Contents:
Part 1: IntroductionPlants in medicine: the origins of pharmacognosyThe scope and practice of pharmacognosyPlant nomenclature and taxonomyPart 2: The plant and animal kingdoms as sources of drugsBiological and geographical sources of drugsA taxonomic approach to the study of medicinal plants and animal-derived drugsPharmacological activities of natural productsSynergy and other interactions in phytomedicinesTraditional plant medicines as a source of new drugsDiscovering new lead compounds in pharmaceutical research and developmentPart 3: Principles related to the commercial production, quality and standardization of natural productsCommerce in crude drugsProduction of crude drugsPlant growth regulatorsPlant cell and tissue culture; biological conversions; clonal propagationPhytochemical variation within a speciesDeterioration of stored drugsQuality controlPart 4: PhytochemistryGeneral methods associated with the phytochemical investigation of herbal productsBasic metabolic pathways and the origin of secondary metabolitesPart 5: Pharmacopoeial and related drugs of biological originIntroductionHydrocarbons and derivativesCarbohydratesPhenols and phenolic glycosidesVolatile oils and resinsSaponins, cardioactive drugs and other steroidsMiscellaneous isoprenoidsCyanogenetic glycosides, glucoinolate compounds and miscellaneous glycosidesAlkaloidsThe search for naturally-derived anticancer agentsAntiprotozoal natural productsAn overview of drugs with antihepatotoxic and oral hypoglycaemic activitiesAntibacterial and antiviral drugsVitamins and hormonesThe plant nutraceuticalsColouring and flavouring agentsMiscellaneous productsPart 6: Plants in complementary and traditional systems of medicineIntroductionHerbal medicine in Britain and Europe: regulation and practiceAsian medicineChinese herbs in the WestPlants in African traditional medicine - some perspectivesPart 7: Nonmedicinal toxic plants and pesticidesHallucinogenic, allergenic, teratogenic and other toxic plantsPesticides of natural originsPart 8: Morphological and microscopical examination of drugsPlant description, morphology and anatomyCell differentiation and ergastic cell contentsTechniques in microscopyIndex