Medicinal Spices and Vegetables from Africa: Therapeutic Potential against Metabolic, Inflammatory, Infectious and Systemic Diseases provides a detailed look at medicinal spices and vegetables that have proven safe-and-effective for consumption and the treatment of diseases, including infectious diseases, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. It provides pharmacological evidence, such as the latest information related to efficacy and safety data, in vitro and in vivo studies, clinical trials, and more, to illustrate the use of these spices and vegetables as both palliative and alternative treatments with the goal of furthering research in this area to produce safer and more effective drugs.

The eighth volume of Evidence-based Clinical Chinese Medicine aims to provide a multi-faceted 'whole evidence' analysis of the management of Alzheimer's disease in Chinese and integrative medicine.Beginning with overviews of how Alzheimer's disease is conceptualised and managed in both conventional medicine and contemporary Chinese medicine, the authors then provide detailed analyses of how dementia and memory disorders were treated with herbal medicine and acupuncture in past eras.In the subsequent chapters, the authors comprehensively review the current state of the clinical trial evidence for Chinese herbal medicines, acupuncture and other Chinese medicine therapies in the management of Alzheimer's disease, as well as analyse and evaluate the results of these studies from an evidence-based medicine perspective. The outcomes of these analyses are summarised and discussed in terms of their implications for the clinical practice of Chinese medicine and for future research.This book can inform clinicians and students in the fields of integrative and Chinese medicine of the current state of the evidence for a range of Chinese medicine therapies in Alzheimer's disease, including the use of particular herbal formulas and acupuncture treatments in order to assist clinicians in making evidence-based decisions in patient care.

Novel drug delivery systems cover the approaches, formulation, technologies, and modes for transporting any pharmaceutical compound throughout the body to safely get the desired effect. A growing area of research is the use of herbal formulations for disease therapy. In combining these two areas of research, that of novel drug delivery systems and that of herbal formulations, the usefulness of herbs is not only proved but its future applications and effectiveness are studied. The move towards herbal-based novel drug delivery systems can benefit society in a multitude of advantageous ways. Enhancing the Therapeutic Efficacy of Herbal Formulations discusses and explores the ways of preparing herbal formulations loaded in novel drug delivery systems and the resultant improvement in efficacy of the effected drugs/herbs already available on the market. The chapters will highlight traditional and herbal formulations, the effects of novel drug delivery systems on herbal formulations, and the safe and effective preparation and effects of herbal formulations as a therapeutic intervention. This book is ideal for pharmacists, doctors, and researchers specializing in herbal therapeutics, along with practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in how herbal-based novel drug delivery systems can benefit society.

Herbal Biomolecules in Healthcare Applications presents extensive detailed information on all the vital principles, basics and fundamental aspects of multiple herbal biomolecules in the healthcare industry. This book examines important herbal biomolecules including alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, anthraquinones, steroids, polysaccharides, tannins and polyphenolic compounds, terpenes, fats and waxes, proteins and peptides, and vitamins. These herbal biomacromolecules are responsible for different bioactivities as well as pharmacological potentials. A systematic understanding of the extraction, purification, characterization, applications of these herbal biomolecules and their derivatives in healthcare fields is developed in this comprehensive book. Chapters explore the key topics along with an emphasis on recent research and developments in healthcare fields by leading experts. They include updated literature review of the relevant key topics, good quality illustrations, chemical structures, flow charts, well-organized tables and case studies. Herbal Biomolecules in Healthcare Applications will be useful for researchers working on natural products and biomolecules with bioactivity and nutraceutical properties. Professionals specializing in scientific areas such as biochemistry, pharmacology, analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, clinics, or engineering focused on bioactive natural products will find this book useful.

While biotechnological advances, genomics and high throughput screenings or combinatorial and asymmetric syntheses are opening new opportunities in drug discovery, the industry is facing serious innovation deficit. The total number of new molecules registered per year has dropped in contrast to expected increase. Post marketing failures of blockbuster drugs have become major concerns of industries. On the other side, globally there is a major shift to sue of traditional medicine involving complementary and alternative therapies. Ethnopharmacology and traditional medicines have contributed in past significantly in the process of natural product drug discovery. There are two clear tracks where ethnopharmacology has potential to contribute in future drug research. First, as a discovery engine to provide new targets, leads, and second, use of quality assured and standardized traditional medicines. In this scenario, it is important to understand the mechanisms of drug discovery and pharmaceutical development with a focus on herbal drugs and neutraceutical. This book provides historical perspective, future prospects and significance of ethnopharmacology in drug research. It also provides important steps in botanical drug discovery and development including bioprospecting, quality control, standardization, pharmaceutics, stability, pharmacokinetics, and bioavailability with examples from ethnopharmacology and herbal medicine. One of the important feature of this book is to give an excellent insight to Good Laboratory and Good Clinical Practices along with very useful summary steps involved in filing IND or NDA of botanical products. The book also gives Regulators' perspective of validating claims and how ethnopharmacological or traditional medicines need different approach.

Phytochemical Profiling of Commercially Important South African Plants comprises a carefully selected group of plant species that are of interest to researchers and industry partners who would like to investigate the commercialization of plant species. The book presents 25 botanicals selected based on commercial relevance. For each of the species, the following topics are covered: botanical description and distribution, phytochemistry (including chemical structures), HPTLC fingerprint analysis, UPLC analysis, and GC analysis (the latter only in the case of essential oil-bearing species). Using standard methodology, high-level chromatographic fingerprints have been developed for better understanding. Different methods are succinctly summarized allowing for the rapid identification of botanical raw materials and formulated consumer products. This book will be extremely valuable to researchers in the field who wish to rapidly identify the constituents and for those who want to prepare formulations of plant material for commercial applications. This work will also be a valuable resource in the field of pharmacognosy.

Global Perspectives on Astaxanthin: From Industrial Production to Food, Health, and Pharmaceutical Applications explores the range of practical applications for this molecule, focusing on nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical products, along with food and feed. This volume brings together the most relevant research, background and future thinking on astaxanthin, focusing on its health benefits. Chapters cover phytopharmaceuticals, industrial production, feeds, downstream processing, regulations, products, color, pigment, cosmetics, bioactive compounds, relationships to other carotenoids, and skin care. The detailed information on its production, processing, utilization and future applications will be of particular use to academic and industry researchers in pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacology and nutrition.

Preparation of Phytopharmaceuticals for the Management of Disorders: The Development of Nutraceuticals and Traditional Medicine presents comprehensive coverage and recent advances surrounding phytopharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and traditional and alternative systems of medicines. Sections cover the concepts of phytopharmaceuticals, their history, and current highlights in phytomedicine. Also included are classifications of crude drugs, herbal remedies and toxicity, traditional and alternative systems of medicine, nanotechnology applications, and herbal cosmeticology. Final sections cover applications of microbiology and biotechnology in drug discovery. This book provides key information for everyone interested in drug discovery, including medicinal chemists, nutritionists, biochemists, toxicologists, drug developers and health care professionals. Students, professors and researchers working in the area of pharmaceutical sciences and beyond will also find the book useful.

Consolidating unbiased, peer-reviewed information from many sources, this book provides a one-stop resource on the use and health benefits of 50 different herbs. While the use of herbs and herbal supplements seem an attractive alternate to man-made therapies, such use is often inspired by anecdotal evidence rather than sound clinical research. Healthy Herbs: Fact versus Fiction examines the health claims associated with 50 popular herbs and coalesces the clinical findings on these natural substances. This useful resource examines the history and use of herbs and will ultimately help readers make informed decisions regarding these natural therapies. The findings in the book are culled from credible sources such as international, peer-reviewed journals, providing nomenclature, history, common usage, effectiveness, and additional suggested reading on selected herbs and herbal supplements. Rather than advocating for or against alternative medicine or herb use, the book provides authoritative, unbiased, and evidence-based information so the health conscious can make informed decisions for themselves. Each entry contains a concise bibliography of resources and references

Saffron: The Age-Old Panacea in a New Light is the first book to detail the functions and effect of saffron in medicinal situations. This book explores the medicinal aspects of saffron and the effect saffron imparts on various diseases of the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, locomotor system, urogenital system, eye, skin, and immune system, along with their mechanism of action. This perpetual bulb found mainly in Asia and Europe, Iran, India and Mediterranean countries has been shown to reduce seizures, delay convulsions, and as a neuroprotective agent against cerebral ischemia, brain damage, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. In addition, it also reduces depression, hypnosis and anxiety and enhances learning and memory skills.