Learn how medicinal plants work from the chemical level upward

Understanding Medicinal Plants: Their Chemistry and Therapeutic Action is designed to teach the chemical concepts necessary to understand the actions of medicinal plants to people who are intimidated by chemistry. This beautifully illustrated, accessibly written guide explores the molecules of medicinal plants and the pharmacology behind their actions on the human body. The book will be valuable to non-science majors, biology majors, interested scientists of different disciplines, and practitioners and students of herbalism and complementary medicine.

Understanding Medicinal Plants covers the essentials, including:

• understanding the symbolism of chemical structure
  
• bonding—and predicting useful properties
  
• important plant compounds
  
• isolation and purification of plant molecules
  
• drug delivery and action in the human body
  
• the chemistry of antioxidants
  
• identification of plant molecules

Interest in alternative medicine and herbal products has never been higher than it is now. Understanding Medicinal Plants aims for the middle ground between technical manuals for highly trained individuals and books for the general public that may oversimplify the material. This introductory work provides you with a wealth of suggested reading materials, tables, figures, and illustrations. Three case studies illustrate specific plant drugs and their molecular constituents. This resource also provides an extensive glossary for easy reference.

In Understanding Medicinal Plants, you will find a lexicon of medicinally important chemical families found in plants to help you identify and understand the role of constituents such as:

• alkaloids
  
• flavonoids
  
• coumarins
  
• glycosides
  
• amino acids
  
• lignans
  
• tannins
  
• and many more

Understanding Medicinal Plants enriches your knowledge of the science behind herbalism and increases your savvy as a consumer of herbal products. This sourcebook will help you better understand the debates about the regulation of medicinal plants and related health care policy debates. With this book, you will be able to interpret media hype about medicinal plants with greater confidence.