BIOL 310 - Medicinal Botany

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Laboratory Hours: 0

Prerequisite(s): BIOL 130 or BIOL 155 or BIOL 220 or BIOL 230

Restriction(s): None

Corequisite(s): None

A consideration of plants as promoters of human health. Topics include basic botany, plant secondary compounds and their biochemical mechanisms, history of medicinal botany, plant species used to treat ailments, comparison of pharmaceuticals and medicinal plants, and the impact of medicinal plant use on ecosystems.

Student Learning Outcomes of the Course: By the completion of the course, students will be able to:

Name the parts of plants, explain botanical nomenclature, describe common plant secondary compounds, and discuss the history of the use of medicinal plants.
Determine which medicinal plants could be used for various ailments, and give a detailed account of some medicinal plant species.
Choose among different medicinal plant options for a particular ailment, and compare the utility of medicinal plants and modern pharmaceuticals.
Identify the mechanisms through which plants provide health benefits, evaluate the impact of medicinal plant use on ecosystems, and explain the risk of extinction to particular medicinal plant species.
Treat each other with respect in course interactions.
Find, read, comprehend, and cite primary scientific literature, and evaluate the reliability of other types of sources of information.