The human immune system, despite having its own sophisticated defence mecha nisms, is inferior to bacteria and viruses with respect to adaptability. Furthermore, our immune system is increasingly exposed to detrimental effects, that is immuno suppressive environmental consequences, unhealthy living, and chronic illnesses. Excessive chemotherapy threatens our immune system even further. This situation demands compensatory prophylactic therapeutic regimes. One of these - specific immunostimulation - is more difficult to achieve than the immunosuppression cur rently used in transplantation surgery and the medical treatment of autoimmune dis eases. The earliest attempts to develop suitable medication for immunostimulation were based on traditional remedies which embodied the accumulated experience of several centuries. Medicinal plants are already being used prophylactically as stan dardized and efficacy-optimized preparations for the treatment of various recur rent infections, or in combination with chemotherapeutics in standard medical practice. In order to rationally apply immunostimulants of plant origin, however, it is necessary to search for the active principles of these substances and to produce them in a pure form. Because suitable screening methods have become available only recently, research in this field is in its very beginning. Further progress can be expected from systematic basic research on the mechanisms underlying immunomodulation. This also applies to verification of clinical efficacy, which is a prerequisite for the acceptance of medications with purported immunostimulatory properties.

Food security and the medicinal needs of billions of people around the world are pressing global issues, and the biodiversity and sustainable utilization of plants is of great significance in this context. Further, ethnobotanical studies are vital in the discovery of new drugs from indigenous medicinal plants, and plants with industrially important metabolites need to be cultivated to meet the growing market demand. In addition, the production of plant metabolites under in vitro conditions also has tremendous possibilities. The totipotency of plant cells plays a valuable role in the sustainable utilization of plant resources through cell, tissue and organ culture. At the same time, production can be enhanced using productive cell lines, treatment with elicitors, changing nutritional parameters and metabolic engineering. This book provides state-of-the-art information on biodiversity, conservation, ethnobotany, various aspects of In vitro secondary metabolite production, bioprospecting from various plant groups and drug discovery. It also discusses methods of extracting and characterizing drug leads from plant sources.​

This textbook provides a unique support in gaining essential knowledge on the immune response, its diagnosis and its modification by drugs and chemicals. The first section of the book, covering a basic introduction to immunology and its relevance for human disease, has been updated to accommodate new immunological concepts. The second section on immunodiagnostics has been further expanded to describe widely used molecular techniques and is followed by a systematic coverage of drugs affecting the immune system, revised to cover recent developments. The book concludes with a chapter on immunotoxicology. This third edition continues the unique format dealing with four related topics in a single volume, obviating the need to refer to several different textbooks. New aids to the reader include a two-column format, glossaries of technical terms and appendix reference tables. The emphasis on illustrations is maintained from the first edition.

New Look to Phytomedicine: Advancements in Herbal Products as Novel Drug Leads is a compilation of in-depth information on the phytopharmaceuticals used in modern medicine for the cure and management of difficult-to-treat and challenging diseases. Readers will find cutting-edge knowledge on the use of plant products with scientific validation, along with updates on advanced herbal medicine in pharmacokinetics and drug delivery. This authoritative book is a comprehensive collection of research based, scientific validations of bioactivities of plant products, such as anti-infective, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, immune-modulatory and metabolic disorders presented by experts from across the globe. Step-by-step information is presented on chemistry, bioactivity and the functional aspects of biologically active compounds. In addition, the pharmacognosy of plant products with mechanistic descriptions of their actions, including pathogenicity is updated with information on the use of nanotechnology and molecular tools in relation to herbal drug research. - Compiles up-to-date information on the chemotherapeutics used in the treatment of infective and metabolic disorders - Presents advancements in the discovery of new drugs from plants using molecular and nanotechnology tools - Examines detailed information on the use of herbals agents in cancer, HIV and other ailments, including diabetes, malaria and neurological disorders

This timely and original handbook paves the way to success in plant-based drug development, systematically addressing the issues facing a pharmaceutical scientist who wants to turn a plant compound into a safe and effective drug. Plant pharmacologists from around the world demonstrate the potentials and pitfalls involved, with many of the studies and experiments reported here published for the first time. The result is a valuable source of information unavailable elsewhere.