Herbal Drugs ─ Ethnomedicine to Modern Medicine

This reference work covers for the first time the herbal drugs used in ethnomedicine and validated on modern scientific basis. In depth information prepared by experts traces the evolution of herbal drugs with civilization and their use as antioxidants, anticancerous, chemopreventors, memory enhancers, neuroprotective, immunomodulator, anti-inflammatory, and in stroke, cardiovascular disorders, erectile dysfunction; also covering safety issues and toxic effects. Many of our modern medicine have come from traditional use of plants such as Curcuma, Ginkgo, and Ginseng. Therefore, information on herbal drugs, from ethnomedicine to modern use, has been arranged based on their involvement in various ailments. This book offers researchers working on diverse aspects of medicinal plants a complete coverage of botany, ethnology, pharmacology, toxicology and medicinal properties of medicinal plants. It provides essential source material to all working in the fields of agriculture, botany, pharmacy, traditional systems of medicine and drug industry.

Professor K.G. Ramawat (born in 1952) received his M.Sc. (1974) and Ph.D. (1978, Plant Biotechnology) from the University of Jodhpur, Jodhpur, India and became a faculty member in January of 1979. He joined M.L. Sukhadia University as an Associate Professor in 1991 and became a Professor in 2001. He served as Head of the Department of Botany (2001–2004), was in charge of the Department of Biotechnology (2003–2004), was a member of the task force on medicinal and aromatic plants at the Department of Biotechnology (Government of India, New Delhi; 2002–2005), and was a coordinator of the UGC-DRS and DST-FIST programs (2002–2007). He did his postdoctoral study at the University of Tours, France (1983–85) and subsequently worked as visiting professor at the University of Tours (1991) and University of Bordeaux 2, France (1995, 1999, 2003, 2006). He visited Poland under the auspices of an INSA-PAN academic exchange program (2005). He has published more than 100 research papers and review articles in reputed journals and books. He has edited two books on the biotechnology of secondary metabolites and of medicinal plants (Scientific Publishers, Enfield, USA). Professor Ramawat has completed several major research projects from UGC, CSIR, ICAR, DBT, and DST, and has supervised the doctoral theses of 16 students. He has been a member of the Plant Tissue Culture Association of India since 1991.