Our Methods

Ethnopharmacology as a starting point for pharmacological research
may shorten drastically the time needed for the discovery by using the
collective experience of traditional healers throughout generations.

The methods of ethnopharmacology can as well be applied to older,
written medical traditions.

Our innovation: a theoretical model that allows us to make predictions
based on historical data about which medicinal plants possess the greatest
probability of acting efficiently against the disease in question.

A successful procedure should be able to predict with reasonable
accuracy the efficacy of each of these plants in the treatment of a
specific disease.

A useful tool for pre-laboratory pharmacological research, helping to
concentrate research along the most promising lines.

How We Work:

Information on the drugs recommended by the ancient and medieval authors and their accompanying
theoretical background is gathered from texts.

A special method, based on frequency and historical continuity of the
use of each drug is employed to evaluate which of the medicinal plants
would, with the highest probability, be effective against the disease in
question and could thus be preferred in future pharmacological research.

The exactness of ethnopharmacological pre-laboratory screening is
improved from the listing of possible drugs and indications for their
use to a more exact level of actual estimation of their medical
potential.

Finally, the results are compared with modern scientific literature in
order to concentrate the future research on innovations.

What Are The Results:

Our model is able to identify the efficient medicinal
plants (as rated using modern pharmacological results) mentioned in the
ancient texts with an accuracy of almost 80%.