For the last 6000 years turmeric has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to alleviate pain, balance digestion, purify body and mind, clear skin diseases, expel phlegm, and invigorate the blood. Nowadays, this plant has acquired great importance with its anti-aging, anti-cancer, anti-Altzheimer, antioxidant, and a variety of other medicinal properties. The need of the hour is to verify and validate the traditional uses by subjecting them to proper experimental studies. To do this effectively there needs to be a single comprehensive source of the knowledge to date. Turmeric: the genus Curcuma is the first comprehensive monographic treatment on turmeric. It covers all aspects of turmeric including botany, genetic resources, crop improvement, processing, biotechnology, pharmacology, medicinal and traditional uses, and its use as a spice and flavoring. Bringing together the premier experts in the field from India, Japan, UK, and USA, this book offers the most thorough examination of the cultivation, market trends, processing, and products as well as pharmacokinetic and medicinal properties of this highly regarded spice. While Ayurveda has known for millennia that turmeric cleanses the body, modern science has now discovered that it produces glutathione-s-transferase that detoxifies the body and therefore strengthens the liver, heart, and immune system. By comparing traditional uses with modern scientific discoveries, the text provides a complete view of the medicinal value and health benefits of turmeric. Heavily referenced with an exhaustive bibliography at the end of each chapter, the book collects and collates the currently available data on turmeric. Covering everything from cultivation to medicine, Turmeric: the Genus Curcuma serves as an invaluable reference for those involved with agriculture, marketing, processing or product development, and may function as a catalyst for future research into the health benefits and applications of turmeric.

Ginger: The Genus Zingiber is the first comprehensive volume on ginger. Valued as a spice and medicinal plant from ancient times both in India and China, ginger is now used universally as a versatile spice and in traditional medicine as well as in modern medicine.
This book covers all aspects of ginger, including botany, crop improvement, chemistry, biotechnology, production technology in the major producing countries, diseases, pests, and harvesting. It also explores processing, products, economics and marketing, pharmacology, medicinal applications, and uses as a spice and flavoring. Experts in the areas of genetic resources, botany, crop improvement, and biotechnology of ginger give an in-depth analysis of these key aspects, and each chapter concludes with an extensive bibliography.

Cinnamon and Cassia, the "Spices of Life", together constitute one of the most widely used group of spices. A comprehensive volume, Cinnamon and Cassia: Genus Cinnamomum explores in detail Srilankan cinnamon, Chinese cassia, Indonesian cassia, Indian cassia, camphor, and also the important related and useful spices of Cinnamomum. The introductory chapter depicts the history of these spices, followed by a detailed analysis of botany and crop improvement that examines taxonomy, morphology, embryology, reproduction, and propagation. A chapter on chemistry details the unique composition of cinnamon and cassia; it precedes an explanation of crop management, harvesting, and processing of Srilankan cinnamon. This book points out that Vietnamese and Chinese cassia are the same, with differences only in harvesting and processing. It also includes chapters on Indian and Indonesian varieties of cassia, along with overviews of the camphor tree, and coverage of cinnamon and cassia pharmacology, toxicology, end uses, economics, and marketing. The volume concludes with an informative chapter on other economically useful species of Cinnamomum. Written by a panel of experts from throughout Asia, this volume is the only comprehensive monograph on these spices, benefiting those engaged in study, cultivation, marketing, processing, and product development.