Handbook of Medicinal Plants

• About the Editors
  
• Contributors
  
• Preface
  
• PART I. INTRODUCTION
  
• Chapter 1. Trends and Challenges in Phytomedicine: Research in the New Millennium (Hildebert Wagner)
  
• Introduction
  
• Quality Assurance of Medicinal Drugs and Phytopreparations
  
• Search for New Bioactive Compounds and Chemical Modifications of Leading Compounds
  
• Molecular-Biological Screening: Overall Pharmacological Profiles and Synergistic Effects
  
• Clinical Trials, Pharmacokinetic Studies, and Bioavailability Studies
  
• Scope and Aim of Phytomedicine in the Near Future
  
• Conclusion
  
• PART II. THE USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY
  
• CHINESE MEDICINAL PLANTS
  
• Chapter 2. History of Application of Medicinal Plants in China (Chang-Xiao Liu)
  
• Introduction
  
• Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs
  
• Brief History of Application of Medicinal Plants
  
• Medicinal Plants in China in the Past Century
  
• Development of Resources
  
• Chapter 3. Ethnopharmacology of Traditional Chinese Drugs from Medicinal Plants (Chang-Xiao Liu)
  
• Introduction
  
• Diaphoretics
  
• Antitussive Expectorants and Antiasthmatics
  
• Drugs Clearing Heat and Drying Dampness
  
• Purgative Drugs
  
• Drugs Expelling Wind and Dampness
  
• Aromatic Drugs Transforming Dampness
  
• Drugs Benefiting Urination and Draining Dampness
  
• Drugs Warming the Interior
  
• Drugs Regulating Qi
  
• Drugs Relieving Food Stagnation
  
• Drugs Expelling Parasites
  
• Drugs Stopping Bleeding
  
• Drugs Regulating Blood Conditions
  
• Drugs Tranquilizing the Mind
  
• Drugs Pacifying the Liver and Subduing Endogenous Wind
  
• Drugs That Open Orifices
  
• Tonics
  
• Astringent Drugs
  
• Chapter 4. Research and Development of New Drugs Originating from Chinese Medicinal Plants (Chang-Xiao Liu and Zohara Yaniv)
  
• Introduction
  
• Pathway of Research and Development from Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs
  
• The Treatment Principles of Chinese Traditional Medicine
  
• Valuable Clinical Results of the Application of National Minority Drugs
  
• Active Compounds Isolated from Chinese Medicinal Plants
  
• Types of Pharmacological Activities
  
• The Challenges of Modern Research and the Development of Medicinal Plants
  
• Conclusion
  
• MEDICINAL PLANTS IN NATIVE CULTURES
  
• Chapter 5. African Medicinal Plants (Ruth Kutalek and Armin Prinz)
  
• Introduction
  
• Strophantus spp., Apocynaceae
  
• Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, Apocynaceae
  
• Rauwolfia vomitoria Azfel (Apocynaceae)
  
• Physostigma venenosum Balf. (Fabaceae)
  
• Future Prospects
  
• Chapter 6. Dilemmas and Solutions: Native American Plant Knowledge (Daniel E. Moerman)
  
• A Mother’s Dilemma
  
• A Plant’s Dilemma
  
• Two Dilemmas Yield a Solution
  
• Case Example: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
  
• Final Words
  
• Chapter 7. Ethnobotany and Ethnomedicine of the Amazonian Indians (Sir Ghillean T. Prance)
  
• Introduction
  
• The Yanomami
  
• Arrow Poisons
  
• Narcotics and Stimulants
  
• Fish Poisons
  
• Conclusion
  
• Chapter 8. Healers and Physicians in Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean Cultures (Alain Touwaide)
  
• Traditional Historiography
  
• Two Main Works
  
• The Range of Materia Medica
  
• Transformations of Texts over Time
  
• Plant Representations
  
• Conclusion
  
• Chapter 9. Remedies from the Bush: Traditional Medicine Among the Australian Aborigines (Emanuela Appetiti)
  
• Introduction
  
• The Dreamtime
  
• Plants and People
  
• Treatment of Common Ailments
  
• Women’s Medicine
  
• Two Remarkable Plants
  
• Other Uses of Medicinal Plants
  
• Nonplant Materia Medica
  
• Conclusion
  
• PART III. TECHNOLOGIES IN MEDICINAL PLANT RESEARCH
  
• Chapter 10. Production and Breeding of Medicinal Plants (Éva Németh)
  
• Short History of Medicinal Plant Production
  
• The Present Situation and Characteristics of Medicinal Plant Cultivation in Europe
  
• The Role and Significance of Harvesting from Wild Habitats
  
• Characteristics of Breeding Medicinal Plants
  
• Chapter 11. Biological Screening of Medicinal Plants (Ming-Wei Wang)
  
• Introduction
  
• Drug Discovery in Ancient Times
  
• Random Drug Screening Using Animal Models
  
• High-Throughput Screening Technologies
  
• Future Prospects
  
• Chapter 12. Biotechnology in Medicinal Crop Improvement (Efraim Lewinsohn and Ya’akov Tadmor)
  
• Introduction
  
• Utilization of DNA Markers in Medicinal Plants
  
• Construction of Genetic Maps Utilizing DNA Markers
  
• Utilization of Genetic Engineering in Medicinal Plants
  
• Conclusion
  
• Chapter 13. In Vitro Cultivation of Medicinal Plants (Christoph Wawrosch)
  
• Introduction
  
• Plant Tissue Culture Techniques
  
• In Vitro Plant Propagation
  
• In Vitro Production of Secondary Metabolites
  
• Conclusion
  
• PART IV. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN MEDICINAL APPLICATIONS
  
• Chapter 14. Medicinal Plants in the Prevention and Therapy of Cancer (David Mantle and Richard M. Wilkins)
  
• Introduction
  
• Mistletoe
  
• Ginseng
  
• Garlic
  
• Chapter 15. Phytochemicals and Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease (D. Francesco Visioli, Simona Grande, and Claudio Galli)
  
• Introduction
  
• Plant-Derived Phenols
  
• Soy
  
• Cocoa
  
• Tea
  
• Wine
  
• Olive Oil
  
• Conclusion
  
• Chapter 16. A Modern Look at Folkloric Use of Anti-Infective Agents (Lester A. Mitscher)
  
• Introduction
  
• Berberine
  
• Sanguinarine
  
• Quinine
  
• Emetine
  
• Individual Antimicrobial Medicinal Plants of Lesser Prominence
  
• Conclusion
  
• Chapter 17. Use of Medicinal Plants in CNS Disorders (Peter John Houghton)
  
• Introduction
  
• Disorders of the CNS
  
• Plants and Derived Compounds Used to Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases
  
• Plants and Derived Compounds Used As Anxiolytics, Tranquilizers, and Sedatives
  
• Plants and Derived Compounds with Narcotic Effects
  
• Plants and Derived Compounds Used As CNS Stimulants
  
• Plants and Derived Compounds Used in Depression
  
• Plants Used for Conditions That Display Excessive Aspects of Normal Function
  
• Adaptogens
  
• Conclusion
  
• Chapter 18. Herbal Medicine in Endocrinology and Metabolic Disease (Graham Pinn)
  
• Introduction
  
• Gout
  
• Diabetes Mellitus
  
• Obesity
  
• Hyperlipidemia
  
• Thyroid Disorder
  
• Menopause
  
• Toxicity
  
• Conclusion
  
• Chapter 19. Bioactive Saponins from Plants: Recent Developments (Marie-Aleth Lacaille-Dubois)
  
• Introduction
  
• Anti-Inflammatory Activity
  
• Hepatoprotective Activity
  
• Cardiovascular Activity
  
• Activity on the Central Nervous System
  
• Hypoglycemic Activity
  
• Antifungal Activity
  
• Antiviral Activities
  
• Anticancer and Immune System Related Activity
  
• Conclusion
  
• Chapter 20. Natural Products and Herbal Medicines in the Gastrointestinal Tract (Zohar Kerem)
  
• Introduction
  
• Antimicrobial Activities of Herbal Products
  
• GI Immunoregulation
  
• Chemical Considerations in the GI Tract
  
• Herbal-Induced Drug Interactions in the GI Tract
  
• Antioxidant and Reducing Activities of Herbal Products
  
• Conclusion
  
• PART V. HOPES AND DANGERS
  
• Chapter 21. Challenges and Threats to Interdisciplinary Medicinal Plant Research (Michael Heinrich)
  
• Introduction: Patients’ Dilemmas in 2005
  
• Medicinal Plants and Their Modern and Historical Uses
  
• New Methodological Developments
  
• Medical Applications: Pharmacology and Clinical Use
  
• Future Needs: Phytotherapy and the Concept of Ethnopharmacy
  
• Conclusion
  
• Index
  
• Reference Notes Included
  

Biography

Zohara Yaniv, Uriel Bachrach