Book Review Cite This: J. Nat. Prod. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
pubs.acs.org/jnp
Book Review of Herbal Medicines, Fourth Edition herbal remedies but also for those involved in natural product research. We also predict that this text will also have an appeal to the general public, which seems to have an ever-growing appetite for understanding the pharmaceutical evidence behind the herbal supplements they consume on a daily basis.
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Herbal Medicines, Fourth Edition. Edited by Nigel C. Veitch, Michael Smith, Joanne Barnes, Linda A. Anderson, and John D. Phillipson. Pharmaceutical Press: London, UK. 2013. Hardcover, 928 pp. $185.00. ISBN-13:978-0857110350.
Garrett Zinck Joe Chappell
The fourth edition of Herbal Medicines represents 16 years of rigorous research and continuous dedication to ensure pharmacists, doctors, healthcare professionals and natural product researchers have the most advanced and up-to-date scientific information about the world’s most renowned herbal medicines in one cogent, codified, and comprehensive resource. This edition includes 28 new herbal medicines focused particularly on topical herbs such as butcher’s broom, English ivy, epimedium, horsetail, linseed, melilot, noni, oak bark, peppermint, tea tree, tormentil, turmeric, and verbascum. Other newly added monographs include bistort, black currant, bugleweed, cramp bark, European goldenrod, fennel, goat’s rue, hoodia, lovage root, peony, polypodium, pygeum, sea buckhorn, and yohimbe. In addition to the new 28 monographs, the pre-existing entries received amendments to their plant and dried-substance pictures, along with scientific updates based on recent, authoritative citations through 2012 to yield descriptions of 180 of the world’s most popular herbal supplements. The initial chapter, entitled “How To Use Herbal Medicines”, provides the reader with a useful systematic overview on the organization of each monograph. Much of the organization remains the same from the third edition with scientific updates (if available) to the purported in vitro and in vivo pharmacological action(s) of the herbal medicine. More impressive are the preparations directions of each herbal medicine, which now includes data from over 43 countries. The authors have arranged each herbal medicine in a format familiar to the healthcare provider. The data sheet type format is not only visually appealing but also provides information in a methodical and consistent manner throughout the entire monograph. The fourth edition concludes with the same five appendices as the previous edition, except with a dramatically expanded preparations directory that encompasses data from over 43 countries (77 pages) which further is subdivided into two sections− single ingredient vs multiple ingredient preparations. Lastly, the editors expanded the supplier directory (40 pages) to include suppliers from outside the USA and Europe. One limitation for any such reference text is the challenge to remain current with the scientific literature for the reported herbal medicines. Hence, each new edition of Herbal Medicines provides a highly detailed snapshot of information on the world’s most popular herbal medicines at the time of publication. A useful alternative would be an electronic, Internet version of this text that would allow for more frequent updates, revisions, and broader access. Nonetheless, this is an invaluable reference text written not only for the pharmacists and physicians to help aid in counseling their patients on © 2019 American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy
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College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
ORCID
Garrett Zinck: 0000-0001-9738-6576 Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00179 J. Nat. Prod. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
