Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Database from USDA Agricultural Research

Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases is a leading repository of plant chemical and usage data, evolving from USDA research and a published handbook. It facilitates searches for plant chemical profiles, biological activities, and ethnobotanical uses, with references to supporting scientific publications. The database is structured to support user-focused browsing and searching.

Use Cases

• Identify plants with chemicals known for a specific biological activity, such as cancer-preventing activity.
• Find plants with the highest levels of a specific chemical using structured chemical profile data.
• Display a list of chemicals with their known LD toxicity data for safety assessments.
• Generate a list of plants for a given ethnobotanical use, such as traditional remedies.
• Download a list of chemicals and their activities for a specific plant using its scientific or common name.

Strengths

• Database evolved from extensive compilations by the former Chief of USDA's Economic Botany Laboratory and a published CRC Press handbook.
• References to supporting scientific publications are provided for each specific result.
• Data is structured to support several user-focused browsing and searching methods.

Limitations

• The data dictionary is preliminary, with some variables yet to be defined or unused, indicating potential inconsistencies.
• Sample data and specific metrics like row count, column count, and size are unavailable for assessment.
• The description lacks concrete numbers on the scale of plant and chemical coverage.

Provenance

Source

Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, evolving from Dr. Duke's compilations.

Collection Method

Compiled from research results, meetings, symposia, and the published scientific literature over many years.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

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