BIOPL 2484 - Medical Ethnobotany of New World Cultures

Spring. 2 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: BIOPL 2410 or permission of instructor.

E. Rodriguez.

Indigenous tribes of the tropics and arid lands of the Americas developed a unique health care system that involved the medical use of a vast array of medicinal plants. In this course, we will explore the evolution, systematics, efficacy and ecology of North and South American medicinal plants used by New World Amazonian and Aztec communities. We will also explore the ways that shamans and curanderas (female herbalists) diagnosed a plethora of human diseases and prepared plant extracts for treating breast lesions (tumors) and a variety of infectious diseases and mental illness by utilizing hallucinogenic medicinal plants. The course is designed for plant biology majors, pre-medical and pre-health students interested in wilderness medicine, natural history biologists and medical anthropology majors.

Outcome 1: Students participating in the course will be expanding on their critical thinking and reading skills in medical ethnobotany.

Outcome 2: Students will be expected to evaluate the validity of medicinal plants in curing acute or chronic diseases.

Outcome 3: Students will also be expected to incorporate evolutionary thinking in understanding the phylogeny of natural medicines in plants.

Outcome 4: Students will also be able to integrate quantitative and qualitative information related to medicine, plant biology, biochemistry and present a critical report on selected plant medicines.