Current LectureAGRI 116 1nd Edition Lecture 18 Outline of Last Lecture I. Cacao Tree Biology, Distribution, and similar topicsII. Cacao  Cocoa powderIII. Ancient(ish) History (Olmec, Maya, Aztec)IV. Chocolate cravings: Is chocolate:a. Physically addictive?, Mentally addictive?, Both?, Neither?Outline of Current Lecture V. Who discovers medicines in plants? (ethnobotony and pharmacognosy)VI. Begin historical use of medicinal plants (continued next Monday)Current LectureWho discovers medicines in plants?Ethnobotany - The study of indigenous plant useEthnobotanists- study how a culture uses of plants for medicine, hunting, shelter, food, etc…- Shamans, Healers, Elders, Chiefs, etc. . . . .- Ethnobotanists immerse themselves in a culture for extended periods of timePharmacognosy: the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources.- “pharmakon” or drug, and “gnosis” or knowledgePharmacognosy: The interdisciplinary study of medicinal and toxic products taken from natural plant sources.Homeopathy: A course of treatment based on the idea that an ailment/disease can be treated with minute doses of drugs thought capable of producing the same symptoms in healthy peopleas the disease itself.- “Law of Similars” aka “Like Cures Like”Allopathy: treats disease by the use of remedies that produce effects different from those produced by the disease itselfThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Defense – A ReviewPlants don’t move. To defend themselves against herbivores, plants have evolved a wide diversity of secondary metabolites (secondary plant compounds).Hypothesized that the reason plants have so many chemicals is that they are defending themselves against insects.Also used as a defense against pathogens and vertebratesPlant - Insect Interactions- The caterpillar prefers to feed on bush lupine and its relatives.- Woolly bear caterpillars are attacked (parasitized) by a certain type of fly.- When attacked (parasitized), the caterpillar switches to feed on poison hemlock- Primates are known to use plants to treat parasitic infections and possibly to regulate fertility.Early Medical Uses of PlantsThere is good archeological evidence that humans have used plants as drugs since before written history, as long as 60,000 ybp- Ephedra has a long history of use as a medicinal plant- Ephedra sp. remnants found in burial site 60,000 ybp (Iraq).Pharmacopoeia: a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound medicinesEarly written records:4,000 ybp Sumerian tablet (one of the earliest pharmacopeias) describing various plant derived remedies.- The opium poppy is one of the earliest medicinal plants.- Archeological evidence of use in Europe at least 6,000 years ago.Ancient IndiaThe Rigveda is a pharmacopeia compiled in the form of Hindu sacred versesAyurvedic medicine - by at least 3400 ybpThree elemental energies are important for health (wind, bile, phlegm). Ayurvedic medicine seeks balance in all three.- Disease is manifestation of a body out of balance. Therapy seeks to restore balance.Traditional Chinese Medicineqì (also chi or ch'i) = life force.Similar to Ayurvedic thought, blockage of meridians causes blockage of chi which manifests as disease.The Pun-tsao (“Essential Herbs”) is a pharmacopoeia containing information on thousands of plants and herbal formulations.Ancient Greece and PersiaHippocrates (460 - 370 BCE)- Referred to as the father of Western medicine- Scientific approach to medicine: Disease can be explained rationally.- The healing power of nature “vis medicatrix naturae”Naturopathy-- 6 Principles of Naturopathy:- Do No Harm (primum non nocere)- The Healing Power of Nature (vis medicatrix naturae)- Discover and Treat the Cause, Not Just the Effect (tolle causam)- Treat the Whole Person (tolle totum)- The Physician is a Teacher (docere)- Prevention is the best "cure" (praevenire)Dioscorides (40 - 90 AD)- Described use and attributes of many botanical and chemical therapies. Also described the use of surgery to treat disease.Ibn Sina (Avicenna) – Persian (980 - 1037 AD)- Developed protocols for testing drugs / herbs, refined concept of infectious disease.- Created a pharmacopeia intended as the “catalog of known medical knowledge” called The Canon of Medicine.16-17th Century European MedicineHerbals (books on plants) coupled the known medicinal value of certain plants with current superstition, occult, or astrological uses of the same plant.The Doctrine of SignaturesAsserted that God has marked all plants with their potential use.Lungwort (Pulmonaria officianalis) was thought to be good for respiratory problems because theleaves look like lungs.Mandrake (Mandragora officianarum) was thought to have mystical powers because the roots look like human figures.Edema (AKA Dropsy or congestive heart failure) is caused by a weakening of the heart. This results in fluid accumulation in the body, and is an excruciating way to die.Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea had been used as part of a folk remedy for dropsy for centuries.William Withering (1741 - 1799)“discovered” foxglove by systematically testing the components of herbal treatments for dropsy- One of the first systematic tests of a folk remedy (1785).Digoxin and digitoxin are two of the active compounds. These act by regulating the pulse and strengthening each contraction.- Digoxin is still used today, and still extracted extracted from Digitalis