Medicinal Plants of the World. Chemical Constituents, Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Summer 1999 by Chavez, Mary L

IVAN A. ROSS. Medicinal Plants of the World. Chemical Constituents, Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 1999. xii 415 pp., 9 figs, $99.50.

This book was written with the purpose of providing an educational resource on medicinal plants commonly used throughout the world. The author's intent in writing the book was to "create a reference for research scientists, phytochemists, toxicologists, physicians, pharmacists and other health care providers." The book should have been a valuable resource for individuals interested in medicinal plants since there is a limited number of reliable scientific references on medicinal plants.

The first chapter includes common botanical nomenclature and descriptive terminology. Clinicians and scientists with limited botanical background will find this chapter beneficial. Especially useful are the figures illustrating the common types of flowers, fruits, leaves, stems and other plant characteristics.

The next chapters are detailed reviews of 26 plants that are used around the world as herbal medicines. The chapters are arranged in alphabetical order by the Latin bionimal name. Medicinal plants that are reviewed include Abrus precatorius, Allium sativum, Aloe vera, Annona muricata, Carica papaya, Cassia alata, Catharanthus roseus, Cymbopogon citratus, Cyperus rotundus, Curcuma longa, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Jatropha curcas, Lantana camara, Macuna pruriens, Mangifera indica, Manihot esculenta, Momordica charantia, Monga pterygosperma, Persea americana, Phyllanthus niruri, Portulaca oleracea, Psidium guajava, Punica granatum, Syzgium cumini, and Tamarindus indica.

The reviews are written as summaries of published information and not written as chemical or therapeutic monographs. Included in each review are common names, botanical description, origin and distribution, traditional medicinal uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, and clinical trials of each medicinal plant. Color photographs of 24 of the 26 plants are included to aid in identification of the medicinal plant.

A cross-reference of common names, country, and Latin binomial names is included. The cross-reference is helpful since different common names are often used for the same plant throughout the world. There is a glossary of 428 botanical and medical terms. The bibliography is extensive.

The title of the book suggests that it contains an exhaustive listing of medicinal plants found throughout the world. However, the book reviews only 26 different plants. The author mistakenly writes that the book contains information on 27 different major plant species. The author does not explain why he chose these specific 26 plants. Of the 26 plants, only two are included in the top selling herbal supplements by natural food stores in the U.S. in 1997, as reported in HerbalGram, 41, Fall, 53(1997). In addition, 75 percent of the 26 plants (18 of 26) are not included in the 380 monographs included in the Commission E Monographs of herbals sold in Germany that was recently translated by the American Botanical Council.

After reviewing this book, I was disappointed because I had hoped the book could be a reference/textbook for my elective course in alternative medicine. However, the book is very difficult to read. The sentences are choppy and fragmented and there are no transitional sentences. In addition, the book contains numerous misinterpretations, scientific errors, and inaccuracies.

In most instances, exact scientific methodology is not presented. Results are reported in concluding sentences such as "Abortifacient effect. Petroleum ether extract of seeds that was administered orally to rats was inactive." The author appears to incorrectly use the terms "active" or "inactive" to imply clinical outcomes. The terms "active" and "inactive" are used for bioassay models and should not used to describe therapeutic, pharmacological and toxicological results in animals and humans. In addition, the author lists but does not correlate the pharmacological activity with the chemical constituents. Thus, the reader is unable to obtain information about the active constituent(s).

The author uses overlapping subheadings. As an example, subsections for Allium sativum (garlic) includes antiatherosclerotic activity, antihypercholesterolemic activity, antihyperlipemic activity, antihypertriglyceridemia effects, cholesterol inhibition, cholesterol level decrease, cholesterol synthesis inhibition, hypertriglyceridemia activity, hypocholesterolemic activity, hypolipemic activity, and hypotriglyceridemia activity. Each subsection includes different information from different literature citations. Having so many subheadings is confusing. The author should have combined all of these subsections. In addition, the index is not cross-referenced in respect to therapeutic classes.

The author uses an unconventional method to cite the references. In addition, in his preface, he states that there are "approximately 1600 references" but on the back cover writes that the book includes a comprehensive bibliography of "over 1500 references." There are actually 1252 references. Of concern, many citation included in the text are missing from the bibliography and some important statements or entire sections in the text are not referenced. As an example, there are no reference citations for any of the chemical constituents listed.