

3. HISTORICAL DIMENSION
 The term ethno pharmacology 1st time used
in 1967.
 In early 19th century isolation of some opium
alkaloids was a key event in development of
modern pharmacy
 A significant increase in ‘hit rate’ for discovery
of novel active compounds
 90% of estimated 250,000 species of
flowering plants still awaiting for scientific
investigation

4. THE PROCESS OF DRUG DISCOVERY
USING ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
VARIOUS STAGES
 INFORMATION SOURCES
 SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
 Extraction
 Tests for activity
 Chemical examination

5. INFORMATIN SOURCES
 People are reluctant to give away knowledge
which is regarded as ‘protected’ in some way
 Information provided often need clarification
and translation into scientific terms
 Definition of disease state in medical terms
may not be easy

6. EXTRACTION
 The extract used for testing should
approximate as closely as possible to that
obtained by traditional process used
 Much research is not relevant to traditional
use because it has concentrated on extracts
made with non polar solvents such as ether
and choloform.

7. TESTS FOR ACTIVITY
 BIOASSAY
 CLINICAL TRIAL UNDER ETHICAL
CONSIDERATION.
 BIOLOGICAL TESTING INTERESTING
RESULTS e.g Catharanthus roseus

8. CHEMICAL EXAMINATION
 Chemical examination should linked
with tests for biological activity.
 Chemotaxonomic consideration can
often provide a reasoned guess.

9. THE VALUE OF
ETHNOPHAMACOLOGICAL
APPROCH
 Efficacy and safety
 Economic and sociopolitical
consideration

10. PROBLEMS
 Reliability of information
 Biological variation
 Loss of species
 Loss of knowledge
 The need for dereplication
 Intellectual property right issues

11. QUESTIONS
 FUTURE TRENDS
 MONOPLY OF MULTINATIONALS

12. THANKS
 ALLAH HAFIZ