Ethnobotany From the Traditional to Ethnopharmacology

"The proposed book will present the large-scale synthesis of traditional botanical knowledge of useful plants. Specifically, we will assess spatiotemporal trends in the documentation of traditional knowledge, most useful ecosystems, plant taxa, use categories and indigenous groups. The book will identify the factors that are affecting the use of different species, abandonment of use, accumulation and transference of traditional knowledge. Recent research revealed that traditional knowledge systems are not static social institutions that are not evolving, as there is evidence of insertions and deletions of plants that compose it, with the addition of exotic plants as food and herbal medicines. The proposed book will also document the nutritional compositions and phytochemical properties of some useful plant species. The proposed book will also focus on plant based food resources as such information on the potential health of individual phytochemical is linked to information on the health effects of food plants that contain those valuable phytochemicals. The last section of the book will focus on establishing the scientific rationale for and safety of useful plants. The book will include chapters focusing on selected plants screened for antibacterial, antifungal, anthelmintic, anti-amoebic, antischistosomal, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cytotoxicity and toxicological activities using appropriate in vitro and in vivo studies"--