Book Name: Nature’s Pharmacopeia: A World of Medicinal Plants 1st Edition
Author: Dan Choffnes
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN-10: 9780231166614,0231166613
Year: 2016
Pages: 352
Language: English
File size: 52 MB
File format: PDF,EPUB
Download Nature’s Pharmacopeia: A World of Medicinal Plants 1st Edition Pdf Book Description:
This superbly illustrated, richly composed article pairs the best research on the biochemical properties and physiological consequences of medicinal plants with a fascinating history of their usage throughout human culture, showing the influence of nature’s pharmacopeia on artwork, warfare, conquest, and law. By chronicling the ways that humans have cultivated plant species, extracted their active chemical ingredients, and investigated their effects on the entire body with time, Nature’s Pharmacopeia also builds an unparalleled portrait of these distinctive herbs as they transitioned from wild flora and botanical curiosities to products and potent drugs.
The book opens with an overview of the usage of medicinal plants in the traditional practices and indigenous belief systems of people in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and historical Europe. It then joins medicinal plants into the growth of scientific medicine in the West. Subsequent chapters cover the regulation of medication; using powerful plant compounds –such as smoking, cocaine, and caffeine–from several medical settings; and also the application of biomedicine’s intellectual frameworks to the fabrication of novel drugs from ancient treatments. Geared toward nonspecialists, this text fosters a profound appreciation of the complex chemistry and cultural elements of herbal medicine, while indicating how we can further tap the huge repositories of the planet’s herbal knowledge to produce new pharmaceuticals.