This is a practical, quick-reference guide containing not only the basic information needed to understand a medicinal plant and its uses, but also a range of interesting facts, suggestions and ideas for further research.
There are 501 plant profiles, listed in alphabetical order. Obviously, not ‘all’ medicinal plants are included, but alongside the most significant ones from our herbal tradition, there are also those typical of traditional medicine in other countries, some now in international use and others still little known and with potential yet to be discovered.
For each plant, in addition to its properties and indications, the book deliberately lists not all preparations, but only the ‘appropriate preparations’—that is, those which the author considers useful for extracting the active ingredients to which the plant’s therapeutic activity is attributed—along with, of course, the ‘appropriate dose’. The German Commission E has been used as a reference for preparations and dosages of plants belonging to the Western tradition; for Chinese and Indian plants, reference has been made to the respective Official Pharmacopoeias.
Contraindications, side effects and drug interactions are also listed, where known, as awareness of these issues represents a modern problem of considerable and not negligible importance.
The book is accompanied by an extensive bibliography, essential for any further reading the reader may find useful.
