Ethnobiology, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine and traditional knowledge with special reference to India

Ethnobiology is the scientific study of the plants and animals as treated or used by different traditional communities. Early man looked for the best nutritious food to have a healthy and disease free long life from the surrounding environment. This effort has resulted in selecting a large number of food items by human communities who lived in different parts of the world. The early humans perhaps combined instinct with indulgence to select his food items. Countless members from various human communities who spread to the different parts of the world, continued to expand the food basket. Since the early 1970s, different groups in various Universities and Research Institutions have been working on ethnobotany and traditional knowledge system of the region and published several reports. Most of the publications were concerned with ethnobotany or agricultural operations including shifting cultivation and festivals of the region. Ethnobotanical reports were mainly on ethnomedicinal plants with a few publications on food and beverages. The ethnomedicinal publications in most cases cited only the names of plants, used without going into the details of the method of use, the quantum of use and other related aspects. During 1980s, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Govt. of India launched an All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Ethnobiology (AICRPE), to document ethnobotanical and ethnozoological informations on plants and animals used by the indigenous people of India. The growth and development of ethnobotanical studies in India and elsewhere are briefly reviewed in this article.