Emerging Synergies Between Information Technology and Applied Ethnobotanical Research

Abstract

Ethnobotanical research has historically played a vital role in humankinds understanding of the relationship between people and the biological environment. Today, it remains a rapidly growing field of research, gaining professional, student and public interest both within the US and internationally. Ethnobiologists have however been very slow to adopt and apply tools of the informatics revolution and to integrate research data collaboratively. If ethnobotany is to continue to develop as a discipline, what is needed in the near future is not only a continued effort to promote collaborative ethnobotanical research but also to develop an initiative to bridge the digital gap between ethnobiologists and emerging bioinformatics tools. Through an improved understanding of the application of information technologies and the traditional ethnobotanical research model, tomorrow's scientists may better record and compare traditional botanical knowledge (TBK). This integration would greatly assist in stemming the tide of the unprecedented loss of global bio-cultural diversity in the twenty-first century.

Current outlook and future promise of ethnobotany in Nigeria: A review and personal observation

“…The publication of "Purposes of Ethnobotany" by Harshberger (1896) signalled the genesis of ethnobotany as an academic discipline (Thomas, 2003). However, the history of ethnobotany started with European explorers, travellers, and missionaries who observed and documented the uses of plants by the aboriginal peoples (Cotton, 1996).…”

Challenges in developing medicinal plant databases for sharing ethnopharmacological knowledge

“…Secondary and tertiary information, also, are not free from the problem of data quality. Occurrence of unreliable data and questionable research methodology without detailed reference (Thomas, 2003) make some online resources unsuitable for sound scientific research. For instance, presence of incomplete, incorrect and irregular data was reported in the data source of Chinese Materia Medica (Lin et al, 2008).…”

“…Nowadays, information stored in electronic medium has remarkably increased (Bhat, 1997;Thomas, 2003) with medicinal plant database emerging as one of the trends (Dighe et al, 2010). These databases compiled a wide range of information on plant characteristics, medicinal properties and bioactive compounds along with their images (Deng et al, 2010).…”

Dereplications Can Amplify The Extent And Worth Of Traditional Pharmacopeias.

“…However practical solutions are likely to emerge as information technologies evolve and become more user friendly (Thomas, 2003). Until a consensus evolves these tasks may be pain-staking because of the lack of standardization and the myriad of ways this information is available.…”

“…as well as others cited by Thomas (2003) Additional sources may be restricted to circumscribed groups such as the Gwich'in of Northern Canada, the Aboriginal people of Australia, Maya of Central America, the Quijos of the Andes, or those in India that practice specialized medicinal systems such as Aryurveda (Unnikrishnan, 2005) or AYUSH (Aryurveda, Yoga, Unani, Naturopathy, Siddha and Homeopathy). Alternately, the Native American Ethnobotany Database describes uses of indigenous Amerindian tribes/1 st Nations in both the U.S. and Canada, respectively.…”