While examining the relationship between health, culture and medicine in post-colonial India, the dominant perspective in sociological and anthropological literature conceptualizes medicine and culture as autonomous domains and views the relationship between the two in oppositional terms where culture (lay persons' beliefs and practices) is seen largely as impeding the progress of biomedicine (allopathic, modern medicine). In this conceptual scheme, all medical knowledge systems other than biomedicine is denied any valid medical status, clubbed as culture devoid of any cognitive content, and is seen as coterminous with religion and superstition. This perspective largely ignores the ground reality of the existence of ethno-medicine among Tribal communities. Tribal contributed tremendously to the development of indigenous medical systems in India. However, their contributions have not been documented and studied properly. This book makes a modest attempt to bridge this gap and offers a platform for debate and discussion towards safeguarding and development of Tribal medicine in India.

Traditional medicinal knowledge, especially the use of ethnomedicinal plants in developing countries, has been passed down for generations. Today, however, scientists are poised to combine traditional medicinal plants and modern drug discoveries to further develop essential products that have followed the leads of indigenous cures used for centuries. Ethnomedicinal Plant Use and Practice in Traditional Medicine provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of indigenous knowledge and therapeutic potential within ethnobotany. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as drug discovery, traditional knowledge, and herbal medicine, this book is ideally designed for doctors, healers, medical professionals, ethnobotanists, naturalists, academicians, researchers, and students interested in current research on the medical use and applications of natural-based resources.

This book provides a systematic analysis of the ethical implications of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM), focusing on pragmatic solutions. The author uses a bioethical methodology called the “Ethical Matrix,” to consider the impact of T&CM use for animals and the environment as well as for humans. A systematic search of the literature reveals that most published ethical concerns are related to the safety of T&CM use for humans. However, application of the Ethical Matrix demonstrates that the ethical implications for T&CM use are much broader. In this book, the author analyses the most serious implications, including adverse events related to homeopathy, the use of animals in T&CM products, and the impact of herbal medicine on the environment. Comparisons with the ethical implications of conventional biomedicine help readers to contextualise debate, and highlight aspects that may be unique to T&CM. Globally, many high-level health policy makers promote T&CM as an accessible and affordable healthcare option. However, their use is considered by some to be a waste of resources, unscientific, and unethical. Offering a frank analysis of this largely ignored field of healthcare ethics, this book is both timely and essential. It helps patients, policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and students gain the knowledge they need to make more informed decisions.

The majority of modern drugs are based on phytochemicals produced from ethnomedicinal plants.This new volume provides an understanding of the importance of sustainability and bioprospecting of ethnomedicinal plants for formulating novel chemical compounds and new drugs from raw materials from plants cultivated and collected from the wild for healthcare and nutrition practices. It provides extensive information on medicinal plant diversification, cultivation techniques, biotechnological approaches, and modern and traditional usages. It also provides information for developing new strategies and formulating new policies for the systematic management and conservation of medicinal resources for future use.

Provides new ideas to address today's global development challenges, evaluating past experience and exploring answers for the future.

Plants have been a source of medicines and have played crucial role for human health. Despite tremendous advances in the field of synthetic drugs and antibiotics, plants continue to play a vital role in modern as well as traditional medicine across the globe. In even today, one-third of the world’s population depends on traditional medicine because of its safety features and ability to effectively cure diseases. This book presents a comprehensive guide to medicinal plants, their utility, diversity and conversation, as well as biotechnology. It is divided into four main sections, covering all aspects of research in medicinal plants: biodiversity and conservation; ethnobotany and ethnomedicine; bioactive compounds from plants and microbes; and biotechnology. All sections cover the latest advances. The book offers a valuable asset for researchers and graduate students of biotechnology, botany, microbiology and the pharmaceutical sciences. It is an equally important resource for doctors (especially those engaged in Ayurveda and allopathy); the pharmaceutical industry (for drug design and synthesis); and the agricultural sciences.