The global popularity of herbal supplements and the promise they hold in treating various disease states has caused an unprecedented interest in understanding the molecular basis of the biological activity of traditional remedies. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects focuses on presenting current scientific evidence of biomolecular ef

As the medicinal plant industry blooms into a billion dollar business, it reaches beyond collection, propagation, harvesting and sale of crude vegetal drugs into product formulation, packaging and dispensing of sophisticated phyto-pharmaceuticals and herbal preparations. The scientific study of these medicines and the systematic uplifting of the industry to preserve the ancient and serve the modern, is now a global challenge. The Medicinal Plant Industry puts together the various facets of this multi-disciplinary industry and its global interest. It discusses the dire need for developing countries to acquire technologies and techniques for programmed cultivation of medicinal plants. It addresses a wide variety of topics including the old philosophies, modern impact of traditional medicines, and methods of assessing the spontaneous flora for industrial utilization. It covers aspects of cultivation and climatic variations, biological assessment and formulation, process technologies, phytochemical research and information sources. The book reviews highly developed traditional medicine in China and India, and covers experiences in Africa and other continents.

Medicinal Plants: Chemistry, Biology and Omics reviews the phytochemistry, chemotaxonomy, molecular biology, and phylogeny of selected medicinal plant tribes and genera, and their relevance to drug efficacy. Medicinal plants provide a myriad of pharmaceutically active components, which have been commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine and worldwide for thousands of years. Increasing interest in plant-based medicinal resources has led to additional discoveries of many novel compounds, in various angiosperm and gymnosperm species, and investigations on their chemotaxonomy, molecular phylogeny and pharmacology. Chapters in this book explore the interrelationship within traditional Chinese medicinal plant groups and between Chinese species and species outside of China. Chapters also discuss the incongruence between chemotaxonomy and molecular phylogeny, concluding with chapters on systems biology and "-omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), and how they will play an increasingly important role in future pharmaceutical research. - Reviews best practice and essential developments in medicinal plant chemistry and biology - Discusses the principles and applications of various techniques used to discover medicinal compounds - Explores the analysis and classification of novel plant-based medicinal compounds - Includes case studies on pharmaphylogeny - Compares and integrates traditional knowledge and current perception of worldwide medicinal plants

All 15 new independent states established in the economic space of the former Soviet Union suffered big declines in output and trade after their independence. This study summarizes cross-country experience on the role of trade and payments policies in the linked contraction of output and trade by drawing on eight country case studies: Estonia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The results of the case studies show that trade reform and reorientation of trade toward the rest of the world have done much to arrest the decline in output usually associated with the transformation from plan to market. Also available in Russian: Stock no. 13687 (ISBN 0-8213-3687-8).

Medicinal plants have been used in the prevention, diagnosis, and elimination of diseases based on the practical experience of thousands of years. There is a pressing need to initiate and transform laboratory research into fruitful formulations leading to the development of newer products for the cure of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and hepatitis, as well as coping with multi-drug resistance problems. This book presents recent developments in the research on medicinal plants for different diseases, formulation of products, and market strategy.

Phytomedicine: A Treasure of Pharmacologically Active Products from Plants aims to present updated knowledge of plant-based medicines in terms of their research and development, production, and utilization, from the viewpoint of sustainability and by using the latest technologies. The book explores different phytometabolites on a mass scale, coupled with the efficacy, performance and applicability on target organisms to treat curable and fatal diseases. Readers will find a coherent package of phytotherapeutic information regarding inclusive assortment of research based, scientific amplitude of metabolites from the plant world encompassing various action plans. Information is presented sequentially regarding phytochemistry, biological activity and the serviceable aspects of bioactive compounds. The book also addresses various advancements and achievements of novel drugs from plants using molecular and enzymatic activities, and various technological tools in an ecofriendly fashion. - Discusses phytotherapeutic properties for a wide range of medical conditions, including anti-pyretic, anti-infective, anti-malarial, Anti-AIDS, anti-diabetic, anti-cancerous, immune-modulatory applications - Includes a discussion of synergistic effects of formulations and antagonistic drug interactions - Addresses advancements and achievements of novel plant-based drugs using molecular, enzymatic activities and various technological tools in an eco-friendly fashion