Book Review pubs.acs.org/jnp
Review of Botanical Miracles. Chemistry of Plants That Changed the World color photos would have been well placed throughout the text, as some are stunning and integral to the text. I would highly recommend this book for a variety of audiences. It is most ideal for beginning students, as its storytelling format is extremely engaging. I also found myself drawn in to chapters on plants I have not studied much about, simply due to the accessible format and skillful highlighting of interesting facts and stories. Overall, this is a great basic text to serve as a launching pad for further questions and investigations of plants integral to human civilization.
Botanical Miracles. Chemistry of Plants That Changed the World. By Raymond Cooper and Jeffrey John Deakin. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.2016. Hardcover, 252 pp. $102.92. ISBN 978-1-4987-0428-1. Botanical Miracles is designed as a text for an introductory phytochemistry or ethnobotany class; however, it will also be valuable to those interested in learning more about certain useful plants and their bioactive compounds. This text underscores how plants are integral to human survival and culture and constitute food, medicines, clothing, spices, and dyes. In this vein, the book incorporates an interdisciplinary approach in teaching phytochemistry by incorporating history, ethnobotany, organic chemistry, and a little anthropology, to engage the reader. The introduction to this book sets the framework for how the text is arranged and contains a useful table outlining the chapters and sections, including the plants and types of compounds discussed. Brief sections in the introduction on natural products and organic chemistry are basic enough to be grasped by nonscientists, but still thorough enough to support the remaining book. The book is organized by plant category, such as “Medical Marvels”, “Modern Miracles of Foods and Ancient Grains”, “Beverages”, “Euphorics”, “Exotic Potions, Lotions, and Oils”, and “Colorful Chemistry: A Natural Palette of Plant Dyes and Pigments”. Each chapter highlights a species such as frankincense (Boswellia serrata), describes its usage, and further details the compounds of interest, placing their chemistry in context. Shaded, stand-alone boxes describe historical relevance of the plants, including individual scientists’ contributions, such as Margaret Sanger (an early advocate for birth control) or the role of frankincense and myrrh in Biblical and religious history, just to name a few. Accompanying the text are compound structures, photos of the plants, and even a page from the notebook of Dr. Luis E. Miramontes, one of the three original chemists to develop oral contraception. Several questions are listed at the end of each section, helping to reinforce the discussed concepts. These questions are well-designed and extremely helpful in ensuring comprehension and further inquiry. Also included in each section is “Suggested Further Reading”, which lists seminal literature or books for interested readers. Several sections stand out, such as the ones covering ancient grains; the sections on wheat, coffee, and tea are especially wellresearched and interesting. The euphorics are also strong sections, with historical and current uses aptly explained. There is a brief glossary covering mostly chemical and biological technical terms, as well as a thorough index. The only criticisms of this book are minor. Some of the figures, particularly maps, are of low resolution. This is somewhat distracting. Also, it is unclear why there is a color photo section in the middle of the book featuring photos already appearing in various sections in black and white. The © 2016 American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy
Amy C. Keller
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Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
The author declares no competing financial interest.
Published: October 19, 2016 2764
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.6b00902 J. Nat. Prod. 2016, 79, 2764−2764
