BIO368H5

Medicinal Plants and Human Health

This botanical survey of medicinal plants integrates phytochemistry, ethnobotany, herbalism, pharmacology, and the molecular basis of human disease. It examines traditional herbal medicine and modern phytochemical research as sources of plant-based drugs used in the treatment of disease. The biosynthesis of therapeutic plant compounds and their mechanisms of action in the human body are emphasized. Students will critically examine and debate claims made in the health, herbal, and supplement literature.