Overview

Plants have been used to treat disease throughout human history. On a clay slab that dates back approximately five thousand years, the Sumerians recorded medicinal recipes that made use of hundreds of plants, including poppy, henbane, and mandrake. During the Middle Ages, monks commonly grew and prescribed plants such as sage, anise, and mint in their monasteries. And as the market for herbal remedies and natural medicine grows, we continue to search the globe for plants and plant compounds to combat our various ailments. In Phytomedicines, Herbal Drugs, and Poisons, Ben-Erik van Wyk offers a richly illustrated, scientific guide to medicinal and poisonous plants, including those used for their mind-altering effects. Van Wyk covers approximately 350 species-from Aloe vera and Ephedra sinica to Cannabis sativa and Coffea arabica-detailing their botanical, geographical, pharmacological, and toxicological data as well as the chemical structures of the active compounds in each. Readers learn, for example, that Acacia senegal, or gum acacia, is used primarily in Sudan and Ethiopia as a topical ointment to protect the skin and mucosa from bacterial and fungal infections, and that Aconitum napellus, more commonly known as aconite, is used in cough syrups but can be psychedelic when smoked or absorbed through the skin. With 350 full-color photographs featuring the plants and some of their derivative products, Phytomedicines, Herbal Drugs, and Poisons will be an invaluable reference not only for those in the health care field but also for those growing their own medicinal herb gardens, as well as anyone who needs a quick answer to whether a plant is a panacea or a poison.

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9780226204918

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Reviews

Phytomedicines is beautifully illustrated, with an accessible reference section, and it fulfills the authors' pledge to provide a general reference book for pharmacists and lay public alike. . . . [A] welcome addition to any budding botanist's bookshelf, and a potent reminder of our complex relationship with plants. --Shaoni Bhattacharya New Scientist

Phytomedicines is beautifully illustrated, with an accessible reference section, and it fulfills the authors' pledge to provide a general reference book for pharmacists and lay public alike. . . . [A] welcome addition to any budding botanist's bookshelf, and a potent reminder of our complex relationship with plants. --Shaoni Bhattacharya New Scientist Phytomedicines, Herbal Drugs, and Poisons can be used as a guide for the novice herbalist, the seasoned botanist, or anyone with an interest in learning about how plants can heal (or kill). . . . The book is easy to navigate with hundreds of color photographs and chapters divided by poisonous plants, healing plants, mind-altering plants, and more. -- Gardenista

Author Information

Ben-Erik van Wyk is professor of botany at the University of Johannesburg. He is the author of Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Michael Wink is professor of pharmaceutical biology and director at the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biology at Heidelberg University, Germany. He is an authority on secondary metabolites of plants and their pharmacological properties.

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