Phytochemistry And Pharmacology Ii

This 2-volume book set, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Medicinal Plants, introduces and provides extensive coverage of 79 important medicinal plant species. Each chapter, written by noted experts in the field, focuses on one important medicinal plant, giving a brief introduction about the species and then delving into the plant’s bioactive phytochemicals along with its chemical structures and pharmacological activities. A wide array of biological activities and potential health benefits of the medicinal plant—which includes antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic properties as well as protective effects on liver, kidney, heart and nervous system—are given. An extensive collection of research literature on pharmacological activities on that species is reviewed. This volume, published under the AAP Focus on Medicinal Plants book series, edited by the accomplished editor, T. Pullaiah, who has taught, researched, written, and published on medicinal plants for over 35 years, will be an important reference resource for years to come for both new and experienced medicinal researchers.

Nature has consistently provided human beings with bioactive compounds that can be used directly as drugs or indirectly as drug leads. Some of the major classes of natural bioactive compounds include phenolics, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, lignin, glycosides, terpenoids, and many more. They possess a broad range of biological activities and are primarily useful in the treatment of various health issues. At the same time, the search for new and novel drugs is never-ending and, despite major advances in synthetic chemistry, nature remains an essential resource for drug discovery. Therefore, more and more researchers are interested in understanding the chemistry, clinical pharmacology, and beneficial effects of bioactive compounds in connection with solving human health problems. This book presents a wealth of information on natural metabolites that have been or are currently being used as drugs or leads for the discovery of new drugs. In addition, it highlights the importance of natural products against various human diseases, and their applications in the drug, nutraceuticals, cosmetics and herbal industries. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable resource for all students, educators, and healthcare experts involved in natural product research, phytochemistry, and pharmacological research.

The book provides significant information on some of the promising edible medicinal plants and how these possess both nutritive as well as medicinal value. The significance of these edible plants in traditional medicine, their distribution in different regions and the importance of their chemical constituents are discussed systematically concerning the role of these plants in ethnomedicine in different regions of the world. The current volume focuses on the economic and culturally important medicinal uses of edible plants and a detailed survey of the literature on scientific researches of pharmacognostical characteristics, traditional uses, scientific validation, and phytochemical composition, and pharmacological activities. This book is a single-source scientific reference to explore the specific factors that contribute to these potential health benefits, as well as discussing how to maximize those potential benefits. Chemists, food technologists, pharmacologists, phytochemists as well as all professionals involved with quality control and standardization will find in this book a valuable and updated basis for their work.

This book starts with a general introduction to phytochemistry, followed by chapters on plant constituents, their origins and chemistry, but also discussing animal-, microorganism- and mineral-based drugs. Further chapters cover vitamins, food additives and excipients as well as xenobiotics and poisons. The book also explores the herbal approach to disease management and molecular pharmacognosy and introduces methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis of plant constituents. Phytochemicals are classified as primary (e.g. carbohydrates, lipids, amino acid derivations, etc.) or secondary (e.g. alkaloids, terpenes and terpenoids, phenolic compounds, glycosides, etc.) metabolites according to their metabolic route of origin, chemical structure and function. A wide variety of primary and secondary phytochemicals are present in medicinal plants, some of which are active phytomedicines and some of which are pharmaceutical excipients.

This book addresses the resurgence of interest in the rediscovery of ethnomedicinal plants as a source of potential ethnomedicines. In the 21st century, the pharmacological effects of medicinal plants are considered to have a promising future as drugs and medicines for the management of healthcare. Considering the extremely high cost and length of time needed for the development of new drugs, as well as the high drug attrition rate, pharmaceutical companies and researchers continue to explore new ways for drug R&D and focus more attention on the benefits of ethnomedical plants as a source of new compounds for drugs. The research provided in this timely volume examines the development and characterization of new natural drugs from medicinal plants with the aid of better screening methods. The chapters survey specific medicinal plant species and describe the characteristics of each, how the plants work, and their applications for healthcare. The authors provide research on plants from Western Ghats and adjoining areas for ethnomedicinal investigation because this area is very rich in phytodiversity and tribal traditions in phytotherapy and the plants surveyed have applications beyond this region. This book is a valuable medical compendium of plants and is intended as a guide and reference resource for professionals in the field. It reviews the current status of ethnomedicinal plants research in light of the surge in the demand for herbal medicine as a future source of new therapeutics.