The book entitled Medicinal Plants and Natural Product Research describes various aspects of ethnopharmacological uses of medicinal plants; extraction, isolation, and identification of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants; various aspects of biological activity such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, immunomodulatory activity, etc., as well as characterization of plant secondary metabolites as active substances from medicinal plants.

This unique volume draws on the rich culture, folklore and environment of medicinal plants in Ecuador, which includes the important rain forest region. This country has rich plant resources and a large diversity of plants. In particular, the Biotechnological Research Center of Ecuador, CIBE, is an important center of plant research and biodiversity. For more than 16 years, CIBE has been performing scientific research on plants and microorganisms with extensive focus on biodiversity, biotechnology, bioproducts, hytopathology, molecular biology, tissue culture and technology transfer. The Center has state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology and a great strength in human resources.

Ivan Ross takes advantage of the significant growth in the amount of new data available to update and expand his much acclaimed Medicinal Plants of the World: Chemical Constituents, Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses, Volume 1. This considerably enhanced second edition contains new research and references on the immunomodulatory activity present in Allium sativum, Mangifera indica, and Punica granatum, the antidiabetic effects of Momoridica charantia and Mucuna pruriens, the antiinflammatory activity found in Mangifera indica and Arbus precatorius, the cholesterol lowering effect of Allium sativum and Moringa pterygosperma, and the antitumor effect of Arbus precatorius and Moringa pterygosperma. There are also important new findings concerning the antiherpes simplex virus activity of Mangifera indica, the anti-Parkinson's activity of Mucuna pruriens, the antiviral activity in Phyllanthus niruri and Jatropha curcas, the hyperthyroid regulation properties of Moringa pterygosperma, and the antioxidant activity of Mangifera indica, Punica granatum, Psidium guajava, and Allium sativum. Allium sativum is highlighted for its treatment of unstable angina pectoris, sickle red blood cell dehydration inhibition, senescence ameliorative, chemoprotective, cardiovascular, antineoplastic, anticarcinogenic, and antiatherogenic effects. This revised and enhanced edition provides details on traditional medicinal uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, clinical trials, color illustrations, Latin names, botanical descriptions, as well as providing an index and extensive bibliographies. Authoritative and exhaustively compiled, Medicinal Plants of the World: Chemical Constituents, Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses, Volume 1, 2nd Edition offers pharmacists, physicians, medicinal chemists, toxicologists, and phytochemists a universal reference on twenty-six of the most widely used medicinal plants in the world.

This beautifully illustrated textbook pairs research on the biochemical properties and physiological effects of medicinal plants with a history of the ways in which humans have cultivated plant species and investigated their effects. Nature's Pharmacopeia fosters an appreciation of the chemistry and cultural resonance of herbal medicine.

This book highlights the results from over a year of ethnobotanical research in a rural and an urban community in Jamaica, where we interviewed more than 100 people who use medicinal plants for healthcare. The goal of this research was to better understand patterns of medicinal plant knowledge, and to find out which plants are used in consensus by local people for a variety of illnesses. For this book, we selected 25 popular medicinal plant species mentioned during fieldwork. Through individual interviews, we were able to rank plants according to their frequency of mention, and categorized the medicinal uses for each species as “major” (mentioned by more than 20% of people in a community) or “minor” (mentioned by more than 5%, but less than 20% of people). Botanical identification of plant specimens collected in the wild allowed for cross-linking of common and scientific plant names. To supplement field research, we undertook a comprehensive search and review of the ethnobotanical and biomedical literature. Our book summarizes all this information in detail under specific sub-headings.

This book provides a complete review of multiple metabolic disorders and the use of phytochemicals for their prevention and treatment. When describing each metabolic disorder, all authors describe the main health alterations, providing the most current figures and statistics worldwide; medicinal plants used in traditional medicine for its treatment and scientific information related to their potential to prevent or treat each condition. Authors also include a complete scientific background check, comprehensive analysis of all phytochemicals recommended for each disorder, a description of the mechanism(s) of action and in vivo and/or in vitro studies. Within this volume, a series of 7 plant species, recommended to treat or prevent the previously described disorders, are presented with their botanical information, traditional use in different cultures and countries, and the available scientific information validating their health benefits. Besides, six main metabolic disorders are described, providing a full scientific background for its general understanding, and three study cases are presented, where metabolic disorders are analysed and approached from different medical and pharmaceutical angles. Chapter 1 -- Soybean contains a great nutritional value, which makes it an excellent food for the human diet. It has large amounts of protein and lipids and also provides fibre, calcium, iron, zinc, and several vitamins. For these reasons, the possible benefits of soy consumption for human health have been studied. Although the results obtained to date have not been conclusive, thanks to its high content of isoflavones (phytochemicals with estrogenic activity), soy is attributed with anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and antifungals properties. Moreover, soybeans could provide significant benefits to patients with cardiovascular diseases, cancer, or diabetes. Chapter 2 -- Oil, proteins, vitamins, fibres, and phytochemicals present in the avocado plant have shown the excellent capability of not only addressing the prevalence of these metabolic diseases but also being safe and having minimal side effects. The general objective of this book chapter is to review the bioactive compounds and their action to promote health benefits in the prevention and management of metabolic disorders. Chapter 3 -- Heliopsis longipes roots, which contain affinin, has been used in traditional cuisine as a spice for its pungent. Due to its tingling and numbing properties, it is frequently applied to heal diverse pains such as toothache, earache, and headache. Within this chapter, its applications on anti-inflammatory activity, local anaesthetic, analgesic, anti-mutagenic, and antioxidant activity, will be reviewed. Chapter 4 -- The species Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., represents a good source of nutrients and antioxidants in the diet of consumers. This chapter aims to offer a simple and economical alternative formulation of artisan conserves prepared with nopal, in which the antioxidant activity was evaluated. Chapter 5 -- Metabolic syndrome is known as a group of metabolic abnormalities that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. The cost of health for companies is very high for workers who have obesity or metabolic syndrome compared to healthy workers. Metabolic syndrome is closely related to obesity, and this, in turn, is associated with a poor diet (high intake of carbohydrates and fats). This chapter explains the decrement of risk factors in workers of Young Living Ecuador Farm based on the Health Belief Model. Chapter 6 -- The objective of this chapter book was to analyse the evidence obtained by clinical studies reported by scientific literature. Clinical studies have employed different components or products of grapes, such as pulp, freeze-dried grape, extracts, wine, and a distinct dose of resveratrol, to demonstrate their biological properties against diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity. Chapter 7 -- The main purpose of this chapter is to describe the analysis of whether glycated haemoglobin values could be used as a limit marker for earlier diagnosis of type 2 DM in overweight patients. This was a nonexperimental, analytical, retrospective, longitudinal study of 100 overweight patients diagnosed with type 2 DM. The study was carried out in 2014 at Teodoro Maldonado Carbo Hospital, Guayaquil, Ecuador. Chapter 8 -- Rosemary is classified not only as spice or ornamental but also as a medicinal plant. It is an important source of volatile and non-volatile compounds. The proportion of them varies in function of diverse factors as a region of growth, environment, extraction treatment, and others. Thanks to its composition, rosemary owners several properties such as anti-obesity, anti-diabetes, anti-cancer, among others, thus the importance of this plant over metabolic diseases is presented in this chapter. Chapter 9 - Agave has been used in traditional medicine as an aesthetic, anticonvulsant, antipyretic, urinary antiseptic, cathartic, cicatricial, and regenerative, diuretic, emmenagogue, and eupeptic. Agave extracts and derived agave products have been used to prevent several metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer. However, more studies are needed to support these effects.

Research in recent years has increasingly shifted away from purely academic research, and into applied aspects of the discipline, including climate change research, conservation, and sustainable development. It has by now widely been recognized that “traditional” knowledge is always in flux and adapting to a quickly changing environment. Trends of globalization, especially the globalization of plant markets, have greatly influenced how plant resources are managed nowadays. While ethnobotanical studies are now available from many regions of the world, no comprehensive encyclopedic series focusing on the worlds mountain regions is available in the market. Scholars in plant sciences worldwide will be interested in this dynamic content. The field (and thus the market) of ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology has grown considerably in recent years. Student interest is on the rise, attendance at professional conferences has grown steadily, and the number of professionals calling themselves ethnobotanists has increased significantly. Various societies of such professionals include the Society for Economic Botany, the International Society of Ethnopharmacology, the Society of Ethnobiology, the International Society for Ethnobiology, and many regional and national societies in the field that currently have thousands of members. Growth has been most robust in BRIC countries. This new MRW on Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions covers the latest scholarship in the field of mountain research. It offers the best and latest research on a full range of descriptive, methodological, theoretical, and applied research on the most important plants for each region. Each contribution was scientifically rigorous and contributes to the overall field of study.