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 people
Often these traditions constitute significant interactions with insects as well, in Africa or around the globe
The word ethnomedicine is sometimes used as a synonym for traditional medicine
Scientific ethnomedical studies constitute either anthropological research or drug discovery research
Chandrakant Katiyar, et al. Ayu. 2012 Jan-Mar; 33(1): 10–19. Drug discovery from plant sources: An integrated approach (PMID: 23049178)
Akash Tariq et al. Phytother Res. 2017 Feb. A systematic review on ethnomedicines of anti-cancer plants (PMID: 28093828)
A total of 199 anti-cancer plants were recorded in present review and results indicated that traditional medicines are mostly being use in developing countries for cancer treatment
Traditionally and scientifically skin and breast cancer types gained more focus
Twenty nine pure compounds (mostly phenolic) were reportedly isolated from anti-cancer plants and tested against different cancer cell lines
Detailed ethno-pharmacological and toxicological studies needed on un-explored anti-cancer plants in order to provide reliable knowledge to the patients and develop novel anti-cancer drugs
Pulok K et al. J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2010 Apr-Jun; 1(2): 100–109. Ethnopharmacology and integrative medicine – Let the history tell the future (PMID: 21836796)
