Organized by body system and ailment makes it easy to locate appropriate therapies. Includes background on the physiology of major systems and ailments so readers can understand how and why a pharmaceutical, botanical, or dietary supplement works. Broad coverage includes green plants, fungi, and microorganisms. Includes extensive references and citations from both conventional and complimentary-alternative medical systems when natural products or their derivatives are involved.
Plants as Medicine.... A Natural Approach to Self-Health Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Man?s Health, Walter H. Lewis, Memory P.F. Elvin-Lewis Medical Botany is a fascinating look at the facts and fictions surrounding plants and man?not only which plants affect our bodies, but how they affect them. Authoritative, rich in anecdote and lore, lavishly illustrated, this encyclopedic reference brings within your reach the curative, healing, poisonous, allergenic, and psychoactive properties of thousands of plants. Its ready reference format allows you to turn instantly to information about a specific plant?s properties, its history, its use in orthodox medicine (where applicable) and its use in folk medicine. Discover a wealth of information on plants that have been used for such purposes as to treat peptic ulcers, to assist in the fight against cancer (in combination with chemotherapy), to help alleviate gout and diabetes, and to promote the healing of wounds. Each section begins with historical background of the plants discussed, with colorful stories ranging from Socrates? fatal hemlock to Timothy Leary?s experiments. There are informative discussions of how your body works, with sections covering heart and circulation, metabolism, nervous system, urogenital system, gastrointestinal tract, allergies, ear, internal poisons, and more. This intriguing compendium/reference will enlighten, entertain, and give you a healthier knowledge of plants. Praise for Medical Botany... "Skillfully organized, neatly written, highly informative, and well illustrated, this is a stimulating and useful reference volume. It is not a mere catalog of medicinal plants but a carefully prepared review of injurious, healing and nourishing, and psychoactive plants...should be a lasting joy for reference and a source of continued satisfaction..." ?American Scientist "I would recommend this text highly...useful for the layman who wishes an introduction to the topic. The authors have provided a fresh look at a classic subject and should be commended for their efforts." ?Economic Botany "...a vast compendium of information on medically important plants, both harmful and useful...commendable." ?New England Journal of Medicine
This book highlights the results from over a year of ethnobotanical research in a rural and an urban community in Jamaica, where we interviewed more than 100 people who use medicinal plants for healthcare. The goal of this research was to better understand patterns of medicinal plant knowledge, and to find out which plants are used in consensus by local people for a variety of illnesses. For this book, we selected 25 popular medicinal plant species mentioned during fieldwork. Through individual interviews, we were able to rank plants according to their frequency of mention, and categorized the medicinal uses for each species as “major” (mentioned by more than 20% of people in a community) or “minor” (mentioned by more than 5%, but less than 20% of people). Botanical identification of plant specimens collected in the wild allowed for cross-linking of common and scientific plant names. To supplement field research, we undertook a comprehensive search and review of the ethnobotanical and biomedical literature. Our book summarizes all this information in detail under specific sub-headings.
