Effectiveness and Scope of the Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine

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“Based on the most recent scientific studies, The Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine offers an interesting insight into the physiology and chemistry of several thousand different herbal plants, explaining in great detail how and why they function as medicines inside the human body.” By clicking on the title, a reader will be taken to a site where they can view the contents of the book. It’s twenty-one years since The Healing Herb by Gary Null contained such information. This latest edition includes: Over One Thousand Best Herbs, with over one thousand new ones; A Complete Guide to Herbs, including a list of over one thousand exotic and familiar plants; A Pharmacopoeia, including over one thousand drugs; A Database, with data on over one thousand and fifty different herbs; and The Perennial Library, containing over one thousand plant reference titles. The editors also have produced another forty-five chapters, bringing the total number of pages up to one hundred and fifty. This is an excellent compendium.

An Introduction

A wooden bench sitting in the middle of a park

The editors provide an introduction to the subject, describing its history and the scientific basis of its claims. Then they describe the history and background of herbal medicine, giving some account of its history and scientific study, and then describe its medicinal properties. They then describe various kinds of plants, their description, and key identifying features, including pharmacological actions, therapeutic properties, catalogues of important compounds, and other important information regarding their production, uses, and therapeutic efficacy. They briefly examine the use of plants in alternative medical practices, discuss the definition of herbal expertise, and explain the use of pharmaceuticals in relation to herbal medicines. They also go over the definition of herbs, and how we distinguish one herb from another and how to classify a compound according to the methodologies used for scientific investigation.

Herbalists are very likely to agree that much modern medical knowledge came from ancient Herbal medicine. Modern research has added little to this body of knowledge. This is one book, however, that should not be considered as a text book on herbs but rather as a handbook of almost 200 common ailments and illnesses that are treated with natural remedies. There are specific herbal medicines that are used to treat certain diseases.

The Best Facts

An examination of the pages gives a good idea of the historical development of herbal medicine. It provides data on its development throughout history. It describes its use in different cultures and countries. Most of the chapters cover plant names, general terms, and the active constituents, or chemical components, of the plants. It also describes the scientific study and evaluation of these herbal remedies, especially those of the more popular types.

One might think that a book on how to administer natural remedies would be limited to its clinical usefulness only. This book, however, has quite a bit to offer to its readers who would like to learn more about its historical development, the practice of using it, its effectiveness, and even to know more about its application in today’s medical world. A good part of the book is its photographic plant index. This allows the reader to view the plants mentioned in almost every chapter without having to go to the actual source. A helpful feature, albeit an unnecessary one, is its electronic back-up facility which enables the user to back up the pages in case there are any problems with the digital copy.

Scope Of Work

The scope of the work is also vast. It has chapters on herbal cures for various diseases and their preventive and curative powers. It includes data on Chinese herbal cures and the effectiveness of these in curing patients. In addition, it includes data on European herbal cures and the efficacy of them in treating patients. It also lists the variety of plants, herbal remedies, and plant extracts in detail.

Though the scope covers many aspects of the subject, the focus of this encyclopedia is on its use as a medicine. This means that its material is general enough and not so much focused on any specific category of disease. This allows the users to gain access to information on the usefulness of different plants in treating different ailments. However, one should not expect too much from this encyclopedia. Its scope may be quite limited considering its limited coverage but the value of this source cannot be underestimated.

Conclusion

This electronic edition of an old standard reference has proven to be very useful to its users. It contains valuable data on the uses and advantages of the herbs used in Eastern and Western medicine and other disciplines. As a result, its contents are now more widely known and are utilized by more people. Thus, its circulation proves that knowledge can spread very fast. This means that other similar encyclopedias or books will follow in the future.