Ethnomedicine And Drug Discovery

Approx.344 pages

This book explains both the basic science and the applications of biotechnology-derived pharmaceuticals, with special emphasis on their clinical uses. The foundations of pharmaceutical biotechnology lie mainly in the capability of plants, microorganism, and animals to produce low and high molecular weight compounds useful as therapeutics. Pharmaceutical biotechnology has flourished since the advent of recombinant DNA technology and metabolic engineering, supported by the well-developed bioprocess technology. A large number of monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic proteins have been approved, delivering meaningful contributions to patients’ lives, and the techniques of biotechnology are also a driving force in modern drug discovery. Due to this rapid growth in the importance of biopharmaceuticals and the techniques of biotechnologies to modern medicine and the life sciences, the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology has become an increasingly important component in the education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. This book will serve as a complete one-stop source on the subject for undergraduate and graduate pharmacists, pharmaceutical science students, and pharmaceutical scientists in industry and academia.

Useful throughout history for their medical as well as other benefits, plant-derived compounds have gained particular importance recently, due to environmental factors. The isolation and characterization of plant products, the identification of their role in the plant, and ways of synthesizing identical compounds or more potent analogues are covered. Also includes methods of culturing plant tissues and genetic engineering as a means of increasing the yield of desired substances from plants. Special emphasis is placed on plants previously unknown to Western scientists.

A compilation of articles by prominent experts in their respective fields on compensation for and collaboration with indigenous people in regard to their knowledge and provision of rare plants which are used for some of the most potent drugs in Western medicine.

This book provides perspectives on the combinatorial approach of plant-based compounds for drug discovery to achieve better disease-curing outcomes introducing the evolution of ethnobotany and traditional medicine in modern drug development. It covers the biotechnological interventions for the identification and screening of compounds and their optimization to enhance affinity, selectivity, bioavailability, and metabolic stability. While overviewing how essential compounds are successfully identified from herbal/ medicinal plants and utilized in the form of effective drugs which eventually have helped in combating long-term diseases in humans, the book also provides a better understanding of how infection and the diseases caused are regulated at the molecular and physiological stages. The book also highlights the importance of bioactive compounds in modern drug discovery and the perspectives for a potential industrial application. The chapters are developed by eminent subject experts with due care and clarity and cover an up-to-date literature review with relevant illustrations. The book would cater to the needs of undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and scientists, and may attract the attention of pharmaceutical companies/industrialists and health policymakers.

Traditional medicinal knowledge, especially the use of ethnomedicinal plants in developing countries, has been passed down for generations. Today, however, scientists are poised to combine traditional medicinal plants and modern drug discoveries to further develop essential products that have followed the leads of indigenous cures used for centuries. Ethnomedicinal Plant Use and Practice in Traditional Medicine provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of indigenous knowledge and therapeutic potential within ethnobotany. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as drug discovery, traditional knowledge, and herbal medicine, this book is ideally designed for doctors, healers, medical professionals, ethnobotanists, naturalists, academicians, researchers, and students interested in current research on the medical use and applications of natural-based resources.

This book illustrates, in a comprehensive manner, the most crucial principles involved in pharmacology and allied sciences. The title begins by discussing the historical aspects of drug discovery, with up to date knowledge on Nobel Laureates in pharmacology and their significant discoveries. It then examines the general pharmacological principles - pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, with in-depth information on drug transporters and interactions. In the remaining chapters, the book covers a definitive collection of topics containing essential information on the basic principles of pharmacology and how they are employed for the treatment of diseases. Readers will learn about special topics in pharmacology that are hard to find elsewhere, including issues related to environmental toxicology and the latest information on drug poisoning and treatment, analytical toxicology, toxicovigilance, and the use of molecular biology techniques in pharmacology. The book offers a valuable resource for researchers in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, as well as students pursuing a degree in or with an interest in pharmacology.

Considerable progress has been made in our healthcare system, in particular with respect to sensitive diagnostic tools, reagents and very effective and precise drugs. On the other hand, high-throughput screening technology can screen vast numbers of compounds against an array of targets in a very short time, and leads thus - tained can be further explored. In developing countries, the exploding population exerts pressure not only on natural resources but also on the human population - self, whose members strive to become successful and advance in society. This leads to increased blood pressure, anxiety, obesity-associated lipid disorders, cardiov- cular diseases and diabetes. Most of these diseases result in disturbed family life, including sexual behaviour. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the Third World and terminal patients in the West. Herbal drugs, in addition to being cost effective and easily accessible, have been used since time immemorial and have passed the test of time without having any side effects. The multitarget effects of herbs (holistic approaches) are the fun- mental basis of their utilization. This approach is already used in traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda, which has become more popular in the West in recent years. However, the integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is of the utmost importance if ones wishes to use ancient knowledge for the betterment of humanity.

Traditional medicines, especially the folk herbal medicines have recently been receiving heightened interest the world over. This reference book contains 24 papers by eminent scientists on herbal drugs, drug discovery and other related topics which deal with biological activities and aspects of herbal drug research, such as anti-cancer, antidiabetic, anti-ischemic, anti-microbial, ethnomedicine, ethnopharmacology, pharmacognostic and phytochemistry.