Pharmacodynamic Basis of Herbal Medicine

by Manuchair Ebadi

Overview

Continuing in the tradition of the acclaimed first edition, Pharmacodynamic Basis of Herbal Medicine, Second Edition examines in extensive detail the physiologic effects of complimentary and alternative therapies, foods, supplements, vitamins, and traditional herbal remedies. The author considers the site, mode, and mechanism of action to ex

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040062210
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	09/06/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	699
File size:	9 MB

Table of Contents

Introduction. Pharmacokinetics. Pharmacodynamics. Adverse Reactions and Drug-Drug Interactions. Herbs-Drugs Interactinos. Foods-Drugs Interactions. Alternative Therapies. Herbal Therapeutics Then and Now. Vitamins and Diet. Dietary Antioxidants. Herb and Specific Disease.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the first edition:
 “I was impressed by the scope and presentation of the material and would recommend it to anyone who wanted a good overall introduction to the pharmacology of herbs and plants”
— Peter L. Bonate, Pharmaceutical Research praise for the first edition

“…offers a balanced approach that spans the gap between the hype in many popular herb books and the wariness of most scientific texts…Very helpful diagrams with charts explaining physiological actions accompany almost every section.”
— American Herb Association praise for the first edition

“The author is well qualified to undertake such a challenging and important task to bridge the knowledge gap for herbal medicines by providing pharmacodynamic information that is currently available. …useful for both students of allopathic and traditional medicine.”
— Grace M. Kuo, PharmD, The Annals of Pharmacology praise for the first edition

“Ebadi successfully catalogs and describes the most important of alternative health care practices in use today. … The content is often part folklore, tradition, or legend in addition to detailed scientific hypotheses and facts regarding the active constituents and mechanism(s) of action. One might expect the cover of this book to become well worn due to the number of people that would browse its pages. In that regard, the book is recommended for all readers desiring a general source of information about herbal medications. All levels.”
— P.W. Baures, Kansas State University, in CHOICE

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Stata Norton, PhD (University of Kansas Medical Center)
Description: This book combines descriptions of detailed pharmacologic actions of the chemicals in plants that are used therapeutically in both herbal preparations and in drugs prescribed by physicians. The descriptions of the actions of the chemicals are based on scientific evidence for effectiveness where such evidence is available. The author also covers the theoretical bases of some traditional medical practices, such as traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. The second edition (first edition 2002) adds some new subjects and increased description in some areas.
Purpose: The author's stated purpose is to show at the molecular level in the body how the herbals most often used are effective therapeutic agents. The book is intended to "bridge the past to the present" and describe how specific ingredients in herbal medications work, based on current scientific knowledge. The uses of many herbal medicines are listed but mechanism of action is given only for those in which an active chemical has been identified and studied scientifically. This is a worthy objective and readers will gain an understanding of the actions of many drugs at the molecular level.
Audience: The audience is expected to be both scientists interested in studying the active ingredients in herbal medicines and any individual who would like to learn about the ways in which the chemicals in herbal medicines and related synthetic drugs act in the body at the molecular level. The author is an expert pharmacologist with knowledge of the pharmacodynamic actions of drugs at the cellular level in the body and a broad knowledge of the traditional uses of herbals as medicines.
Features: The information varies from lists of traditional uses of herbs as drugs in various cultures to chapters on the action of specific chemicals from herbs at the molecular level in cells. For example, a chapter titled "Herbal Preparations Then and Now" lists a variety of plants and their therapeutic uses without further analysis. In contrast, the chapter titled "Banisterine, Selegiline and Parkinson's Disease" contains an extensive description of the current knowledge of the neurochemical transmitters involved in the disease and the action of selegiline, a synthetic drug used in treatment.
Assessment: This is an extensive collection of facts about herbal medicines. The pharmacologic analyses of selected chemicals from plants are detailed and worth the study by any interested individual, as is the information on historical uses of herbals as medicines. References and critical evaluations of effectiveness are listed for some subjects and lacking for others. Some other books on herbal medicines, such as Prime Ayurvedic Plant Drugs by Dev (Anshan, 2006), are comparably good sources of detailed pharmacology of selected herbs with references.

Doody's Review Service