Medicinal Plants Of Northern Thailand For The Treatment Of Cognitive Impairment In The Elderly

This book provides a description of cognitive impairment in the elderly population through the lens of Thai Traditional Medicine as it is practiced in northern Thailand. It provides an overview of Thai Traditional Medicine and the memory loss presented in elderly dementia. Some medicinal plants used by traditional Thai healers to treat cognitive decline and memory issues in the elderly are reviewed. Medicinal Plants of Northern Thailand for the Treatment of Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly provides readers with the detailed description of the in vitro screening of ten plants and those results. The bioactivity of these single plants exemplifies the success of using an ethnobotanical filter to identify plants with cognitive enhancing activity.

Dementia is a progressive neurological disease affecting memory and behavior. The diagnosis of dementia is increasing exponentially worldwide and with it the potential risk for a severe social and economic burden of caring for an increasing debilitated elderly population. Cognitive impairment, and especially memory loss, can be the first indication of dementia. This study documents the treatment of cognitive impairment in the elderly by Thai traditional healers in northern Thailand using medicinal plants. Interviews were conducted from 2008-2012 to investigate the etiology of dementia in Thai Traditional Medicine and identify plants used to treat memory loss in the pharmacopeia of northern Thailand. Multi-plant herbal formulas from ancient manuscripts of the Lanna Kingdom were obtained from Thai traditional healers. These formulas were analyzed through ethnobotanical inquiry for plant species with potential bioactivity against memory loss in the elderly. Crude extracts of eleven selected plant species were screened through four in vitro bioassays to measure their general antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity. Of these eleven species, five plants exhibited high levels of acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity: Cinnamomum bejolghota (Buch-Ham.) Sweet, Dracaena loureiroi Gagnep., Diospyros decandra Lour., Jasminum sambac (L.) Aiton., and Eurycoma longifolia Jack. One plant, Cinnamomum bejolghota demonstrated high activity in all four in vitro bioassays. Three different doses of an ethanol extract of Cinnamomum bejolghota were evaluated for their memory enhancing ability on in vivo rat behavioral models and enzymatic marker tests on their brain tissue. Results from the Morris Water Maze navigation task showed that the two highest dosages of the extract produced significant memory improvement after two weeks of treatment. Enzymatic marker analyses in three portions of the rats' brains associated with memory formation, the hippocampus, striatum and cortex, showed significant acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity thereby increasing acetylcholine levels in these parts of the brain. This study identified a plant with memory enhancing activity that, with further study, could help to alleviate the suffering of those afflicted with age-related memory decline. Ethnopharmacological studies support the viability of traditional medicine to treat diseases that are relevant in modern society.

From the Foreword Umberto Quattrocchi has brought us some amazing and useful works through the various dictionaries that he has compiled. This time it is for two very important plant families the palms and the cycads that are synthesized here in these two volumes. Each entry is fascinating not just for the botany and full nomenclature of the plant species but for all the associated uses, folklore and interactions with other organisms. ...These entries are fascinating glimpses of natural history. ... Botanists, conservationists, ethnobotanists, anthropologists, geographers, bird watchers, naturalists, historians and those of many other disciplines will find these volumes a most valuable and useful resource. It is the sort of book that will be in frequent use in my library. ----- Professor Sir Ghillean Prance FRS, VMH, Former Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Following the same format as Umberto Quattrocchi’s highly praised and well-used previous works, The CRC World Dictionary of Palms: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology brings together the vast and scattered literature on palms and cycads to provide better access to information on these economically important plants. Each genus and species has a detailed morphological description and includes a list of synonyms and vernacular names in many languages. Bibliographies accompany each entry which are comprehensive, up-to-date and multi-lingual. The detailed information for every entry on habitats, economic uses, historical and biographical data, botanical exploration, and linguistics will be useful for any library involved with botany, herbal medicine, pharmacognosy, medicinal and natural product chemistry, ecology, ethnobotany, systematics, general plant science, agriculture or horticulture. Umberto Quattrocchi is the author of the bestselling CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names, winner of the prestigious Hanbury Botanical Garden Award. His most recent multi-volume work, CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants, received strong praise as being "... an unparalleled starting place—a tool of first resort for any thoughtful researcher. Quattrocchi and CRC have delivered a dictionary like no other, a learned finger pointing in the right direction." —John de la Parra, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from Economic Botany, Vol. 68, 2014

This is the second volume in a series of monographs which are intended to promote information exchange and international harmonised standards for the quality control and use of herbal medicines. It contains scientific information on 30 selected plants, and each entry includes a pharmacopoeial summary for quality assurance purposes, information on its clinical application and sections on contraindications, pharmacology, safety issues, and dosage forms. It provides two cumulative indexes with entries in alphabetical order by plant name and according to the plant material of interest.

Among the many who serve in the United States Armed Forces and who are deployed to distant locations around the world, myriad health threats are encountered. In addition to those associated with the disruption of their home life and potential for combat, they may face distinctive disease threats that are specific to the locations to which they are deployed. U.S. forces have been deployed many times over the years to areas in which malaria is endemic, including in parts of Afghanistan and Iraq. Department of Defense (DoD) policy requires that antimalarial drugs be issued and regimens adhered to for deployments to malaria-endemic areas. Policies directing which should be used as first and as second-line agents have evolved over time based on new data regarding adverse events or precautions for specific underlying health conditions, areas of deployment, and other operational factors At the request of the Veterans Administration, Assessment of Long-Term Health Effects of Antimalarial Drugs When Used for Prophylaxis assesses the scientific evidence regarding the potential for long-term health effects resulting from the use of antimalarial drugs that were approved by FDA or used by U.S. service members for malaria prophylaxis, with a focus on mefloquine, tafenoquine, and other antimalarial drugs that have been used by DoD in the past 25 years. This report offers conclusions based on available evidence regarding associations of persistent or latent adverse events.

Alzheimer’s disease is undoubtedly the major health challenge of our Century with significant social and economic consequences. This Frontiers eBook offers a contribution of 39 innovative papers on the multidimensional and crucial problem of Alzheimer’s disease management and treatment. Several perspectives, research updates, and trials describing methods on potential diagnosis and treatment are presented including biological mechanisms, biomarkers and risk factors for an early and efficient prognosis, diagnosis and prevention. Additionally, while the rapidly increasing Alzheimer’s disease population demands holistic solutions and clinical studies with new therapeutic target approaches, several of the contributive papers present promising drugs targeting Alzheimer’s disease treatment. We give our deepest acknowledgment to all the authors for their important and innovative contributions, to the reviewers for their valuable recommendations on improving the submitting studies and all the Frontiers Editorial team for continuous support.

Indian Medicinal Plants, based on a treatise prepared by S. Raghunatha Iyer, a scholar of both Sanskrit and Ayurveda, aims to make an authoritative contribution to the field. The original work which drew upon classical texts and current research, as well as the oral medical knowledge of tribal groups has been updated by scholars associated with the Arya Vaidya Sala in Kottakal, India. This unique compendium offers profiles of 500 key species with detailed taxonomic information. One of the leading features of this compilation is the special technique used in the illustrations, both colour and line, which aims to achieve authenticity of texture, colour and form. The book also lists the distribution and popular nomenclature in English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil. The main texts present properties and uses in a format which cites ancient verse texts and ethnobotanical sources. This rare work, in five volumes, should be of special interest to practitioners of alternative medicine, students of Ayurveda, the research and industry associated with medical botany, pharmacologists, sociologists and medical herbalists.