Historical perspectives of ethnobotany

Abstract

Ethnobotany is the study of the direct interaction between plants and man in his culture. From time immemorial, man has been depending on Mother Nature for all his basic needs and plant diversity that existed around him always attracted his curiosity. Man's preliminary interest in plants started from his need for food, shelter, protection and then his attention shifted to the remedies for injuries and diseases. In fact, medicine and botany always had strong and close connections, as most of the modern medicines come from plant sources. The current venture reviews the developments and perspectives of ethnobotany in global scenarios. We have summarized the available literature and documentations regarding the historic background of ethnobotany. A survey of the literature survey reveals that plant resources were cited around the globe for curing almost all disease categories i.e. skin disorders, respiratory disorders, digestive disorders, urinary disorders, cardiac disorders, ophthalmic disorders, ear nose throat (ENT) disorders, excretory disorders, nervous disorders, immunity disorders and so on. The orally exchanged customary information/knowledge is in the hands of elders, and most of it can vanish after their deaths and could lead to the depletion of such imperative information. The ethnic society resources, like the folk asset in association with a nature of investigated and surveyed areas, can be conserved through documentation. The natural chemical compounds from plants may be screened and isolated. Plants with therapeutic uses should be tested in studies by using those isolated natural compounds in laboratories to screen and evaluate of plants metabolites with potential therapeutic uses.