Worldwide investigations in specialized areas of biological activity have nevertheless confirmed that plants are a reservoir of chemical agents with therapeutical potential. Since new diseases as well as drug-resistant strains of known pathogens continue to emerge, the search for novel compounds from drug plants is ongoing process and there is a need to exchange this vital information for wider application by the global scientific community.
The present volume is an endeavour in this direction and presents 23 chapters on medicinal plants investigations authored by eminent scientists from India and abroad on various aspects viz. medicinal properties and uses, chemical and pharmacological profiles, cellular and molecular mechanisms of the therapeutic actions, chemical composition and biological activity, chemopreventive and radioprotective effects, pharmacokinetics and pharmaco-dynamics, ethnopharmacology etc. for many medicinal species studied viz., Hypericum perforatum, Pueraria lobata, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Tabernanthe iboga, Panax ginseng, Crataegus laevigata, Citrus aurantum, Crocus sativus, Allium hirtifolium, Alchornea glandulosa, Byrsonima fagifolia, Mouriri pusa, Zingiber officinale, Terminalia arjuna, Catharanthus roseus, Pongamia pinnata, Azadirachta indica, Artocarpus altilis, Morus alba, Melia azedarach, Chrysanthemum coronarium, Stellaria chamaejasme, Daphne tangutica, Xanthium sibiricum, Bidens pilosa, Xanthopappus subacaulis, Radix Scutellariae, Huperzia saururus, Pterocarpus angolensis, Clausena anisata, Ziziphus mucronata, Turraea nilotica, Vangueria infausta, Annona stenophylla, Ximenia caffra, Dicoma anomalia and Daucus carota.
The findings could serve as basic material for further studies in the direction of developing new phyto-therapeutics. The contributions are from far and wide including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark, France, India, Iran, Poland, Serbia, Taiwan, United Kingdom, U.S.A. and Zimbabwe. The volume aims to document updated information on medicinal plants investigations to bring these to the attention of international scientific community, particularly the phytochemists, pharmacologists, microbiologists, biochemists, biotechnologists, medical scientists and other researchers engaged in the discovery and development of new drugs of natural origin.
- Flaveria bidentis and Flaveria haumanii-Effects and Bioactivity of Sulphated Flavonoids (Argentina)
- Phytotherapeutic Approach to Alcohol Dependence (Italy)
- Effects of Chinese Herbal Medicines on Bone Loss in Castrated Female Rats (Japan)
- Production of ET743, Bryostatin and Taxol Using a Mineral Based Microbial Amplification System (USA, UK)
- Screening of Natural Products to Drug Discovery (Cuba)
- Ethnomedicines Used in Trinidad and Tobago for Eye, Dental Problems and Headaches (Canada)
- Phytomedicinal Agents for Treatment of Schistosomiasis (USA)
- Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Salvia officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) (Serbia)
- Evaluation of Medicinal Plants Used to Diabetes Treatment (Brazil)
- Cyclodextrins, Structures, Properties Useful for Treating Diseases and Revitalizing Body Systems (Poland, China)
- Chemopreventive and Radioprotective Effects of Medicinal Plants from Iran (Iran)
- Chinese Herbal Medicine for Coronary Artery Disease (China)
- Non-commercial Plants of Medicinal Purposes from the Brazilian Biomes for the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Diseases (Brazil)
- The Treatment Period-Dependent Effects of Ginger Extract (Zingiber officinale) and Ibuprofen in Patients with Osteoarthritis (Iran)
- Exploring the Anti-diabetic Effect of Terminalia arjuna in In vivo Animal Model (USA, India)
- Inhibition of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) by Medicinal Plants Exhibiting Antihypertensive Activity (India)
- Pesticidal Activities of Some Important Chinese Medicinal Plant (China)
- The Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of the Active Ingredients in Radix scutellariae (Taiwan)
- Huperzia saururus: Anticholinesterase Activity and Action on Memory and Learning (Argentina)
- Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Some Zimbabwean Traditional Medicinal Plants (Zimbabwe, South Africa)
- Natural Products as Therapeutic Agents: Past, Present and Future (Cuba)
- Daucus carota L.: A Common Plant with a Potentially Large Medicinal Application-field (France)
- Capsaicin: A Spice Derived Phytochemical that Modulates Calcium Homeostasis, Energy Inter-conversion and Cellular Metabolism (Denmark)
- Index.