BIO 255 E - Ethnobotany: Food, Spices, Medicine

Minimum Credit(s) Awarded: 3
Maximum Credit(s) Awarded: 3

: Humans rely on plants and plant-derived compounds to meet our needs every day. This course endeavors to explore the myriad uses humans have for plants, a discipline termed ethnobotany. We will focus on food, spices, fibers, and some of modern medicines most important drugs. We will look at plants through an evolutionary lens, exploring the evolutionary pressures and coevolutionary relationships that gave rise to the important plants we depend upon today. We will also explore the historical ramifications of economically valuable plants, including the spice trade, dissemination of crops, plantation-based colonization, and the effect of plant-derived medicines in wartime. Plant secondary compounds have been utilized by humans medicinally for thousands of years and we will examine how plants continue to supply many important drugs in modern medicine. The course will culminate in student-led research on up and coming plant derived drugs, many of which show promise in treating cancers and antibiotic resistant pathogens. Throughout the course, we will emphasize the importance of preserving biodiversity to improve existing crops, to thwart potential pathogens, and to aid in the discovery of new drugs.

Offered Spring