The present publication attempts to document the indigenous medicinal plants used by peoples of Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalaya for treatment of various diseases. The book pertains to an effort to cohere indigenous knowledge to researcher and the entire related stakeholder who are involved in overall sustainable development. Attention has been given on proper identification of plant species for further research work. This book discusses the botanical description, habitat and plant parts use as herbal medicine by local inhabitants of Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalaya since time immemorial for their day to day problems. It also includes remarks on any hazardous experience by using these herbal medicines.

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

This new 2-volume set aims to share and preserve ethnic and traditional knowledge of herbal medicine and treatments, while also emphasizing the link between biodiversity, human nutrition, and food security. Ethnic Knowledge and Perspectives of Medicinal Plants is divided into two volumes, with volume 1 focusing on the traditional use of curative properties and treatment strategies of medicinal plants, and volume 2 addressing the varied nutritional and dietary benefits of medicinal plants and the practice of Ayurveda. Both volumes stress the importance of bioresources for human nutrition and nutraceuticals based on ethnic knowledge and the need for efforts to protect biodiversity in many regions rich with medicinal plants. Exploring the benefits of medicinal plants in disease prevention, treatment, and management, Volume 1 discusses the traditional use of medicinal plants as promising therapeutics for cancer, liver conditions, COVID-19, and other human ailments. It examines the efficacy of Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicine, Indian traditional medicine, and other ethnic herbal practices used by indigenous peoples of Azerbaijan, South America, Turkey, India, etc. A variety of plants are discussed, and the ethnomedicinal applications of over 100 wild mushrooms for their medicinal and healthcare purposes are elaborated on. While volume 1 focuses primarily on natural plant resources for addressing specific health issues, volume 2 looks at traditional medicinal plant use for their nutritional and dietary benefits, while also encouraging the preservation of biodiversity for healthy and sustainable diets. The volume presents information on over 2200 vascular plant taxa from 127 families as well as many taxa from leaf parts, fruits, underground parts, floral parts, seeds, and more that have potential use as edible food plants. Ethnic knowledge on the wild edible mushrooms is an emerging area, which is unique and is dependent on the folk knowledge of tribals; this volume discusses the unique nutritional attributes of wild edible mushrooms (206 species belonging to 73 genera) in Southern India. The authors look at various lichens as nutritional aids and medicine and as flavoring agents and spices. Fucoidans derived from the seaweeds (and spirulina) are described for their antioxidant activity, nutritional and anti-aging properties, antiviral activities, anti-cancer properties, anti-diabetic properties, and more. The authors also examine how ethnicity affects healthcare/nutritive systems at different levels through various dynamics such as lower income, inability for services uptake, disputes among different ethnic groups, cultural attitudes (some ethnic group are vegetarian), lack of socio-economic resources, and disease prevalence. Together, these two important volumes aim to preserve and disseminate the valuable ethnic knowledge of medicinal plants gained over thousands of years and to promote the value of integrating and safeguarding biodiversity.

This volume brings together a collection of papers by some experts in medicinal plants. It is presented as a contribution to clarifying the many policy and technical issues associated with the conservation, use, production and trade of medicinal plants. This publication draws attention to the huge contribution of medicinal plants to traditional and modern health care systems, but also alert the readers on the many problems and challenges facing their sustainable development, such as: assessment and management of the medicinal plant resource base; best harvesting and processing practices; trade issues and aspects dealing with the intellectual property rights on traditional medicine by indigenous peoples. The use of this document will help raise the awareness on medicinal plants as an important forest resource, and will help ensure that medicinal plants are adequately included in forest conservation and utilization programmes.

Biodiversity and Climate Change Adaptation in Tropical Islands provides comprehensive information on climate change, biodiversity, possible impacts, adaptation measures and policy challenges to help users rehabilitate and preserve the natural resources of tropical islands. While biodiversity and climate change of tropical islands has previously received less attention, it is ironically one of the most vulnerable regions in this regard. The core content of the work derives largely from the ideas and research output from various reputed scientists and experts who have recorded climate change impacts on aquatic and coastal life in tropical regions. Contributors have direct working experience with the tribes in some of the tropical islands. All of their expertise and information is compiled and presented in the work, including coverage related to climate change. This work highlights the ever-growing need to develop and apply strategies that optimize the use of natural resources, both on land and in water and judicious use of biodiversity. It functions as a critical resource on tropical island biodiversity for researchers, academicians, practitioners and policy makers in a variety of related disciplines. Covers a huge range of biodiversity documentation, conservation measures and strategies that can be applied to various sectors, from forests to agriculture Brings together expertise from researchers in the area who have direct experience in the regions described Contains a wealth of field research related to biodiversity conservation and its applications from a variety of tropical islands

Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. The importance of plants as medicine is further supported by archeological evidence from Asia and the Middle East. Today, around 1.4 billion people in South Asia alone have no access to modern health care, and rely instead on traditional medicine to alleviate various symptoms. On a global basis, approximately 50 to 80 thousand plant species are used either natively or as pharmaceutical derivatives for life-threatening conditions that include diabetes, hypertension and cancers. As the demand for plant-based medicine rises, there is an unmet need to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbals by the “scientific methods”. Current research on drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. For instance, high throughput robotic screens have been developed by industry; it is now possible to carry out 50,000 tests per day in the search for compounds, which act on a key enzyme or a subset of receptors. This and other bioassays thus offer hope that one may eventually identify compounds for treating a variety of diseases or conditions. However, drug development from natural products is not without its problems. Frequent challenges encountered include the procurement of raw materials, the selection and implementation of appropriate high-throughput bioassays, and the scaling-up of preparative procedures. Research scientists should therefore arm themselves with the right tools and knowledge in order to harness the vast potentials of plant-based therapeutics. The main objective of Plant and Human Health is to serve as a comprehensive guide for this endeavor. Volume 1 highlights how humans from specific areas or cultures use indigenous plants. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West. The integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is important for our understanding of this ethnobotanical relationship. Volume 2 deals with the phytochemical and molecular characterization of herbal medicine. Specifically, it focuess on the secondary metabolic compounds, which afford protection against diseases. Lastly, Volume 3 discusses the physiological mechanisms by which the active ingredients of medicinal plants serve to improve human health. Together this three-volume collection intends to bridge the gap for herbalists, traditional and modern medical practitioners, and students and researchers in botany and horticulture.

Native Americans medicinally used about 2,500 of the approximately 20,000 plant species that are native to North America.