Herbal Medicines - Systems Biology and Synergy.
Phytomedicines are highly complex, and it has long been considered that their effects are not always due to the presence of a single ‘active’ molecule. Synergistic effects have been shown to take place between constituents in some cases. Individual components of a mixture can act on different biological targets related to the therapeutic indication, providing what is sometimes known as a multi-factorial approach. The session aims to give an overview of these effects and how they can be measured, for example using metabolomics, as well as the implications for bioassays and evaluating interactions with other herbs and conventional drugs.
Symposium Chair: Liz Williamson, UK
Speakers:
Elizabeth Williamson, Reading, UK - Synergy and multi-factorial effects: examples and their implications
Robert Verpoorte, Leiden, NL - Using metabolomics to measure the complex biological effects of mixtures
Michael Heinrich, London, UK - Assessing the interaction risks of medicinal plant extracts using a metabolomic approach
Peter Taylor, Caracas, VE – A place for natural products in the multi-targeted approach to cancer therapy
For more information please contact Peter Taylor: ptaylor@ivic.ve

Young Researcher's Symposium and Roundtables
This Symposium is open to the public in general, but focused on students from all over the world and their research. Each participant must be a Doctoral, Post-doctoral or Master student, presenting original research with full results. “International” roundtables with five participants will be organized. Presentation (15 min) and discussion (15 min) will give the new researchers a forum to show their work to the public and to network among themselves. For more information please contact Sol Cristians Niizawa: scristians@ciencias.unam.mx

Global Health & Ethnopharmacology
Symposium Chairs: Gerard Bodeker and Janna Weiss
This panel aims to bring a public health perspective to ethnopharmacology, addressing public health and policy as important and valid arenas for research. Community and society, considered as researchable units rather than as general context, will be a focal theme. Key public health themes include large scale, population-based research on ethnopharmacology – such as the Bangalore-based NGO FRLHT’s research on more than 100,000 village communities & their use of herbal home gardens in reducing common illness, family healthcare expenditures, promoting women’s herbal micro-enterprise projects, and thereby contributing to poverty alleviation. Other themes include a focus on priority diseases of poor nations and populations – HIV, TB & malaria, as well as on special populations and their needs – e.g. refugees, women in poverty, Indigenous communities. Mental health is a universal and important public health issue that includes alleviating violence and depression, as well as cultural practices and approaches for creating healthy minds and societies. The International Society of Ethnopharmacology, as a society, is well suited to promote and contribute to global public health. Herbal medicine and traditional medical healers constitute a major source of healthcare worldwide. Ethnopharmacology, the scientific field dedicated to research of the therapeutic uses of plants and traditional medical knowledge, has an important role to play in the continuation and improvement of this extensive global health knowledge and resource base. The symposium is intended to serve as a catalyst for inter-sectoral partnership, especially with the public health research community, and the emergence of a new stream in the work of ISE members and their constituencies.
For more information please contact Janna Weiss: jweiss@research.haifa.ac.il

Continuum between Ritual and Medicinal Plant Uses
In many cultures, not only medicinal plants, but also rituals and the use of ritual plants for healing are essential. If we take the Himalayas as an example, we will find diverse ethnic groups living in an environment characterized by a high biodiversity and known for a rich medicinal flora. However, ethnic groups take advantage of the medicinal plants to different degrees. While some have a broad knowledge of medicinal plant uses, others rely mainly on the use of rituals and ritual plants to treat diseases and support well-being. Similar observations are known from other regions of the world. To tackle the question, why the use of a given medicinal flora can differ largely between neighbouring ethnic groups and local communities, we take a closer look at the specific characteristics of ritual plants and their uses. This workshop focuses on the continuum between medicinal and ritual uses of plants, on the different types of ritual plants, and on the rationale for the use of specific plants in a ritual context. Certainly, the use of incense plants is important among ritual plant uses. A special focus will therefore be on plants which are burned or roasted for application.
For more information please contact Caroline Weckerle: weckerle@ethnobot.ch

Another fascinating book from Nina L. Etkin. Unfortunately, it is the last one because she sadly passed away a year ago. But also in this book she leaves a last mark by opening up doors for new ethnopharmacological thinking. For more information see: http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/BOOKS/bid2160.htm and Book review by M. Heinrich in Journal of Ethnopharmacology 127 (2010) 204.

Hunn, E. S. (2008) A Zapotec Natural History
Trees, Herbs, and Flowers, Birds, Beasts, and Bugs in the Life of San Juan Gbëë
288 pp and supplemental figures and tables on CD-ROM. Bibliography and index/ 6.0 x 9.0 / Cloth (978-0-8165-2617-8). 50 US$

This award winning book and accompanying CD from Eugen S. Hunn is a thoughtful, candid and extraordinary publication, describing people and life of the Zapotec Indian community San Juan Gbëë in Oaxaca; Mexico. While the book covers the history of the project, and plant, animal and environment knowledge with a special focus on children’s knowledge, the CD-ROM contains the complete ethnoflora, ethnofauna, and mycological knowledge of the community. Also interesting are Eugen Hunns reflections on cosmopolitan science in comparison to Zapotec science. Get more information at http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/BOOKS/bid1957.htm

May 5 - 8, 2010, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
33rd annual meeting of the Society of Ethnobiology (SoE)
"The Meeting Place: Integrating Ethnobiological Knowledge" http://ethnobiology.org/conference/upcoming

May 9 - 14, 2010, Tofino, British Columbia, Canada.
12th International Congress of Ethnobiology (ICE)
Hishuk-ish tsawalk....Everything is one, everything is connected
http://www.tbgf.org/ice/home

June 6 - 9, 2010, Xalapa, Mexico.
SEB 2010. 51th Annual Meeting
Agrobiodiversity, Lessons for Conservation and Local Development http://www.econbot.org/_organization_/index.php?sm=07|meetings_by_year/2010

July 1 - July 2, 2010, Oxford, UK
Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropologxy, Oxford
Medical Anthropology in Europe: Shaping the Field
http://www.therai.org.uk/index.php?view=details&id=5:medical-anthropology-in%20europe-shaping-the-field&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=83

July 1 - 3, 2010, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
14th International Congress PHYTOPHARM 2010
Among six symposia: Pharmacology and Ethnopharmacology.
http://www.adaptogen.ru/phyto2010.html

September 14 - 16, 2010, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
North South Centre, Zürich
Tropentag 2010
International Research on Food Security, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development: World food system –A contribution from Europe.
http://www.tropentag.de/

http://www.plantasmedicinales.org/

Tips on how to write a scientific article: A collection of resources for pharmacology authors, including tips from various editors http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/L07.cws_home/publishing_tips

Watch here: http://www.paperpub.com.cn/website/videocontent.asp?contentid=608&videoid=1001 the the most recent author workshop presented by the JEP Editors Michael Heinrich and De-an Guo at the International Conference & Exposition on Traditional Medicine 2009.

The next JEP author workshop, presented by Editor-in-Chief Rob Verpoorte, will be held on 15 June 2010, 12.45-13.15 in connection with the 7th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CHROMATOGRAPHY OF NATURAL PRODUCTS/ 6th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL PRODUCTS http://pharmacognosy.org/index.php

Setting Standards: We see it as an important task of the journal to help to set standards in the field of medicinal plant research, for example concerning methods to be used, and what should be considered as an interesting activity. JEP articles describing such standards are available free of charge at http://www.elsevier.com/framework_products/promis_misc/JEP_Setting_Standards.pdf The standard of a scientific journal is to a great extent dependent on the quality of its reviewers.

The Journal of Ethnopharmacology would like to thank all 2009 reviewers for their continued commitment to the journal http://www.elsevierscitech.com/pdfs/JEP_ReviewerThankYou_2009.pdf
Irene Kanter-Schlifke, PhD
Publisher Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical Sciences | ELSEVIER |www.elsevier.com

Barbara Frei Haller, PD PhD (Editor), bfreihaller@bluewin.ch
Bröl dadaint 14, CH-7546 Ardez/ Switzerland

Michael Heinrich, Prof. (Co-Editor) michael.heinrich@ulsop.ac.uk
Janna Weiss, PhD., LAc (Proofreader) jweiss@research.haifa.ac.il

Dead line for Next Issue: March 15, 2010

As part of the Newsletter’s general policy we want to share the personal views of the authors with our readers. Unless otherwise stated the opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the ISE, its board or the editors of the newsletter.