Medical Plants NUTR 3213

Course description:

This course is aimed at enhancing the role of plants in the healthy nutrition as plants  are a main source of food and medicine and how the food can be medicine , the lectures will focus on the nutritional  values of plants and the phytochemical ingredients which give the plant its role in clinical effects.The course structure include seven chapter, starting gradually with introducing botanical background to give the students an idea about the main plant divisions and parts, followed by introducing briefly the phytochemistry of plants, then concepts in medicinal plants and nutritional values, chapter four is aiming to describe the nutritional phytotherapyof vegetables and fleshy fruits, this includes the botanical name, plant habit, phytochemistry, nutritional values, medicinal benefits and clinical effects, the proper way and dose of using , safety, and side effects.Chapter five includes the description of Grains,seeds, and nuts in the same way as chapter four, both of chapter 4 and five involve 70 common plants in the Palestinian market known nutritional and medicinal uses.Chapter six includes brief concepts in the phytotoxins and describing  some poisonous plants, last chapter includes the vegetarians supplements. The course is based on lectures, discussions, and each student will make research about two plants not included in the syllabus , and other activities like visiting the botanical garden and nutritional health centers.In the end each student presents these activities.

Course Aims:

  • Understand the main concepts in medicinal plants.
  • Understanding the relation between nutrition and plants , and how  the vegetarians food is healthy, and what  plants are used in the therapy of the digestive system diseases , metabolism , obesity , skin health  , and all nutrition related diseases.  
  • Describe the active ingredients in plants and their clinical effects.
  • Describe the common plants, especially those with nutritional and medicinal values, and how they could be medicine and food at the same time.
  • Understand the safety, side effects, and toxins in plants. 
  • Understand the mechanism and safety use of vegetarian diet supplements.

Course outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  • Describe 70 medicinal and nutritional plants, knowing their clinical effects and their role in healthy nutrition.
  • Understand how to use the plants safely, how to select, which part to use, and understanding the mechanism of clinical effects.
  • Describe the phtotoxins and major poisonous plants.
  • Describe the most common vegetarian diet supplements.