Michael J. Balick
Vice President for Botanical Science, Director and Senior Philecology Curator, Center for Plants, People and Culture
Ph.D., Harvard University
Specialty
Ethnobotany, Poison Plants, Pacific Island Floristics
Expertise
Ethnobotany, Ethnomedicine, Medicinal Plants, Food Plants, Palms, Poison Plants
Research locations
Belize, Micronesia, neotropics, New York City
Profile
MICHAEL J. BALICK, PH.D., Vice President for Botanical Science, Director and Philecology Curator Institute of Economic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden
For more than four decades, Dr. Michael Balick has studied the relationship between plants and people, working with traditional cultures in tropical, subtropical, and desert environments. He is a specialist in the field known as ethnobotany, working with indigenous cultures to document their plant knowledge, understand the environmental effects of their traditional management systems, and develop sustainable utilization systems-while ensuring that the benefits of such work are always shared with local communities. Dr. Balick has also conducted research in New York City, studying traditional healing practices in ethnic communities of the urban environment. In addition to ethnobotany, particularly of food, medicinal, and toxic plants, Dr. Balick is an expert on the palm family, an economically important family of plants in the tropics.
His scientific research has taken him to many countries, including Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Federated States of Micronesia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Palau, Peru, Sri Lanka, Trinidad, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Venezuela. His fieldwork also includes trips to the fruit and vegetable markets and botanicas of New York City and other urban areas.
In 1981 he co-founded The New York Botanical Garden’s Institute of Economic Botany with Sir Ghillean Prance. It has become the largest and most active program of its kind in the nation. The Institute is devoted to furthering knowledge of the relationship between plants and people, and includes an interdisciplinary staff of biological and social scientists. Numerous graduates from the Institute’s Ph.D. program have achieved important positions in academia, industry, and non-profit organizations around the world, helping to promote the Garden’s focus on reinvigorating the fields of ethnobotany and economic botany.
He has been active in ethnopharmacological investigations-the search for plants with medicinal properties-particularly in Belize where his research aided in the formation of the world’s first ethno-biomedical forest reserve. He co-founded the Ix Chel Tropical Research Foundation with Drs. Rosita Arvigo and Gregory Shropshire, a center in Belize devoted to traditional healing and cultural preservation. From 1986-1996 he helped lead the Garden’s collaboration with the US National Cancer Institute to survey Central and South America and the Caribbean for plants with potential applications against cancer and AIDS. As part of this work, Dr. Balick established numerous collaborations between communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and institutions in the United States and Europe all working towards the common theme of discovering plants with potential therapeutic uses, while establishing benefit sharing agreements that protected the holders of the knowledge and biodiversity. He has been also involved in an ethnobotanical and floristic survey of the Federated States of Micronesia, in particular the island of Pohnpei and its outer atolls and in that region currently is working in the Republic of Palau, in collaboration with the Belau National Museum and many individual collaborators. Floristic information collected provides baseline information for conservation planning as the region prepares to meet the “Micronesia Challenge” (protect 30% of near-shore marine resources and 20% of terrestrial habitats throughout Micronesia by 2020). This work is in collaboration with international institutions such as the National Tropical Botanical Garden and The Nature Conservancy, as well as local colleges and Traditional Leader’s organizations. Recently he and NYBG colleague Dr. Gregory Plunkett began what is planned as a decade long study of the plants and people of Tafea Province in southern Vanuatu. They have made a number of trips to this southernmost province of Vanuatu, collaborating with many local groups. Outputs for these studies will include a checklist of the local flora, a manual on primary health care, and an ethnobotanical text for the island.
Dr. Balick is the author or editor of 25 scientific and general interest books and monographs, with titles ranging from Useful Palms of the World, to Rainforest Remedies, to Plants, People, and Culture. His recent books include Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants, co-authored with Lewis S. Nelson, M.D. and Richard D. Shih, M.D; Rodale’s 21st Century Herbal: A Practical Guide for Healthy Living Using Nature’s Most Powerful Plants; and Messages from the Gods: A Guide to the Useful Plants of Belize, with Dr. Rosita Arvigo. Dr. Balick has published more than 160 scientific papers and book chapters as well as over 30 horticultural and general interest publications.
Dr. Balick currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, Fordham University, and The City University of New York. He is an active mentor to postdoctoral, masters, and international fellowship students. He was a co-founder of a course that taught herbal medicine to practicing physicians and other health care professionals, run in collaboration with Colombia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and the University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine, for a decade, and currently teaches ethnobotany courses at Columbia University and The City University of New York.
Interviews with Dr. Michael J. Balick
Plants as Poisons: Leonard Lopate show 7/9/2010
Fox News.com: Passionflower for Anxiety and Sleep
Fox News.com: The Relaxing Power of Kava
Fox News.com: Surgery Has Use for Poisonous Plant
Fox News.com: Pilocarpus: From Traditional Remedy to Modern Medicine
Fox News.com: Dark Chocolate: Heart Health, and Happiness
Wall Street Journal Interview by Lisa Bannon 9-15-2012 View PDF
Learn About Recent Books And Videos
Pohnpei Primary Health Care Manual: Traditional Uses of Plants for Health and Healing.
Ethnobotany of Pohnpei: Plants, People, and Island Culture
Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Belize with Common Names and Uses
Rainforest Remedies: 100 Healing Herbs of Belize
Dominican Medicinal Plants: A Guide for Health Care Providers—2nd Edition- Web text version
Plant Illustrations Accompanying This Manual (plant names A to Z)
Selected Publications
M. J. Balick. 1976. The palm heart as a new commercial crop from Tropical America. Principes 20(1): 24 28. View PDF 1.66 mb Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick. 1976. Oleaginous palms with potential for commercial exploitation in Amazon regions. report prepared for the Centro “Las Gaviotas,” Bogota, colombia, as a background to their oil studies program.
M. J. Balick, D. G. Furth and G. A. Cooper Driver. 1978. Biochemical and evolutionary aspects of arthropod predation on ferns. Oecologia 35:55 89. View PDF 2.43 mb Please view with Internet Explorer
M. J. Balick and G. A. Cooper Driver. 1978. Effects of field preservation on the flavonoid content of Jessenia bataua. Botanical Museum Leaflets of Harvard University 26 (8):257 265. View PDF 704 kb Please view with Internet Explorer
M. J. Balick. 1979. Notes on the foraging behavior of a leaf cutting Ant on Oenocarpus bacaba in the Northwest Amazon of Colombia. Principes 23(1):26 31. View PDF 1.45 mb Please view with Internet Explorer
M. J. Balick. 1979. Amazonian oil palms of promise. Economic Botany 33(1):11 28. View PDF 2.44 mb Please view with Internet Explorer
M. J. Balick. 1979. Economic botany of the Guahibo. I. Palmae. Economic Botany 33(4):361 pp. 376. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1980. Wallace, Spruce and Palm trees of the Amazon: an historical perspective. Botanical Museum Leaflets of Harvard University 28: 263-269.View PDF
M.J. Balick and S.N. Gershoff. 1981. Nutritional Evaluation of Jessenia bataua: source of high quality protein and oil from Tropical America. Economic Botany 35(3): 261-271. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1981. Une huile comestible de haute qualite en provenance des especes Jessenia et Oenocarpus. Oleagineux 36 (6): 319-326. ViewPDF
Magnus Zethelius and Michael J. Balick. 1982. Modern medicine and shamanistic ritual: a case of positive synergistic response in the treatment of a snakebite. Journal of Ethnopharmacology Vol. 5, pp. 181-185. View PDF 1.39 mb Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick. 1982. Palmas Neotropicales: nuevas fuentes de aceites comestibles. Interciencia. 7:25-29 ViewPDF
M.J. Balick, A.B. Anderson and M. Frietas da Silva. 1982. Palm Taxonomy in Brazilian Amazonia: an evaluation of the state of systematic collections in reginal herbaria. Brittonia 34: 463-477. View PDF
M.J. Balick, L. Rivier and T. Plowman. 1983. The effects of field preservation on alkaloid content of fresh coca leaves (Erythroxylum spp.) Journal of Ethnopharmacology 6:287-291. reprinted in: proceedings of the 2nd International meeting on Medicinal and aromatic plants, Citta de Castello, 11-13 Sept. 1981 View PDF
M. J. Balick. 1983. Introduction to: Anotaciones sobre bibliografia seleccionada del complejo Jessenia-Oenocarpus (Palmae) (by L. E. Forero P.). Cespedesia 12: 21 49. View PDF
M.J. Plotkin and M J. Balick. 1984. Medicinal uses of South American palms. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 10: 157 179. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1984. Ethnobotany of palms in the Neotropics. Advances in Economic Botany 1: 9 23. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1985. Useful plants of Amazonia: A resource of global importance. pp. 339 368. In: Amazonia, Key Environments Series, G. T. Prance and T. Lovejoy (eds.), Pergamon Press, Ltd., pp. 339 368. View PDF
M. J. Balick. 1985. Current status of Amazonian oil palms. In: Oil Palms and Other Oilseeds of the Amazon, by C. Pesce, updated and translated by D. Johnson, Reference Publications, Inc. pp. 172 182. View PDF
P. H. May, A. B. Andel’s Mid North Region. Agroforestry Systems. 3: pp. 275-295. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1985. The indigenous palm flora of “Las Gaviotas,” Colombia including observations on local names and uses. Botanical Museum Leaflets of Harvard University. 30(3)1 34. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1985. Taxonomy of the Oenocarpus-Jessenia (Palmae) complex in Brazil. Acta Amazonica (Special Supplement), 15(1 2)87 113. View PDF
M. J. Balick and A. B. Anderson. 1986/87. Dry matter allocation in Jessenia bataua (Palmae). Acta Amazonica 16 17:135 140. View PDF
A. Henderson and M. J. Balick. 1987. Notes on the Palms of Amazon Legal Principles, 31(3), pp.116-122 View PDF
M. J. Balick, C. U. B. Pinheiro and A. B. Anderson. 1987. Hybridization in the Babassu palm complex. I. Orbignya phalerata Mart. x O. eichleri Drude. American Journal of Botany. 74(7)1013 1032. View PDF
M. J. Balick, A. B. Anderson and J. T. de Medeiros Costa. 1987. Hybridization in the Babassu palm complex. II. Attalea compta x Orbignya oleifera. Brittonia. 39(1)26 36. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1987. The economic utilization of the babassu palm: A conservation strategy for sustaining tropical forest resources. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 77(4)215 223. View PDF
A. B. Anderson and M. J. Balick. 1988. Taxonomy of the Babassu complex (Orbignya spp.; Palmae). Systematic Botany 13(1)32 50. View PDF
M. J. Balick and J. Beitel. 1988. Lycopodium spores found in condom dusting agent. Nature 322:591. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1989. Native neotropical oil palms. In: Oil Crops of the World, G. Robbelen, R. K. Doney and A. Ashri (eds.), McGraw Hill Publishing Co.
M.J. Balick. 1989. Collecting tropical plant germplasm. In: Floristic Inventory of Tropical Countries, D. G. Campbell and H. D. Hammond (eds.). The New York Botanical Garden. View PDF
M. J. Balick and S. N. Gershoff. 1989. A nutritional study of Aiphanes caryotifolia (Palmae) fruit, an exceptional source of vitamin A and high quality protein from Tropical America. Advances in Economic Botany 8:35 40. View PDF
M. J. Balick and J. Beitel. 1989. Lycopodium spores used in condom manufacture and associated health hazards. Economic Botany. 43(3)373 377. View PDF
C. M. Peters, M. J. Balick, F. Kahn and A. B. Anderson. 1989. Oligarchic forests of economic plants in Amazonia: utilization and conservation of an important tropical resource. Conservation Biology. 3(4)341 349. View PDF
M.J. Balick and S.N. Gershoff. 1990. A nutritional study of Aiphanes caryotifolia (Palmae) fruit, an exceptional source of vitamin A and high quality protein from Tropical America. Advances in Economic Botany Vol. 8, pp. 35-40. View PDF 352 kb Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick. 1990. Production of Coyol Wine from Acrocomia Mexicana (Arecaceae) in Honduras. Economic Botany 44(1)84 93. View PDF
M. J. Balick. 1990. Conservation Status of Haitian Palms. Principes, 34(3), pp.134-142. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1990. Ethnobotany and the Identification of Therapeutic Agents from the Rainforest. Bioactive Compounds from Plants, pp. 22-39. View PDF
A. Henderson and M. J. Balick. 1991. Attalea Crassispatha, a Rare and Endemic Haitian Palm. Brittonia 43(3) 181-194.View PDF
R. Mendelsohn and M. J. Balick. 1992. Assessing the Economic Value of Traditional Medicines from Tropical Rain Forests. Conservation Biology. 6(1). pp. 128-130. View PDF
J. B. Dickey, M. J. Balick and I. M. Linington. 1992. Experimental Investigations into the Feasibility of ex situ Preservation of Palm Seeds; an Alternative Strategy for Biological Conservation of this Economically Important Plant Family. Biodiversity and Conservation 1(2)112-119. View PDF
H. Hadrys, M. Balick and B. Schierwater. 1992. Applications of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) in Molecular Ecology. Molecular Ecology 1:55-63.
M.J. Balick. 1991. A New Hybrid Palm from Amazonian Brazil, Oenocarpus x andersonii. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Serie Botanica 7(2). Issued in 1993.
J.B. Dickie, M. Balick and I. Linington. 1993. Studies on the Practicality of ex situ Preservation of Palm Seeds. Principes 37(2)94-98.
P.C. Tabora, M. Balick, M.L.A. Bovi and M.P. Guerra. 1993. Hearts of Palm (Bactris, Euterpe and others), pp. 193-218, J. T. Williams (ed.) Underutilized Crops, Chapman and Hall, London. View PDF
M.J. Balick and C.U.B. Pinheiro. 1993. Babassu (Orbignya phalerata), pp. 177-187. In: J. W. Clay and C. R. Clement (eds.), Selected Species and strategies to Enhance Income Generation from Amazonian Forests. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
M.J. Balick, J. Friedman, D. Bolotin, M. Rios, D. Mendosa, Y. Cohen. 1993. A Novel Method for Identification and Domestication of Indigenous Useful Plants in Amazonian Ecuador. pp. 167-174. J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds.) New Crops, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. View PDF
M. J. Balick and D. Johnson. 1994. The Conservation Status of Schippia Concolor in Belize. Principes 38(3). pp. 124-128. View PDF
P. A. Cox and M. J. Balick. 1994. The Ethnobotanical Approach to Drug Discovery. Scientific American 270(6). pp. 82-87. View PDF
M.J. Balick, R. Arvigo, and L. Romero. 1994. The Development of an Ethnobiomedical Forest Reserve in Belize: Its Role in the Preservation of Biological and Cultural Diversity. Conservation Biology. 8(1). pp. 316-317. View PDF
T.M. Jurgens, E.G. Frazier, J.M. Schaeffer, T. E. Jones, D. L. Zink, R. P. Borris, H.T. Beck, and M.J. Balick. 1994. Novel Nematocidal Agents from Curcuma Comosa. Journal of Natural Products, Vol. 57(22). pp. 230-235. View PDF
Grimes, A., Loomis, S., Jahnige, P., Burnham, M., Onthank, K., Alarcon, R., Cuenca, W.P., Martinez, C.C., Neill, D., Balick, M., Bennett, B., and Mendelsohn, R. 1994. Valuing the Rain Forest: The Economic value of non-timber forest products in Ecuador. Ambio Vol. 23 (7). pp. 404-410. View PDF
R. Mendelsohn and M.J. Balick. 1995. The Value of Undiscovered Pharmaceuticals in Tropical Forests. Economic Botany 49(2). pp. 223-228. View PDF
R. Mendelsohn and M. Balick. 1995. Private Property and Rainforest Conservation. Conservation Biology, Vol. 9 (5). pp. 1322-1323. View PDF
J. W. Sheldon and M. J. Balick. 1995. Ethnobotany and the Search for Balance Between Use and Conservation. Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Medicinal Plants. pp. 45-65. T. Swanson (ed.). Cambridge University Press. View PDF
M.J. Balick, R. Arvigo, G. Shropshire and R. Mendelsohn. 1996. Ethnopharmacological Studies and Biological Conservation in Belize. In: Medicinal Resources of the Tropical Forest: Biodiversity and Its Importance to Human Health. Balick, M.J., E. Elisabetsky, S.A. Laird (eds.), pp. 326-333. Columbia University Press, New York. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1996. Transforming Ethnobotany for the New Millennium. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 83: pp. 58-66. View PDF
C.U.B. Pinheiro, M.J. Balick. Northeastern Brazil. Brittonia, 48(4), pp.556-565.
J.R. Kloppenburg Jr. and M. J. Balick. 1996. Property Rights and Genetic Resources: A framework for analysis. Medicinal Resources of the Tropical Forest: Biodiversity and Its Importance to Human Health. M.J. Balick, E. Elisabetsky, S.A. Laird (eds.). pp. 174-190 Columbia University Press, New York. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1996. Don Elijio Panti 1893-1996. HerbalGram: The Journal of The American Botanical Council. 37:61 View PDF
M. J.Balick, R. Mendelsohn, R. Arvigo, and G. Shropshire. 1997. Valuation of Extractive Medicines in Tropical Forests. pp. 535-536. In: G.K. Meffe, C.R. Carroll et al, Principles of Conservation Biology, Second Edition, Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA. View PDF
M.J. Balick, and P.A. Cox. 1997. Ethnobotanical Research and Traditional Health Care in Developing Countries. In: G. Bodeker, K.K.S. Bhat, J. Burley and P. Vantomme (eds.) Medicinal Plants for Forest Conservation and Health Care. pp. 12-23. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United National, Rome. View PDF
R. Mendelsohn, and M. Balick. 1997. Notes on Economic Plants. Economic Botany 51(3) p. 328. View PDF
M.J. Balick. 1998. Linking Ethnopharmacology and Tropical Forest: Conservation in Belize. From Tomlinson, T.R. & O. Akerele. (eds.), Medicinal Plants: Their Role in Health & Biodiversity, pp. 71-81, University of Pennsylvania Press. View PDF
D.F. Slish, H. Ueda, R. Arvigo, and M.J. Balick. 1999. Ethnobotany in the search for vasoactive herbal medicines. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 66:159-165. Download as pdf file 97 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick. 1999. Good botanical practices. In: D. Eskinazi, M. Blumenthal, N. Farnsworth, and C. Riggins. (eds.). Botanical Medicine: Efficacy, Quality Assurance, and Regulation, pp. 121-125. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Larchmont, NY. Download as pdf file 2.14 MB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick, F. Kronenberg, A.L. Ososki, M. Reiff, A. Fugh-Berman, B. O’Connor, M. Roble, P. Lohr, and D. Atha. 2000. Medicinal plants used by Latino healers for women’s health conditions in New York City. Economic Botany 54(3), pp. 344-357. Download as pdf file 427 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
H. Jayasuriya, D. L. Zink, S. B. Singh, R. P. Borris, W. Nanakorn, H. T. Beck, M. J. Balick, M. A. Goetz, L. Slayton, L. Gregory, M. Zakson-Aien, W. Shoop, and S. B. Singh. 2000. Structure and Streochemistry of Rediocide A, a highly modified daphnane from Trigonostemon reidiodes exhibiting potent insecticidal activity. Journal of American Chemical Society Vol. 122, No. 20, pp 4998-4999. Download as pdf file
S. Khan, and M. J. Balick. 2001. Therapeutic plants of Ayurveda: a review of selected clinical and other studies for 166 species. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine Volume 7, Number 5, pp. 405-515. Download as pdf file 3.79 MB Please view with Internet Explorer
M. J. Balick, R. Lee, D. Ling, F. Sohl, B. Brosi, and W. Raynor. 2001. Cultural dynamism and change: an example from the Federated States of Micronesia. Economic Botany 55(1), pp. 9-13. The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, N.Y.
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R. Lee and M. J. Balick. 2001. Ethnomedicine: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Healing. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 7 (3). pp. 28-30. View PDF
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. July/Aug 2001. Looking within: urban ethnomedicine and ethnobotany. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 114-115. Download as pdf file 77.1 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
R. Lee and M.J. Balick. Sept/Oct 2001. Chocolate: healing “food of the Gods”? Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 120-122. Download as pdf file 90.9 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. Dec 2001.
Expanding the frontiers of traditional medicine: A case in investigating a prospective therapy. J. Trop. Med. Plants, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 205-207.
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M.J. Balick and R. Lee. Nov/Dec 2001. Digging in the herb garden: responding to a patient’s query about thunder God vine. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 7, No. 6, pp. 100-103. Download as pdf file 117 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
R. Lee and M.J. Balick. 2002. Without Sugar, Would the Holidays be as Sweet? Exploring Ethnobotanical Alternatives to Sucrose. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 8 (1). pp. 98-99. View PDF
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. Mar/Apr 2002. Maca: From Traditional Crop to Energy and Libido Stimulant. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 96-98. Download as pdf file 100 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. May/June 2002. Snakebite, shamanism, and modern medicine: exploring the power of the mind-body relationship in healing. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 118-121. Download as pdf file 96 MB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J.Balick, R. Arvigo, G. Shropshire, J. Walker, D. Campbell, and L. Romero. 2002. Belize ethnobotany project: safeguarding medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in Belize. In: M. Iwu and J. Wootten (eds.), Ethnomedicine and Drug Discovery, pp. 267-281.
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S. Sosa, M.J. Balick, R. Arvigo, R.G. Esposito, C. Pizza, and G. Altinier. July 2002. Screening of the topical anti-inflammatory activity of some Central American plants. Journal of Ethnopharmacology Vo. 81, No. 2, pp. 211-215.
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A. Ososki, P. Lohr, M. Reiff, M.J Balick, F. Kronenberg, A. Fugh-Berman, and B. O’Connor. 2002. Ethnobotanical literature survey of medicinal plants in the Dominican Republic used for women’s health conditions. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 79, pp. 285-298. Download as pdf file 142 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick, D. E. Atha, S. Canham and L. Romero. 2002. Capoche: rediscovery of a forgotten febrifuge (Ocotea veraguensis [Meisn.] Mez) from Belize, Central America, including a new floristic record. Economic Botany 56(1), pp. 89-94.
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M.J. Balick and R. Lee . July/Aug 2002. Traditional use of sakau (Kava) in Pohnpei: lessons for integrative medicine. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol.8, No. 4, pp. 96-98. Download as pdf file 111 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
R. Lee and M.J. Balick. Sept/Oct 2002. Micronesian massage and massage oils: ancient practice and contemporary medical therapy. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 107-110. Download as pdf file 3 MB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. Jan/Feb 2003. The power of community. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 100-103. Download as pdf file 97.3 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. Mar/Apr 2003. The power of sound: ethnomedical tradition and modern science. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 96-99.
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M.J. Balick, M. Reiff, B. O’Connor, F. Kronenberg, P. Lohr, M. Roble, A. Fugh-Berman, and K.D. Johnson. 2003. Ethnomedicine in the urban environment: Dominican healers in New York City. Human Organization, Vol. 62, No. 1, pp. 12-26. Download as pdf file 3 MB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. May/June 2003. Stealing the soul, Soumwahu en Naniak, and Susto: understanding culturally-specific illnesses, their origins and treatment. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 106-109. Download as pdf file 2 MB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. July/Aug 2003. The Role of laughter in traditional medicine and its relevance to the clinical setting: healing with ha! Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 88-91. Download as pdf file 1 MB Please view with Internet Explorer
Alfredo Gomez-Beloz, James C. Rucinski, Michael J. Balick, and Camille Tipton. 2003. Double incision wound healing bioassay using Hamelia patens from El Salvador. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 88, 169-173.
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A. Camporese, M.J. Balick, R. Arvigo, R.G. Esposito, N. Morsellino, F. De Simone, and A. Tubaro. July 2003. Screening of anti-bacterial activity of medicinal plants from Belize (Central America). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 87, No. 1, pp. 103-107. Download as pdf file 2.20 MB Please view with Internet Explorer
M.J. Balick and R. Lee. 2004. Poison or Medicine? A Note from the Forest. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 10 91). pp. 74-77. View PDF
M. J. Balick and H. O’Brien. 2004. Ethnobotanical and Floristic Research in Belize: Accomplishments, Challenges and Lessons Learned. www.ethnobtanyjournal.org/vol2/i1547-3465-02-077.pdf. Download as pdf file 870 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
Adriane Fugh-Berman, Michael J. Balick, Fredi Kronenberg, Andreana L. Ososki, Bonnie O’Connor, Marian Reiff, Maria Roble, Patricia Lohr, Berry J. Brosi, and Roberta Lee. 2004. Treatment of fibroids: the use of beets (Beta vulgaris) and molasses (Saccharum officinarum) as an herbal therapy by Dominican healers in New York City. Journal of Ethnopharmacology Vol, 92, pp. 337-339. Download as pdf file 51 kb Please view with Internet Explorer
King, S.R., Chinnock, J.A., Balick, M.J., Sanchez, S.C., Moran, K. and Limbach, C. 2004. Traditional Knowledge, Biological Resources and Drug Development: Building Equitable Partnerships to Conserve, Develop and Respect Biocultural Diversity. In: Intellectual Property and Biological Resources. (ed) B. Ong. Marshall Cavendish International. Pp. 284-321.View PDF
B. Jiang, H. Yang, P. Nuntanakorn, M.J. Balick, F. Kronenberg and E.J. Kennelly. 2005. The value of plant collections in ethnopharmacology: a case study of an 85-year-old black cohosh (Actaea racemosa L.) sample. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 96, pp. 521-528. Download as pdf file 295 kb Please view with Internet Explorer
R. A. Lee and M. J. Balick. January 2005. Sweet Wood: Cinnamon and Its Importance as a Spice and Medicine. EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 61-64. Download as pdf file 0.98 mb Please view with Internet Explorer
R. A. Lee and M. J. Balick. March 2005. Rx: Chocolate. EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing. Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 136-139. Download as pdf file 1.65 mb Please view with Internet Explorer
M. J. Balick and R. A. Lee. September 2005. Inflammation and Ethnomedicine: Looking To Our Past. EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing. Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 389-392. Download as pdf file 766 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
Kurt A. Reynertson, Michael J. Balick, Roberta Lee, William Raynor, Yosio Pelep, Edward J. Kennelly. A traditional method of Cinnamomum carolinense preparation eliminates safrole from a therapeutic Pohnpean tea. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 102 (2005) 269-274. Download as pdf file 354 KB Please view with Internet Explorer
Lee, R.A. and M.J. Balick. 2006. Rx:Caffeine. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 2(1). pp. 55-59. View PDF
M.J. Balick. May 2006. Ethnomedicine: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 2(3)238-248 View PDF
Lee, R.A. and M.J. Balick May 2006. Flu for You? The Common Cold, Influenza and traditional medicine. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 2(3)252-255.
Lee, R.A. and M.J. Balick. 2006. Chronobiology: It’s about time. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 2(5). pp. 442-445. View PDF
B. Jiang, F. Kronenberg, M.J. Balick, and E.J. Kennelly. 2006. Analysis of Formononetin from Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa) Phytomedicine 13 (2006) pp. 477-486. View PDF
Bridgewater, S.G.M., Harris, D.J., Whitefoord, C., Monro, A.K., Penn, M.G., Suttun, D.A., Sayer, B., Adams, B., Balick, M.J., Atha, D.H., Solomon, J., and Holst, B.K. 2006. A Preliminary Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Chiquibul Forest, Belize. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 63 (2&3). pp. 269-321. View PDF
Brosi, B. J., Balick, M. J., Wolkow, R., Lee, R., Kostka, M., Raynor, W., Gallen, R., Raynor, A., Raynor, P., and Ling, D.L. 2007. Cultural Erosion and Biodiversity: Canoe-Making Knowledge in Pohnpei, Micronesia. Conservation Biology 21(3). pp. 875-879. View PDF
Lee, R. A. and M. J. Balick. 2007. The Value of Museum Collections in the 21st Century. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 3(2). pp. 145-148. View PDF
Lee, R. A. and M. J. Balick. 2007. Indigenous Use of Hoodia Gordonii and Appetites Suppression. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 3(4). pp. 404-406. View PDF
Lee, R. A. and M. J. Balick. 2008. Palms, People, and Health. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 4(1). pp. 59-62. View PDF
Bennett, Bradley C., M. J. Balick. 2008. Phytomedicine 101: Plant Taxonomy for Preclinical and Clinical Medicinal Plant Researchers. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology, 6(4) pp. 150-157. View PDF
Ososki, A. L., M. J. Balick & D. C. Daly 2007. Medicinal plants and cultural variation across
Dominican rural, urban, and transnational landscapes. In: A. Pieroni & I. Vandebroek, eds., Traveling Cultures and Plants: The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Human Migrations. Bergahn Books, New York, pp. 14-38. Download as pdf file
Vandebroek, I., M.J. Balick, J. Yukes, L. Duran, F. Kronenberg, C. Wade, A.L. Ososki, L.
Cushman, R. Lantigua, M. Mejia & L. Robineau 2007. Use of medicinal plants by Dominican immigrants in New York City for the treatment of common health conditions. A comparative analysis with literature data from the Dominican Republic In: A. Pieroni & I. Vandebroek, eds., Traveling Cultures and Plants: The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Human Migrations. Bergahn Books, New York, pp. 39-63. Download as pdf file
Balick, M.J., J. M. De Gezelle, R. Arvigo. March 2008. Feeling the Pulse in Maya Medicine: An Endangered Traditional Tool for Diagnosis, Therapy, and Tracking Patients’ Progress. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 4(2)113-119. Download as pdf file
Bennett, Bradley C., M. J. Balick. 2008. Phytomedicine 101: Plant Taxonomy for Preclinical and Clinical Medicinal Plant Researchers. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology, 6(4) 150-157.View PDF
Nelson, L. S., M. J. Balick, and N. Shere. 2008. Brief Toxicology Communications: What is this plant and why is this Japanese artist eating it? Journal of Medical Toxicology, 4(3) pp. 201View PDF
Amy C. Keller, Ina Vandebroek, Youping Liu, Michael J. Balick, Fredi Kronenberg, Edward J. Kennelly, Anne-Marie B. Brillantes. 2009. Costus spicatus tea failed to improve diabetic progression in C57BLKS/J db/db mice, a model of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 121 (2009) 248-254View PDF
Balick, M.J. 2009. The sense of wonder: Distinguished Economic Botanist lecture. Economic Botany 63(4) 333-339View PDF
Ian B. Cole, Michael J. Balick. 2010. Lunar Influence: Understanding Chemical Variation and Seasonal Impacts on Botanicals. Herbalgram The Journal of the American Botanical Council, 85 (February – April 2010) 50-56View PDF
Ina Vandebroek, Michael J. Balick, Andreana Ososki, Fredi Kronenberg, Jolene Yukes, Christine Wade, Francisco Jiménez, Brígido Peguero, Daisy Castillo. 2010. The importance of botellas and other plant mixtures in Dominican traditional medicine. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 128 (2010) 20-41View PDF
Li, S., W. Yuan, P. Yang, M.D. Antoun, M.J.Balick, G.M.Cragg. 2010. Pharmaceutical Crops: An Overview. Journal of Pharmaceutical Crops. 1:1-17. View PDF
Ann Hillmann Kitalong, A., M. J. Balick, F. Rehuher, M. Besebes, S. Hanser, K. Soaladaob, G. Ngirchobong, F. Wasisang, W. Law, R. Lee, V. R. Tadeo, C. Kitalong and C. Kitalong. 2011. Plants, people and culture in the villages of Oikull and Ibobang, Republic of Palau, pp. 63-84, in, Liston, J. G. Clark and D. Alexander (eds.). 2011.Pacific Island Heritage: Archaeology, Identity & Community.Terra Australis 35. Australian National University, Canberra. View PDF
Balick, M. J. 2011. Bioprospecting in the Cragg Era: Accomplishments and the Road Ahead, pp. 71-79, in B. E. Ponman and J. S. Miller (eds.). 2011. Realizing Nature’s Potential, Proceeding of the William L. Brown Symposium Honoring Dr. Gordon Cragg. Missouri Botanical Garden. View PDF
Balick, M.J. 2012. Reflections on Richard Evans Schultes, the Society for Economic Botany, and the Trajectory of Ethnobotanical Research, pp. 3-11, in B.E. Ponman and R.W. Bussman (Eds.), Medicinal Plants and the Legacy of Richard E. Schultes. William L. Brown Center, St. Louis, Missouri.
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Ferrier, J., Djeffal, S., Porter-Morgan, H., Vander Kloet, S., Redzic, S., Cuerrier, A., Balick, M.J., and Arnason, J.T. 2012. Anti-glycation activity of Vaccinium spp. (Ericaceae) from the Sam Vander Kloet Collection for the treatment of type II diabetes.Botany, 90(5): 401–406. doi:10.1139/B2012-026.
Henderson, F., I. Vandebroek, M. J. Balick and E. J. Kennelly, 2012. Ethnobotanical Research Skills for Students of Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Disciplines. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 10:389-402. Published September 13, 2012. www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol10/i1547-3465-10-389.pdf
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