The Himalayan Region is a mega hot spot for biological diversity. It supports over 1,748 plants species of known medicinal value. This title focuses on origin and distribution of Himalayan herbs, their medicinal potential, industrial significance, and research advancements pertaining to molecular breeding and omics-based approaches. Discusses evolved secondary biochemical pathways often in response to specific environmental stimuli Reviews conservation efforts Presents an in-depth analysis of 12 key species

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 website and its 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 (the various societies, like the Society for Economic Botany, the International Society of Ethnopharmacology, the Society of Ethnobiology, and the International Society for Ethnobiology currently have thousands of members). Growth has been most robust in BRIC countries. This new MRW on Ethnobotany of the Himalayas takes advantage of the increasing international interest and scholarship in the field of mountain research. It includes the best and latest research on a full range of descriptive, methodological, theoretical, and applied research on the most important plants in the Himalayas. Each contribution is scientifically rigorous and contributes to the overall field of study.

Active botanical ingredients are a prime requirement for herbal formulations and discovering a drug is all about integration of science disciplines. In recent decades there has been a growing interest in treating wounds and diseases using traditional remedies based on local herbs, combined with chemical advances. Although this has led to the development of new bioactive ingredients from plants, there has been little success in terms of clinical trials and post-marketing studies to comply with FDA guidelines. Plants have been used as a source of medicine throughout history and continue to serve as the basis for many pharmaceuticals used today. However, despite the modern pharmaceutical industry being founded on botanical medicine, synthetic approaches to drug discovery have now become standard. Science-driven translational discovery and botanical development has created a new reality, leading to enormous changes in strategies, technologies and the disciplines involved, which have been embraced by the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This book gathers scientific expertise and traditional knowledge to promote the discovery and development of new formulations and drugs based on active ingredients and to provide guidance on taking these to clinical trials. It discusses major topics, such as how the phytochemical composition of many plants has changed over time due to factors like cultivation, which can have both positive and negative effects on the levels of bioactive compounds. It also explores the importance of plants as a valuable source of therapeutic compounds as a result of their vast biosynthetic capacity, and classifies them according to their intended use, safety and regulatory status. Further, the book offers insights into the regulatory aspects of botanical products, which is an important issue when considering standardization and quality assessment, and also examines the commercial aspects of plant-derived medications and their proven role in the treatment of chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, pain, asthma, and other associated conditions. Given its scope, this book is a valuable tool for botanists, natural product chemists, pharmacologists and microbiologists involved in the study of phytochemicals for drug discovery.

The first reference to demonstrate how birds survive the high-altitude Central Asian Flyway and the threats to this unique migration.