Botanical Medicines

This informative book is a compendium of detailed scientific research on 34 of the most popular dietary supplements used in North America and Europe. Each entry covers botanical data (classification and nomenclature, common names, geographic occurrence, and botanical characteristics), history and traditional uses, chemistry, therapeutic applications, and both pre-clinical and clinical studies. It also discusses recommended dosage, safety profiles (including toxicology), side effects, contraindications, drug interactions, safety recommendations during pregnancy and lactation, and special precautions. This extensively referenced volume includes an appendix with information on the major provisions of DSHEA and on assessing the quality of botanical products.