About Society for Ethnopharmacology

About Us

Inspired by the vision of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, Society for Ethnopharmacology, India (SFE-India) was founded in 2012 under the leadership of Professor Pulok Kumar Mukherjee. SFE-India is a registered, nonprofit scientific society and the official Indian affiliate of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology (ISE), Switzerland.

SFE-India was established to advance ethnopharmacology and traditional medicine through scientific validation, interdisciplinary research, ethical governance, and policy engagement. It brings together academicians, researchers, clinicians, traditional healers, industry leaders, policymakers, and other like-minded stakeholders to promote the responsible development of traditional medicine and medicinal plants through knowledge dissemination, collaboration, and cooperation.

The Society is guided by a clear and enduring vision: to globalize local knowledge and localize global technologies, fostering sustainable development and ethical innovation in traditional medicine. Its mission is to promote the scientific validation, documentation, and dissemination of traditional medical knowledge, while strengthening India’s leadership in the global herbal and natural products ecosystem through robust frameworks for research, regulation, and responsible commercialization.

For further details please visit www.ethnopharmacology.in or e-mail: sfeindian@gmail.com

Globalizing Local Knowledge and Localizing Global Technologies

Ethnopharmacology involves a wide range of scientists from diverse disciplines. Global interest in natural therapies—particularly herbal medicines—has increased dramatically, leading to a significant expansion of international trade. India holds a unique position due to its ability to produce a wide range of medicinal plants used in both modern and traditional systems of medicine.

The Society focuses on disseminating ethnopharmacological knowledge and promoting development of
traditional medicine and natural products through national and international collaboration.

Major Activities of the Society

• Understanding ethnopharmacological perspectives and integrating them with modern pharmaceutical approaches.
• Encouraging traditional medicine-inspired drug discovery and development.
• Globalizing local knowledge and localizing global technologies using modern tools and the World Wide Web.
• Promoting plant-based ancient systems of medicine such as Ayurveda.
• Developing health supplements and nutraceuticals from evidence-based traditional medicine.
• Promotion and development of new natural products.
• Utilizing ethnopharmacological knowledge to develop new chemical entities.
• Studying synergy and polypharmacology of natural medicinal products.
• Promoting IPR protection and conservation of medicinal plants.
• Conducting phytochemical, pharmacological, and clinical studies.
• Addressing neglected diseases through natural product research.
• Harmonizing regulatory requirements for herbal products.
• Encouraging multidisciplinary and international cooperation.
• Recognizing outstanding contributions through Society awards.

International Society for Ethnopharmacology is a collaborative, interdisciplinary group of scientists – anthropologists, pharmacists, pharmacologists, ethnobotanists, phytochemists, and others – all fascinated by the study of the global use of medicines. ISE is particularly concerned about understanding the medicinal uses of plants in traditional societies. The ISE promotes a critical discussion between everyone interested in local and traditional knowledge on medicinal, food and toxic plants and their past, present and future.

In many regions of the world, such knowledge is changing fast and ongoing concern of many members of the society is both a dialogue with the owners of traditional knowledge and to find ways to ascertain that such knowledge is passed on to future generations. Knowledge about traditional drugs/medicines is put into practice in different cultural settings in daily health care, nutrition, veterinary, hunting, pest control etc.