Book Review Cite This: J. Nat. Prod. XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX
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Review of Botanical Safety Handbook, 2nd Edition Botanical Safety Handbook, 2nd Edition. Edited by Z. Gardner and M. McGuffin (Traditional Medicinals and American Herbal Products Association, respectively). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 2013. xxix + pp. $119.95. 83/4 × 113/4 in. ISBN 978-14665-1694-6.
That said, this is nonetheless a very important, extraordinarily detailed compilation of safety data on botanicals used in human health products. It will be an excellent resource for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, academicians, researchers, regulators, consumers, and even marketers and advertisers. Every school of pharmacy, medicine, and nursing should have a copy in its library.
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his book represents a significant revision and expansion of the first edition. The safety classifications have been redefined, and a set of interaction classifications has been established to address a growing body of knowledge and concerns about herb−drug interactions. The number of plants covered in this edition has also increased, as more traditional medicinal plants continue to enter the commercial marketplace. Each plant entry is organized in the same format, with the following sections: Plant Name (Latin binomials with authority, followed by standard common names, SCN, from Herbs of Commerce, other common names, and plant part); Quick Reference Summary (safety and interaction classifications, contraindications, other precautions, drug and supplement interactions, adverse events and side effects, pharmacological considerations, and pregnancy and lactation); Review Details (drug and supplement interactions−data from chemical trials, animal studies, and case reports; adverse events; pharmacology and pharmacokinetics−human, animal, in vitro studies; pregnancy and lactation; toxicity studies; and literature cited). Different plant parts of the same species and different species of the same genus have separate entries when the available information regarding safety differs from part to part or species to species. The length of the individual entries is dependent on the published literature for that plant. The entry for Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. is just under a full page and includes just one reference, while the heavily researched St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) required 10 pages, including four full pages of literature citations. This well written, carefully crafted tome is a veritable cornucopia of information on the safety of botanicals and the science underpinning their use in human health. This reviewer could find only one editing error in this expansive compilation: the two entries (fruit, concentrated extract) for bitter orange (Citrus × aurantium L.) appeared both before and after the entry for key lime (Citrus × aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle). A drawback to this book (or any compilation like it) is that it is a snapshot in time, with no simple provision for updating entries as meaningful new data emerge. An electronic version of the book would be easier to update, but there would still be a substantial cost in human resources. Further, the length of time it took to develop this important revision resulted in some literature surveillance ending well before the publication date; the most recent reference in the black cohosh entry was from 2010; for aloe vera, 2007; for glycyrrhiza, 2009; and for St. John’s wort, 2008. However, the entries for bitter orange were more recent, with citations from 2011 and 2012. © XXXX American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy
John H. Cardellina, II
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ReevesGroup Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
The author declares no competing financial interest.
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.7b00820 J. Nat. Prod. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
