Globalizing Local Knowledge and Localizing Global Technologies
Ethnopharmacology involves a wide range of scientists from varying specialties. The practices and public interest in natural therapies, namely herbal medicine, have been increased dramatically throughout the world. This has increased the international trade in herbal medicine enormously. A paradigm shift is observed in the use of natural product based medicine for the management of health care, which can significantly impart a major task in economic growth. India has a special position in the world today, because it is one of the few countries that are capable of producing most of the important plants used in modern as well as traditional systems of medicine.
Society for Ethnopharmacology is constituted by the eminent academicians, researchers, industrialists with the vision of providing an environment for knowledge sharing among researchers, healthcare-practitioners, and decision-makers interested in Ethnopharmacology. The main idea of the society is to put forward different issues for promotion and development of traditional medicine and natural products with national and international collaboration or co-operation through globalization of local knowledge and localizing global technologies. The society is mainly working on dissemination of knowledge in the area of Ethnopharmacology and natural products development. It will form a bridge between the academic and industry to gather the scientific and teaching professional in Ethnopharmacology and professional of other area interested in developing cost effective natural remedies.
Major activities of the Society:
- Understanding of ethnopharmacological perspectives from traditional medicine and utilizes the collaborative approach to modern pharmaceuticals.
- To encourage the research activities in the direction of traditional medicine inspired drug discovery and development of potentially active new chemical entities from medicinal plants.
- The society will work on globalizing local knowledge or localizing global technologies. This involves the sharing of the local knowledge of ethnomedicines among scientists, researchers and students with an objective to improve the same utilizing the modern technologies and process as well as utilization of World Wide Web as an important tool to promote the traditional medicines.
- To understand the global need of the products of plant based ancient systems of medicine like Ayurveda and others.
- The knowledge of the traditional medicine-evidence based healthcare system can be utilized to develop new health supplements and nutraceuticals; which can be used as an alternative approach towards healthcare.
- Promotion and development of new natural products.
- To utilize the ethnopharmacological and traditional knowledge to develop new chemical entities.
- To understand the nature of synergy and polypharmacology exist in the natural medicinal products with the knowledge of system biology.
- To promote IPR protection and conservation of medicinal plants and maintain the bio-cultural diversity utilizing the knowledge of ethnopharmacology.
- Phytochemical, pharmacological and clinical studies of natural products.
- To find the cure of different neglected diseases utilizing the knowledge of ethnopharmacology and natural product research.
- Harmonization of regulatory requirements to ensure quality, safety and efficacy of the herbal products.
- To establish the future of ancient system of medicines utilizing multidisciplinary approaches in health sciences.
- To promote national and international cooperation among researchers in interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and trans-disciplinary aspects for development of ethnopharmacology and natural product studies.
- To recognize the outstanding contribution in the area of medicinal pant research and Ethnopharmacology, the Society has instituted several awards.