Ethnobotany
Biology 395-01
Class Times: Monday and Wednesday 3:00-5:50 pm
Professors: Dr. Debbie J. Swarthout, Dr. Kenneth L. Brown & Dr. Timothy Evans
Course Objective and Philosophy: Students will gain knowledge about how humans are impacted by plants through deliberate intellectual manipulation of chemical and physical properties involved in animal and plant physiology.
Course Description: An upper level course that is designed to serve students in chemistry and biology. Case studies will provide knowledge about how plant physiology, analytical chemistry and ethnobotany can be intermingled to address new areas of medicinal needs in our society. This will be facilitated by the utilization of analytical tools commonly used to address research problems in the field of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. Case studies will make use of specific examples in which we will trace the development of a particular biologically active compound from its local use by indigenous people, through the research and development stages, to its ultimate large-scale production and widespread use in modern medicine. This knowledge will be applied to understanding the wisdom or folk lore that is embedded in many ethnobotanical practices.
Learning Goals:
Ethnobotany
- Students will review basic plant morphology and plant classification/identification principles.
- Students will learn the systematic significance of plant secondary compounds
- Students will examine the role of plants in modern society, with an emphasis on their contribution to medicine as well as the various conservation pressures facing ecosystems that harbor potentially useful plant species.
Plant Physiology
- Students will gain knowledge about how water, nutrients, light and herbivory interact with each other to bring about a change in resource allocation to the medicinal chemical compound of interest.
- Students will become proficient in using the professional vocabulary to describe how plants function.
Analytical Chemistry
- Students will learn about the tools of Analytical Chemistry used in organic extractions.
- Students will learn how to select an analytical method by defining the problem and evaluating analytical figures of merit.
Animal Physiology
- Students will learn about the function of specific organs in vertebrate animals through chemical manipulation of their physiological conditions.
Class Necessities: Class Syllabus, Resources Used for Class, Schedule, Digitoxin Experiment
Why Ethnobotany?: Fort Lewis , National Health Museum - Ethnobotany , Amazon Conservation Team , CV Disease and Herbs
Other Ethnobotany Classes: University of Hawaii
Search Sites: Fort Lewis , University of Florida , Internet Directory for Botany , CIEER
Interesting Sites: Basic Virtual Tour , Lewis and Clark , History of Medicinal Plants