ARTICLE IN PRESS
Book reviews / Phytomedicine 11 (2004) 554559
promotes increased funding of research by manufac-
turers and epidemiological research to augment surveil-
lance.
The only egregious omission I nd, in the realm of
recommendation, is the need for a program of certica-
tion of botanical identity of botanical raw materials and
the institution of regular periodic analytical surveys for
herbal productsbased on economic and health im-
portancesuch as exists in France. So far an inordinate
emphasis has been placed in North America on labeling
issues and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs),
doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2004.06.001
Phytomedicines for respiratory tract diseases. 1st edition
S. Chrubasic, B. Roufogalis, Australian Pharmaceutical
Publishing Company, Balmain, NSW, Australia, 2002,
80 p., price $27.50, ISBN 0-9580664-0-X (SC)
Herbal medicinal products play an important
role in the treatment of respiratory tract diseases. The
authors, both excellent experts in the eld of phyto-
therapy, present a compendium, aimed as a practical
guide for physicians, pharmacists, naturopaths and
students, or anyone who intends to use herbal medicinal
products. The compendium, in condensed form, de-
scribes 45 herbal medicinal products used for the
treatment of diseases of the respiratory tract. Each
section of the book provides information of the part of
the medicinal plant used in the herbal preparation, the
characteristic constituents, therapeutic indications, the
most relevant clinical trials, effects in human pharma-
cological studies, activities in animal experiments,
activities in invitro experiments, and dosages. Other
information concerns pharmacodynamics, adverse ef-
fects, contraindications, special warnings and precau-
tions, and toxicological data. Appendices provide
doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2004.06.002
Major herbs of ayurveda
E.M. Williamson (Ed.); Churchill Livingstone,
New York, 2002, 361pp., price $49.95, ISBN: 0 443
07203 5 (HC)
A growing interest in the Western Hemisphere
in complementary and alternative healing me-
thods, accompanied by hope for discovery of new
approaches to therapeutic methods, has en-
couraged westerners to learn more about non-western
555
which are important but subservient to identity, quality
and efcacy assurance. I highly recommend this book to
all interested in the advancement of herbal medicinal
products.
Dennis V.C. Awang
MediPlant Consulting Inc., 15876 Thrift Avenue,
White Rock, BC, Canada V4B 2M8
E-mail address: awangd@allstream.net
information on popular tea preparations, a list of the
herbal medicinal products according to their in vivo
effects, and a classication of each product according to
its clinical effect. A therapeutic index and an English
Latin plant name index assist the user of the compen-
dium to nd the information they need quickly
and easily.
The data presented in Phytomedicines for Res-
piratory Tract Diseases are based on scientic
evidence being published in established international
publications such as monographs, a major herbal
medicines handbook, peer-reviewed journals and book
reviews. The consulted references are cited in the
reference list.
The book provides comprehensive information on the
treatment of diseases of the respiratory tract and is
recommended without reservation.
Hans D. Reuter
. Phytotherapie, Geschaftsf
Gesellschaft fur . uhrung,
.
. Germany
Siebengebirgsallee 24, D-50939 Koln,
E-mail address: ges-phyto@t-online.de
medicinal systems. The practice of Ayurvedic
Medicine, as well as other Eastern healing systems
such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Japanese
Kampo Medicine should be more absorbed into
he perception of westerners. The recently issued
book Major Herbs of Ayurveda, edited by
Elizabeth M. Williamson shines a light into the
realm of Ayurveda, presenting an introduction
to Ayurvedic Medicine and giving botanical and
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
556 Book reviews / Phytomedicine 11 (2004) 554559
pharmacological descriptions for 70 plants used in
Ayurvedic Medicine.
In general, the organization of Williamsons Major
Herbs of Ayurveda follows that of the classical
work Selected Medicinal Plants of India by Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavans Swami Prakashananda Ayurveda
Research Centre, with which it shares the prin-
cipal composition and some photographs. Williamsons
book, however, lists some 40 species fewer than the older
book, although it is far more exhaustive in reviewing the
pharmacological data associated with each species. The
strongest value of Elizabeth Williamsons book consists
of this reviewing part of pharmacological data in which
the reader who works in this eld will nd a large
repertory of information.
The book was compiled by the Dabur Re-
search Foundation and the Dabur Ayurved Limited.
Dabur Research Foundation, is a non-prot
organization founded in 1979 with the purpose of
conducting scientic research on health care for
humans and animals. The book consists of two
clearly dened parts. The rst part gives an intro-
duction to the aim and philosophy of Ayurveda.
This portion of the text is a readable, but rather
surprisingly brief introduction into the broad eld of
Ayurvedic medicine. For the reader who doesnt
know anything about Ayurveda, there is not enough
information given to understand the principles
of this discipline. In a short discussion, the general
ideas like the three humors (tridosha), the human
constitution (prakruti), qualities or attributes of sub-
stances as well as of thoughts and actions (guna)
and the seven tissues (dhatus) are presented. The reader
is briey introduced to the Ayurvedic concepts of
pathogenesis, as well as the methods of disease
treatment and the terminology used contemporarily
within this system. A glossary is provided to help
the reader more easily access the meaning of the
traditional terms, although the more detailed in-
troduction provides an important context for the
second portion of the book. For more compre-
hensive information in this eld, the reader has to rely
on other sources. In the second part, each of the
plants described in the book is represented by a
picture of the whole plant and of the product obtained
from the plant. Some of the most common herbs
and fruits (e.g. garlic, Allium sativum L. or Mangifera
indica L.) are presented, but the book goes also
doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2004.06.003
farther and presents plants which are not fre-
quently encountered outside the Ayurvedic sphere.
The information compiled for each plant includes a
botanical description, the traditional and modern
medicinal and ethnoveterinary uses, the major
chemical constituents (formulae are not presented),
medicinal and pharmacological activities and a
safety prole. It is rather unusual for a book of this
kind to place additional emphasis on ethno-
veterinary aspects. Dosages and Ayurvedic properties
are listed, as well as references, although pharmacog-
nostic information (e.g. about adulterants of the
drugs) is missing. The pharmacologically oriented read-
er will notice a satisfying abundance of infor-
mation given for medicinal and pharmacological
activities. This part goes into a great amount of
detail and presents the currently available information
in the respective elds and is giving up-to-date
references. Non-pharmacologically relevant activities
of the treated drugs such as (if present) insecticidal or
insect repellant activity, or activity against plant
pathogens (e.g. Colletotrichum) are also listed. The
glossary rounds off this compilation and a useful index
is given, allowing the reader to nd plants by all their
names (Latin, English, Sanskrit or Hindi) as well as by
pharmacological properties.
The price is fair for a fully bound book containing
70 color plates. Some readers will miss more
detailed explanations of Ayurvedic terminology,
while some other readers will regret the lack of
chemical formulae for important compounds, but the
book is concise in what it presents and sources
may already exist to deal with these other elds.
Some of the pictures do not seem to represent the
assigned plants (e.g. Polygonum aviculare or Piper
nigrum) and the source of the photographs is not
evident to the reader. The book is recommended for
people interested in a general, but brief introduction to
Ayurvedic medicine, as well as to any person who
desires a detailed reference for pharmacological activ-
ities for the included plants.
Wolfgang Schuhly
Institut f. Pharmacognosy,
.
Universitatsplatz 4, 8010 Graz, Austria
E-mail address: wolfgang.schuehly@uni-graz.at