Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants: Study Guide for Exam 1 - Prof. James Affolter, Study notes of Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Download Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants: Study Guide for Exam 1 - Prof. James Affolter and more Study notes Introduction to Cultural Anthropology in PDF only on Docsity! Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants: Study Guide for Exam 1 1) Herb: a non-woody plant; Medicinal Plant: valued for their physiological, therapeutic, and psychoactive effects Herbs: leafy part is used, temperate regions Spices: other parts (stems, roots, fruits, and flowers) are used, tropical regions 2) Five tropical spices: Black Pepper - berries Cinnamon - inner bark Nutmeg - dried seed kernel Clove - dried flower buds Ginger - root Black pepper is obtained by harvesting the immature berry of the plant Green pepper is obtained by placing the berry in salt water (or brine) White pepper is obtained by allowing the berries to mature (red pepper), then treating them to remove the skin (white pepper) 3) Anti-cancer drugs: taxol, vincristine, and vinblastine Taxol is produced by the Pacific Yew (native to Pacific Northwest USA, shared habitat with Spotted Owl) Vincristine and Vinblastine are produced by the Madagascar Periwinkle (native to Madagascar) 4) Plant name: active compound or drug, therapeutic effect, part that yields drug Opium poppy: opium (morphine and codeine), pain reliever, immature fruit capsule Coca: cocaine, relieves fatigue, thirst, and hunger, leaves Willow: salicin (salicylic acid), pain reliever (aspirin), bark Foxglove: digitoxin/digoxin, help for heart disease, leaves 5) Tropane Alkaloids: 1) atropine 2) hyosciamine 3) scopolamine (hallucinogenic) 1) Datura inoxia 2) Datura stramonium 3) Datura metel ← ← Tropane alkaloids are fat soluble, so they can be applied directly to the skin. ← Tropane alkaloids are found in members of the Potato family (solanac). ← 6) - Ebers Papyrus: George Eber 1550 BC; 65 feet long; 700 different recipes for medications (as many as 30 different elements in each); like aloe, cannabis, castor bean [laxative], mandrake) - Spice Islands: “the Moluccas”, located in Indonesia; archipelago of little islands that were prized as centers of spice trade in late 1800s and early 1900s Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants: Study Guide for Exam 1 - Aril: any specialized outgrowth from the attachment point of the seed that covers or is attached to the seed - Panacea: a remedy for all disease and ills; a cure-all -William Withering: was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and the discoverer of the Common Foxglove - Doctrine of Signatures: God/higher being left clues in plants revealed by shape, taste, color, aroma, etc - zoopharmacognosy: what we can learn from animals, especially primates, concerning new medical compounds from plants - Opium: annual, native to Mediterranean; ingredient in morphine, codeine, and heroin - “Officinale”: this means that the herb is considered to be medicinal - Queen Hatshepsut: sent workers to other lands to find new products (they brought back new herbs and spices and monkeys; evidence of trade found in the plants) - Rhizome: a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes - Peyote: small bulb cactus on top with large taproot, has showy flowers; native to Rio Grande Valley; contains the alkaloid mescaline (hallucinogenic); today used as a sacrament by the Native American Church (the spirit of god is actually in the peyote) - Taxol: found in bark of the Pacific Yew; used in cancer treatment (particularly breast, lung, testicular and ovarian cancers) - Hexing Herbs: [i.e. Henbane and Belladonna] Belladonna contains atropine which creates an eye drop that dilates the pupils; these herbs played heavily into witchcraft and they are fat-based; witches applied these herbs to their broomstick and rubbed it between their legs (scopolamine created sensation of flight) - Glucosinolates: when a mustard seed is crushed, it interacts with enzymes, yielding isothiocyanates (which give mustard its heat) - Malabar Coast: - Carminative: yea - Capsaicin: the compound in chile peppers that creates the burning sensation - Culinary: - Scovile scale: - Bioassay: - Hemiparasite (e.g. mistletoe): - Voucher specimen: - Myrrh: good for canker sores/sore throat; usually comes in powder/capsule form - Tussie-mussie: - Dioecious: - Evil eye: - Mescaline: - Microtubules: - Dropsy: - Brugmansia: - Organoleptic: - Essential oils: