Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology, Third Edition, provides an updated, thorough overview of the fundamentals of botany. The topics and chapters are organized in a sequence that is easy to follow, beginning with the most familiar - structure -- and proceeding to the less familiar -- metabolism -- then finishing with those topics that are probably the least familiar to most beginning students -- genetics, evolution, the diversity of organisms, and ecology.
"The book strikes a balance between classical fundamental information and the recent developments in plant systematics. Special attention has been devoted to the information on botanical nomenclature, identification and phylogeny of angiosperms with numerous relevant examples and detailed explanation of the important nomenclatural problems. An attempt has been made to present a continuity between orthodox and contemporary identification methods by working on a common example. The methods of identification using computers have been further explored to help better online identification. The chapter on cladistic methods has been totally revised, and molecular systematics discussed in considerable detail."--Jacket.
Phytophagous insects represent a very particular not really belong to their host plant range. This may group of organisms. Firstly, their number amounts lead to mistaken conclusions especially in regions to more than one quarter of all recent species (ex where only few observations were possible, as well cluding fungi, algae and microbes) and together with as in the case of uncommon insect species. Fourthly, the green plants on which they feed they form al the great majority (99. 4%) of the agromyzid species most one half of all living species described so far. studied show a high degree of host specialization Secondly, their overwhelming majority shows very which makes these insects especially suitable for narrow host plant specialization, that is they feed taxonomic-phylogenetic considerations. only on one or a few, mostly closely related plant With such an enormous amount of data, it may species, a characteristic that led J. H. Fabre to elab have been tempting to draw far-reaching conclu orate the notion of the 'insects' botanical instinct' a sions. However, the author has been very careful in century ago. doing this.
Medicinal Plants in Asia for Metabolic Syndrome: Natural Products and Molecular Basis offers an in-depth view into the metabolic syndrome pharmacology of natural products with an emphasis on their molecular basis, cellular pathways, metabolic organs, and endocrine regulations. This sensational volume provides the scientific names, botanical classifications, botanical descriptions, medicinal uses, chemical constituents, and pharmacological activities of more than 100 Asian plants, with high quality original botanical plates, chemical structures, and pharmacological diagrams. It also lists hundreds of carefully selected bibliographical references, constituents on insulin resistance, obesity, atherosclerosis, atherogenic dyslipidemia, and endothelial dysfunction.
This invaluable book provides a readable, introductory text to the fascinating subject of drug discovery from the medicinal plants of Asia-Pacific. A carefully designed layout presents more than 400 medicinal plants, and includes description of compound structure, molecular properties, pharmacology and clinical uses. With its broad scope and extensive compound listings, this is a premier reference source for natural products research using a pharmacological approach. Starting from a collection of plants in the rainforests of Asia-Pacific, Wiart shows how the present state of knowledge fosters a whole new way of looking at the discovery of drugs from medicinal plants.Wiart uses his approach to deal with a remarkable array of fundamental problems: from the phylogeny of plants, to the molecular basis of activity, limitations of phytochemistry, and the possibility of a truly fundamental theory of ethnopharmacology.Written with exceptional clarity, and illustrated by more than 300 original pictures and 400 chemical structures, this seminal book allows scientists and non-scientists alike to participate in what promises to be a major intellectual revolution.
In 1860, Oliver Wendell Holmes pointedly expressed himself to the Massachusetts Medical Society: “I firmly believe that if the whole Material Medica, as now used, could be sunk to the bottom of the sea, it would be all the better for mankind, and all the worst for the fishes.” Should one think the same about the current approach in drug discovery from plants? Probably yes. Despite the spending of billions of US dollars, and three decades of efforts, high-throughput screenings have only allowed the discovery of a couple of drugs. One could have reasonably expected the discovery of an arsenal of drugs from the millions of plant extracts randomly tested, but “hits” can be inactive in vitro or too toxic, some molecules need to be metabolized first to be active, and false-positive and false-negative results are common. The bitter truth is that the robotic approach in discovering drugs from plants has proven, to date, its inability to excavate the hundreds of molecules that will contribute to the health progress of Man. However, one can reasonably see that the last patches of primary rainforest on earth hold still hundreds of spectacularly active drugs that await discovery.
