Assessment Of Medicinal Plants For Human Health

This volume looks at the importance of medicinal plants and their potential benefits for human health, providing insight with scientific evidence on the use of functional foods in the treatment and management of certain diseases. Divided into four sections, the volume covers the assessment and identification of medicinal plants, the role of medicinal plants in disease management, the ethnobotany and phytochemistry of medicinal plants, and novel applications of plants. Assessment of Medicinal Plants for Human Health: Phytochemistry, Disease Management, and Novel Applications sheds light on the potential of certain plants and will be of value to faculty and advanced-level students of natural products, food science, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, and biochemistry. It will also be of interest to researchers in the area of drug discovery and development.

The global popularity of herbal supplements and the promise they hold in treating various disease states has caused an unprecedented interest in understanding the molecular basis of the biological activity of traditional remedies. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects focuses on presenting current scientific evidence of biomolecular ef

Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. The importance of plants as medicine is further supported by archeological evidence from Asia and the Middle East. Today, around 1.4 billion people in South Asia alone have no access to modern health care, and rely instead on traditional medicine to alleviate various symptoms. On a global basis, approximately 50 to 80 thousand plant species are used either natively or as pharmaceutical derivatives for life-threatening conditions that include diabetes, hypertension and cancers. As the demand for plant-based medicine rises, there is an unmet need to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbals by the “scientific methods”. Current research on drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. For instance, high throughput robotic screens have been developed by industry; it is now possible to carry out 50,000 tests per day in the search for compounds, which act on a key enzyme or a subset of receptors. This and other bioassays thus offer hope that one may eventually identify compounds for treating a variety of diseases or conditions. However, drug development from natural products is not without its problems. Frequent challenges encountered include the procurement of raw materials, the selection and implementation of appropriate high-throughput bioassays, and the scaling-up of preparative procedures. Research scientists should therefore arm themselves with the right tools and knowledge in order to harness the vast potentials of plant-based therapeutics. The main objective of Plant and Human Health is to serve as a comprehensive guide for this endeavor. Volume 1 highlights how humans from specific areas or cultures use indigenous plants. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West. The integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is important for our understanding of this ethnobotanical relationship. Volume 2 deals with the phytochemical and molecular characterization of herbal medicine. Specifically, it focuess on the secondary metabolic compounds, which afford protection against diseases. Lastly, Volume 3 discusses the physiological mechanisms by which the active ingredients of medicinal plants serve to improve human health. Together this three-volume collection intends to bridge the gap for herbalists, traditional and modern medical practitioners, and students and researchers in botany and horticulture.

From the beginning of human civilization, people have depended on plants to cure disease, promote healing of injuries, and alleviate pain. In many places that has changed very little. In the West, however, herbal and botanical cures have long been ignored in favor of "scientific medicine." But the benefits of medicinal plants are being rediscovered in many developed countries, where consumers are turning to such therapies in place of, and in addition to, Western medical treatments. And, all over the world, the drive to lower the cost of health care has made herbals and botanicals an attractive alternative to more expensive synthetic remedies. In 1978, the World Health Organization responded to increased interest in medicinal plants by convening a series of international consultations, seminars, and symposia to explore and promote the use of medicinal plants. Medicinal Plants presents the proceedings of the last of these symposia, held in 1993. It brings together an vast range of information and presents an overview of the use of medicinal plants that includes a discussion of a variety of issues—scientific, economic, regulatory, agricultural, cultural—focused on the importance of medicinal plants to primary health care and global health care reform.

Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. The importance of plants as medicine is further supported by archeological evidence from Asia and the Middle East. Today, around 1.4 billion people in South Asia alone have no access to modern health care, and rely instead on traditional medicine to alleviate various symptoms. On a global basis, approximately 50 to 80 thousand plant species are used either natively or as pharmaceutical derivatives for life-threatening conditions that include diabetes, hypertension and cancers. As the demand for plant-based medicine rises, there is an unmet need to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbals by the “scientific methods”. Current research on drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. For instance, high throughput robotic screens have been developed by industry; it is now possible to carry out 50,000 tests per day in the search for compounds which act on a key enzyme or a subset of receptors. This and other bioassays thus offer hope that one may eventually identify compounds for treating a variety of diseases or conditions. However, drug development from natural products is not without its problems. Frequent challenges encountered include the procurement of raw materials, the selection and implementation of appropriate high-throughput bioassays, and the scaling-up of preparative procedures. Research scientists should therefore arm themselves with the right tools and knowledge in order to harness the vast potentials of plant-based therapeutics. The main objective of Plant and Human Health is to serve as a comprehensive guide for this endeavor. Volume 1 highlights how humans from specific areas or cultures use indigenous plants. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West. The integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is important for our understanding of this ethnobotanical relationship. Volume 2 deals with the phytochemical and molecular characterization of herbal medicine. Specifically, It will focus on the secondary metabolic compounds which afford protection against diseases. Lastly, Volume 3 focuses on the physiological mechanisms by which the active ingredients of medicinal plants serve to improve human health. Together this three-volume collection intends to bridge the gap for herbalists, traditional and modern medical practitioners, and students and researchers in botany and horticulture.

Based on forty years of clinical practice, Julian Barker formulates a number of interlocking ideas that integrate circadian physiology with the transformations that constitute human life. Taking knowledge, information, and data from various disciplines, he presents an integrative model of health, linking circadian biology with the psychosocial human being. He develops a theory that attempts to explain how medicinal plants modify human physiology and how they contribute to health. Aimed at the student acquiring knowledge and developing the skills to practise medicine as well as the qualified herbal practitioner, this thought-provoking work breaks new ground in health theory.

Toxicological Survey of African Medicinal Plants provides a detailed overview of toxicological studies relating to traditionally used medicinal plants in Africa, with special emphasis on the methodologies and tools used for data collection and interpretation. The book considers the physical parameters of these plants and their effect upon various areas of the body and human health, including chapters dedicated to genotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, cardiotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and specific organs and systems.Following this discussion of the effects of medicinal plants is a critical review of the guidelines and methods in use for toxicological research as well as the state of toxicology studies in Africa. With up-to-date research provided by a team of experts, Toxicological Survey of African Medicinal Plants is an invaluable resource for researchers and students involved in pharmacology, toxicology, phytochemistry, medicine, pharmacognosy, and pharmaceutical biology. Offers a critical review of the methods used in toxicological survey of medicinal plants Provides up-to-date toxicological data on African medicinal plants and families Serves as a resource tool for students and scientists in the various areas of toxicology

Ethnopharmacology is one of the world’s fastest-growing scientific disciplines encompassing a diverse range of subjects. It links natural sciences research on medicinal, aromatic and toxic plants with socio-cultural studies and has often been associated with the development of new drugs. The Editors of Ethnopharmacology have assembled an international team of renowned contributors to provide a critical synthesis of the substantial body of new knowledge and evidence on the subject that has emerged over the past decade. Divided into three parts, the book begins with an overview of the subject including a brief history, ethnopharmacological methods, the role of intellectual property protection, key analytical approaches, the role of ethnopharmacology in primary/secondary education and links to biodiversity and ecological research. Part two looks at ethnopharmacological contributions to modern therapeutics across a range of conditions including CNS disorders, cancer, bone and joint health and parasitic diseases. The final part is devoted to regional perspectives covering all continents, providing a state-of-the –art assessment of the status of ethnopharmacological research globally. A comprehensive, critical synthesis of the latest developments in ethnopharmacology. Includes a section devoted to ethnopharmacological contributions to modern therapeutics across a range of conditions. Contributions are from leading international experts in the field. This timely book will prove invaluable for researchers and students across a range of subjects including ethnopharmacology, ethnobotany, medicinal plant research and natural products research. Ethnopharmacology- A Reader is part of the ULLA Series in Pharmaceutical Sciences www.ullapharmsci.org

The latest research on the health benefits and optimal processing technologies of herbs and spices This book provides a comprehensive overview of the health benefits, analytical techniques used, and effects of processing upon the physicochemical properties of herbs and spices. Presented in three parts, it opens with a section on the technological and health benefits of herbs and spices. The second part reviews the effect of classical and novel processing techniques on the properties of herbs/spices. The third section examines extraction techniques and analytical methodologies used for herbs and spices. Filled with contributions from experts in academia and industry, Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants: Processing, Health Benefits and Safety offers chapters covering thermal and non-thermal processing of herbs and spices, recent developments in high-quality drying of herbs and spices, conventional and novel techniques for extracting bioactive compounds from herbs and spices, and approaches to analytical techniques. It also examines purification and isolation techniques for enriching bioactive phytochemicals, medicinal properties of herbs and spices, synergy in whole-plant medicine, potential applications of polyphenols from herbs and spices in dairy products, biotic and abiotic safety concerns, and adverse human health effects and regulation of metal contaminants in terrestrial plant-derived food and phytopharmaceuticals. Covers the emerging health benefits of herbs and spices, including their use as anti-diabetics, anti-inflammatories, and anti-oxidants Reviews the effect of classical and novel processing techniques on the properties of herbs and spices Features informed perspectives from noted academics and professionals in the industry Part of Wiley's new IFST Advances in Food Science series Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants is an important book for companies, research institutions, and universities active in the areas of food processing and the agri-food environment. It will appeal to food scientists and engineers, environmentalists, and food regulatory agencies.

The deregulation of dietary supplements and natural products marketing by the FDA has widened the natural products market in Europe and worldwide. While the discussion about the validity of the plant approach to nutrition and diseases treatment continues, the explosion of the use of whatever is considered "natural" has generated concern about effec