Volume 181, 2 April 2016, Pages 182–192
- Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
- Received 19 October 2015, Revised 19 January 2016, Accepted 21 January 2016, Available online 22 January 2016
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Ethnobotanical
knowledge and traditional medicinal practices from different parts of
the world are of global importance and documentation of ethnobotanical,
and ethnopharmacological data is a key prerequisite for further research
in the area of herbal medicine and its implementation in clinical
practice.
Aims
An attempt was
made to evaluate the scientific output of research related to
ethnobotany and herbal medicine in journals indexed in the subject area
“Integrative and Complementary Medicine” in the period 2001–2013, in
order to ascertain research trends in both subdisciplines.
Materials and methods
All
articles related to ethnobotany and herbal medicine, extracted from
journals included in the field of I&C Medicine and published in the
period 2001–2013, have been analyzed for general bibliometric data, and
specific data: ethnobotanical data (geographic, floristic,
pharmacological, sociological and other relevant data) and
phytotherapeutic data (type of applied herbal medicine, plant species
studied, pharmacological activity of studied plant species and disease
and disorder type studied on a particular model).
Results
In
the studied period, the number of articles dealing with ethnobotany and
herbal medicine increased 6.3-fold. Articles related to ethnobotanical
studies documented medicinal flora from 81 countries, either giving an
overview of overall medicinal flora, or presenting the ethnomedicinal
aspect of the use of plants for the treatment of ailments typical to the
studied area. Additionally, the authors provided significant
information on the methods of use and herbal preparations. In herbal
medicine studies, plants, traditional plant remedies, herbal medicinal
products and active herbal compounds were tested for many of
pharmacological activities (146), with the curative activity emerging as
most frequently tested. Out of 39 model systems, most of the studies
were carried out under controlled in vitro conditions (4589 articles), followed by rat in vivo (2320), human in vivo (1285), mouse in vivo (955), and on agents of pathogenic diseases (887); more than 800 medical disorders were treated.
Conclusions
The
study revealed the regions most studied for new records of floristic
and ethnomedicinal diversity, the most frequently studied plant species,
and the most promising therapeutic indications for the integration of
herbal remedies in the curative process, as ascertained from the
selected bibliographic databases.
Graphical abstract
Abbreviations
- Iv, In vitro cell cultures and biological molecules out of normal biological context;
- H, human In vivo, in vitro, in vivo+in vitro;
- R, rat In vivo, in vitro, in vivo+in vitro;
- M, mouse In vivo, in vitro, in vivo+in vitro;
- P, Parasites/pathogen, agents of diseases: viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites;
- Other animal model systems, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, monkey, cattle, cat, dog, pig, chicken, snail and fish;
- in vivo, in vitro, or both, pharmacological activities (32 in total): and medical disorders affecting organ systems (23 in total);
- Am, Ameliorative;
- An, analgesic;
- Aa, anti-aging;
- Ac, anti-cancer;
- Ad, anti-diabetic;
- Ai, anti-inflammatory;
- Aob, anti-obesity;
- Aox, anti-oxidant;
- Apa, antiparasitic activity;
- Apy, anti-pyretic;
- Cv, cardiovascular;
- Cp, cell protective;
- C, curative;
- G, gastrointestinal;
- I, immunomodulatory;
- Me, metabolic;
- N, neural;
- Np, neuropsychiatric;
- Ph, pharmacokinetics;
- Pre, preventive;
- Pro, protective;
- Rg, regenerative;
- Rgl, regulatory;
- Re, relaxant;
- RS, reproductive and sexual activity, Res, respiratory system activity;
- Sk, skeletomuscular activity;
- St, stimulative activity;
- Su, suppressive activity;
- T, toxic activity/safety;
- U, urinoregulatory activity;
- W, wound-healing activity;
- AD, age-related disorders;
- C&T, cancer & tumor;
- CD, cardiovascular disorders;
- Cf&a, cell function & activity;
- Cg&d, cell growth & differentiation;
- DenD, dental disorders;
- DerD, dermatological disorders;
- ED, endocrine disorders;
- GD, gastrointestinal disorders;
- ID, immune disorders;
- InD, infectious (pathogen-caused) disorders;
- MenD, mental disorders;
- MetD, metabolic disorders;
- ND, neurological disorders;
- NonD, nonspecific objects (nonspecific or induced pain, inflammation, oxidative stress, toxicity);
- O, obesity, not associated with diabetes, originating from diet;
- PD, psychological issues;
- RepD, reproductive system disorders;
- ResD, respiratory disorders;
- SD, skeletomuscular disorders;
- GP, general pharmacology, toxicity, safety, efficiency, pharmacokinetics, synergism or antagonist effect herb–herb, drug–herb;
- UD, urinary disorders;
- Wb, well-being, herbal product type;
- TKM, Traditional Korean medicine;
- KM, Kampo medicine;
- TCM, Traditional Chinese medicine;
- HMP, herbal medicinal product;
- AM, Ayurvedic medicine;
- HAC, herbal active compound;
- H, herbs (medicinal plants);
- TTM, Traditional Thai medicine;
- ATM, African traditional medicine
Keywords
- Floristic resources;
- Pharmacological activities;
- Research trends;
- Curative activity;
- Literature survey
