Wild and cultivated plants have provided humans with cures for thousands of years, from aspirin to quinine. Writing for the lay reader, the author surveys the history of the use of plants in medicine, the range of chemicals produced by plants, and the prospects for future discoveries.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. A Brief History of Medicinal Botany 15
Plant Medicines in Prehistory 16
Early Records 17
Botanical Medicine in Early Europe 18
The Medieval Period 21
Herbals and Herbalists of the Renaissance 24
What’s in a Name? 31
The Nineteenth Century 33
Medicinal Chemistry 36
Future Directions 37
Chapter 2. Acquiring Knowledge 39
Poison or Medicine, Toxin or Drug? 43
Gathering Information 45
Herbarium Collections 51
Healing Gardens 54
Chapter 3. Medicinal Plants in Nature 59
Sacred Groves 60
Medicinal Forests 62
The Asian Connection 67
Dispersal and Naturalization of Medicinal Plants 71
New World Introductions 72
Curiosity, Cultivation, and History 76
Chapter 4. Toxins and Cures: A Cabinet of Plant Chemicals 79
A Natural Explanation 81
Family Histories 83
Carbon Chemistry 84
Early Strategies 86
Terpenes and Essential Oils 89
Alkaloids 93
Glycosides 99
The Cabinet Revealed 105
Chapter 5. Defensive Strategies and Plant Chemistry 107
Insect Strategies 109
Plant Strategies 111
Developmental Controls 115
Borrowed Molecules 118
Chemical Evolution 122
Chapter 6. Significant Discoveries 125
Opium Poppy 126
Coca 129
Curare Plants 131
Willows 133
Snakeroot 135
Kombe 138
Madagascar Periwinkle 139
Pacific Yew 141
Medicinal Futures 143
Chapter 7. Zoopharmacognosy and Botanical Toxins 145
Chimpanzees and Self-Medication 147
Gorilla Fruits 150
New World Forests 151
Additional Evidence of Zoopharmacognosy 154
Disarming Toxins 156
Domestic Strategies 159
Reality, Interpretation, and the Methods of Science 169
Chapter 8. Chemical Prospecting and New Plant Medicines 163
Cancer Drugs from Plants 165
Plants and AIDS 168
Botanical Antibiotics 171
Plants and the Mind 175
Future Prospects 178
Chapter 9. Protecting Medicinal Biodiversity and Knowledge 181
Tropical Conservation 182
Temperate Conservation 186
Preserving Knowledge 191
Ownership of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Knowledge 195
Medicinal Plants, Legislation, and the Law 197
Botanic Gardens, Seed Banks, and Cultivation 200
Chapter 10. Herbal Histories, Considerations, and Caveats 203
Essential Herbs 206
Doses and Ecacy 210
Plant Toxins and Risks 212
A Summation 215
Glossary 219
Further Reading 221
Index 225
Judith Sumner