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Members · Health & Nature

Jacques Fleurentin

Pharmacist · Ethnobotanist · Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Ethnopharmacology · Medicinal Plants · Traditional Medicine · Yemen · Africa

Founder and president of the French Society of Ethnopharmacology since 1986, Jacques Fleurentin is one of France’s leading authorities in the field of medicinal plants and traditional medicines from around the world.

🌿 www.ethnopharmacologia.org
✦ Biography

Born in Metz on March 27, 1950, Jacques Fleurentin earned his degree in Pharmacy from the Faculty of Pharmacy in Nancy in 1974. Fascinated by traditional medicines, he left for Yemen in 1976, where he spent three years working as a pharmacist-biologist and laboratory director with the French Medical Mission at the Republican Hospital in Taiz. This formative experience—in the heart of the land of incense, aloe, and coffee—formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation.

Upon his return to France, he joined the University of Metz, where he taught plant biology and pharmacognosy (1978–1989), and then headed Professor Jean-Marie Pelt’s pharmacognosy laboratory for twelve years (1982–1993). As a part-time associate professor at the University of Metz (1995–2001) and director of studies at the European Institute of Ecology, he helped establish ethnopharmacology within the French academic landscape.

In 1986, he co-founded the French Society of Ethnopharmacology (SFE), based at the Cloître des Récollets in Metz, and has served as its president ever since. He co-edits the scientific journal *Ethnopharmacologia* and has been secretary general of the European Society of Ethnopharmacology since 1996. A community pharmacist in Woippy for more than twenty-five years (1989–2017), he has also worked as an author, lecturer, and scientific expert for the ANSM.

The author of about ten books for the general public and numerous scientific articles, he teaches in several university programs in phyto-aromatherapy (Besançon, Lyon, Nancy, veterinary schools, and the Pierre Jamet Center in Metz). He tirelessly travels the world in search of medicinal plants, particularly within the Arab-Persian, African, and Chinese traditions. Member of the National Academy of Metz since 2016.

🎓 Education

1974

Pharmacy Degree

Faculty of Pharmacy – University of Nancy

Additional Training

Certificate of Advanced Studies (C.E.S.) in General Immunology

Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy – University of Nancy

Additional Education

Diploma in Pollution / Master’s Degree (D.E.A.) in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Chemistry

Department of Exact and Natural Sciences / Department of Ecology – University of Metz

Additional Education

Certificate of Specialized Studies (C.E.S.) in Pharmacodynamics and Biological Testing of Drugs

Faculty of Pharmacy – University of Nancy

1983

State Doctorate in Pharmaceutical Sciences — Summa Cum Laude with honors from the jury

Dissertation: “A Compendium of Traditional Yemeni Pharmacopoeias and a Pharmacological Study of Two Species with Hepatorenal Properties: Crepis rueppellii and Anisotes trisulcus” — Advisor: Prof. Jean-Marie Pelt, University of Metz

🌿 Professional Career

1976 – 1978

Pharmacist-Biologist, Laboratory Director

French Medical Mission – Republican Hospital of Taez, Yemen Arab Republic (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

1978 – 1989

Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pharmacognosy

University of Metz

1982–1993

Director of Research, Professor Jean-Marie Pelt’s Pharmacognosy Laboratory

University of Metz

1982–2000

Director of Studies

Jean-Marie Pelt European Institute of Ecology, Metz

1988–1991

Member of the Editorial Board

Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Phytotherapy and Aromatherapy – Éd. Techniques, Paris

1989–2017

Licensed Pharmacist

Woippy (Moselle)

1995–2001

Part-time Associate Professor

University of Metz

1999–2004

Member – Eastern Delegation

Fondation de France

2000–2015

Expert, Plants Group – Marketing Authorization Commission

AFSSAPS, then ANSM (French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety)

Since 1986

Founding President

French Society of Ethnopharmacology – Cloître des Récollets, Metz

Since 1996

Secretary General

European Society of Ethnopharmacology

★ Honors and Awards

Science Award — National Academy of Metz: Silver Medal with diploma
Thesis Award, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences, University of Nancy
Science Frontiers Festival Award: Award for science communication
Grand Prize of the Lorraine Academy of Sciences for the book *Les plantes qui nous soignent*
Knight of the National Order of Burkina Faso—International recognition for his work in African ethnopharmacology
Member of the National Academy of Metz—Elected in 2016
📚 Books
2004 *Healers and Medicinal Plants of Yemen: The Land of Incense, Aloe, and Coffee*—Published by Karthala, Paris
2007 Plants That Heal Us: Traditions and Therapies — Published by Ouest France (Photos: Hayon J.-C.)
2008 Medicinal Plants: Traditions and Therapies — Published by Ouest France (Photos: Hayon J.-C.)
2011 Therapeutic Traditions and the Medicine of Tomorrow: The Challenges of Ethnopharmacology — Published by Ouest France (with Weniger, B. and Bourdy, G.)
2011 Toxic Plants That Heal — Published by Ouest France (Photos: Hayon, J.-C.)
2013 The Proper Use of Healing Plants — Published by Éd. Ouest France (reprinted in 2016, 2017, 2019)
2016 Plants of the Gods, Plants of the Demons — Published by Éd. Pharmaciens Bibliophiles, 104 pp. (illustrations by Vermeille P.)
2016 The Proper Use of Aromatherapy: Essential Oils That Heal — Published by Ouest France, 206 pp. (reprinted 2019)

2018 A World Tour of Medicinal Plants: Africa, the Americas, China, Overseas Territories, Europe — Published by Ouest France (with Weniger, B.)
2019 Plants of the Gods, Demons, and Humans — Published by Ouest France
🔬 Areas of Expertise

Ethnopharmacology

The study of traditional therapeutic uses of plants across cultures and civilizations.

Phytotherapy

Therapeutic use of medicinal plants; instructor in several university certificate programs in phyto-aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy

Essential oils and their therapeutic applications; author of reference works on the subject.

Traditional Medicines

Arab-Persian, African, Chinese, and South American traditions; pharmacopoeias of the world.

Pharmacognosy

The study of plant-based medicines and their active ingredients; former director of a university laboratory.

Science Outreach

Public lectures, university courses, and numerous books accessible to all.

Jacques Fleurentin holds a doctorate in pharmacy and is a university lecturer. With a Ph.D. in ethnopharmacology, he spent three years in Yemen researching traditional medicine, then headed Jean-Marie Pelt’s research laboratory at the University of Metz for twelve years. Author of numerous scientific articles in international journals and several books on medicinal plants, he has been the founding president of the French Society of Ethnopharmacology since 1986 and is co-editor of the journal *Ethnopharmacologia*. . He teaches in several university certificate programs in phyto-aromatherapy (Besançon, Lyon, Nancy, veterinary schools, the Pierre Jamet Center in Metz, etc.), and was the owner and pharmacist of a retail pharmacy for more than 25 years. He tirelessly travels the world in search of medicinal plants, particularly those used in Arab-Persian, African, and Chinese traditions.