Ethnobotany and its links to medical sciences and public health: quo vadis?

Zusammenfassung

Ethnobotanik und ihre Bedeutung für die Medizin und öffentliche Gesundheit: Quo vadis?
Ethnobotanik ist eine interdisziplinäre Fachrichtung, die die Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Pflanze untersucht. Entstanden im Zuge des Interesses an anthropologischen Fragestellungen im 19. Jh., kam es in der 1970er-Jahren zu einer Wiederbelebung durch die moderne Ethnobiologie. Zwei Trends dominieren die aktuelle Forschung: die klassische Ethnobotanik, welche die Verwendung von Heil- und wild wachsenden Nahrungspflanzen in möglichst isoliert lebenden ländlichen Gemeinschaften untersucht. Und sog. urbane Ethnobotanik, die die Verwendung solcher Pflanzen bei Migranten in westlichen städtischen Siedlungen erfasst. Während Erstere Informationen für den Umweltschutz, das kulturelle Erbe und die Arzneipflanzenforschung liefert, hilft die urbane Ethnobotanik, die Gesundheitsfürsorge von Migranten zu verbessern.

Summary

Ethnobotany is an interdisciplinary science which investigates the relationships between plants and human societies. Born in the 19th century, on the wave of the anthropological sciences, the interest in folk practices related to plants had a revival in the 1970s with the establishment of modern ethnobiology. The current trends in medico-ethnobotanical research comprise two main directions: “classical ethnobotany“, which continues to investigate the medicinal and wild food plant knowledge among isolated and rural communities, and “urban ethnobotany“, which explores plant uses and perceptions among migrants in Western urban environments. While the former has particular relevance in the fields of environmental conservation, cultural heritage, and herbal sciences, the latter provides information crucial in shaping culturally sensitive approaches in the pluralistic provision of health care.

Schlüsselwörter

Ethnobotanik - Ethnomedizin - Naturschutz - Pharmakognosie - Gesundheit von Migranten

Key words

Ethnobotany - ethnomedicine - biological conservation - herbal sciences - migrant health

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