The global popularity of herbal supplements and the promise they hold in treating various disease states have caused an unprecedented interest in understanding the molecular basis of the biological activity of traditional remedies. This volume focuses on presenting current scientific evidence of biomolecular effects of selected herbs and their relation to clinical outcome and promotion of human health. This book also addresses the ethical challenges of using herbal medicine and its integration into modern, evidence-based medicine.

Drawing from the work of leading international researchers in different fields, this book contains an in-depth scientific examination of effects of individual herbs, as well as their use in the treatment of important diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, dermatologic disorders, neurodegenerative disease, and diabetes. Due to the strong associations among oxidative stress, ageing, and disease, the powerful antioxidant properties of herbs and spices are also examined. The herbs featured are some of the most widely used remedies and cover a wide range, including flowering herbs, fruits and berries, roots and rhizomes, and fungi.

To help bring a new level of quality control to the production of herbal extracts, the use of mass spectrometry and chemometric fingerprinting technology in the authentication of herbs is also presented. As the need for effective, affordable health promotion and treatment increases, especially in the growing ageing population, there is demand for rigorous scientific examination of herbal medicines. This timely and comprehensive volume addresses this need and is an important text for medical professionals and researchers, as well as those interested in herbal or complementary medicine.

Contents

• Series Preface
• Foreword
• Preface
• Editors
• Contributors
• 1. Herbal Medicine: An Introduction to Its History, Usage, Regulation, Current Trends, and Research Needs
  Sissi Wachtel-Galor and Iris F. F. Benzie.
  • 1.1. HERBAL MEDICINE: A GROWING FIELD WITH A LONG TRADITION
  • 1.2. HERBAL MEDICINE AND THE AGING POPULATION
  • 1.3. HERBAL MEDICINES: CHALLENGES AND REGULATIONS
  • 1.4. RESEARCH NEEDS
  • 1.5. CONCLUSIONS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Antioxidants in Herbs and Spices: Roles in Oxidative Stress and Redox Signaling
  Ingvild Paur, Monica H. Carlsen, Bente Lise Halvorsen, and Rune Blomhoff.
  • 2.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 2.2. REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES: COMPLEX ROLES IN NORMAL PHYSIOLOGY
  • 2.3. EXAMPLES OF THE DUAL ROLES OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES IN PATHOLOGIES
  • 2.4. IS THERE A ROLE OF DIETARY ANTIOXIDANTSIN OXIDATIVE STRESS?
  • 2.5. TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CONTENT OF FOODS AND DRINKS: LARGEST DENSITY OF ANTIOXIDANTS CONTAINED IN SPICES AND HERBS
  • 2.6. TOTAL AMOUNTS OF ANTIOXIDANTS IN HERBS AND SPICES
  • 2.7. RESEARCH NEEDS: POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF DIETARY ANTIOXIDANTS
  • 2.8. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Evaluation of the Nutritional and Metabolic Effects of Aloe vera
  Meika Foster, Duncan Hunter, and Samir Samman.
  • 3.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 3.2. TAXONOMY AND TRADITIONAL ORIGINS
  • 3.3. CURRENT USAGE
  • 3.4. STRUCTURE AND CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS
  • 3.5. EFFECT OF CULTIVATION AND PROCESSING
  • 3.6. HEALTH EFFECTS: THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
  • 3.7. ACTIVE INGREDIENTS AND MECHANISMS OF ACTION
  • 3.8. SAFETY AND EFFICACY
  • 3.9. DRUG/VITAMIN BIOAVAILABILITY
  • 3.10. RESEARCH NEEDS
  • 3.11. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.)
  Wing-kwan Chu, Sabrina C. M. Cheung, Roxanna A. W. Lau, and Iris F. F. Benzie.
  • 4.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 4.2. BILBERRY: DESCRIPTION, USAGE, SOURCE, AND COMPOSITION
  • 4.3. ANTHOCYANINS
  • 4.4. BIOAVAILABILITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF ANTHOCYANINS
  • 4.5. HEALTH EFFECTS OF BILBERRY
  • 4.6. CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Cordyceps as an Herbal Drug
  Bao-qin Lin and Shao-ping Li.
  • 5.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 5.2. ANTITUMOR ACTIVITY
  • 5.3. IMMUNOMODULATING EFFECT
  • 5.4. ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY
  • 5.5. ANTIHYPERGLYCEMIC ACTIVITY
  • 5.6. SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTION ENHANCEMENT ACTIVITY
  • 5.7. ANTIFATIGUE ACTIVITY
  • 5.8. PROTECTIVE EFFECT ON THE KIDNEY
  • 5.9. EFFECT ON THE LIVER
  • 5.10. ACTIVE COMPONENTS
  • 5.11. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 6. Cranberry
  Catherine C. Neto and Joe A. Vinson.
  • 6.1. CRANBERRY: INTRODUCTION AND TRADITIONAL ORIGINS
  • 6.2. PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
  • 6.3. PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION
  • 6.4. BIOAVAILABILITY OF CRANBERRY PHYTOCHEMICALS
  • 6.5. HUMAN STUDIES RELEVANT TO HEART DISEASE AND DIABETES
  • 6.6. INVESTIGATION OF CRANBERRY CONSTITUENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO IN VITRO ANTICANCER ACTIVITY
  • 6.7. POSSIBLE CHEMOPREVENTIVE MECHANISMS AND EFFECTS
  • 6.8. CRANBERRIES AND URINARY HEALTH
  • 6.9. FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH ON CRANBERRIES AND DISEASE
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• 7. The Amazing and Mighty Ginger
  Ann M. Bode and Zigang Dong.
  • 7.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 7.2. HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF GINGER
  • 7.3. USAGE, PREPARATION, AND PROCESSING
  • 7.4. BIOACTIVE COMPONENTS OF GINGER
  • 7.5. METABOLISM OF GINGER
  • 7.6. HEALTH EFFECTS: THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
  • 7.7. SAFETY, EFFICACY, AND CONTRAINDICATIONS
  • 7.8. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• 8. Biological Activities of Ginseng and Its Application to Human Health
  Jae Joon Wee, Kyeong Mee Park, and An-Sik Chung.
  • 8.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 8.2. STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF GINSENG
  • 8.3. IMMUNOMODULATORY FUNCTION OF GINSENG
  • 8.4. ANTICARCINOGENIC FUNCTION OF GINSENG
  • 8.5. REDUCTION OF BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVEL AND IMPROVEMENT OF DIABETES TREATMENT
  • 8.6. EFFECTS OF GINSENG ON CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM FUNCTIONS AND DEGENERATIVE DISEASES
  • 8.7. SUMMARY AND RESEARCH NEEDS
  • REFERENCES
• 9. Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi or Reishi): A Medicinal Mushroom
  Sissi Wachtel-Galor, John Yuen, John A. Buswell, and Iris F. F. Benzie.
  • 9.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 9.2. HISTORY: LINGZHI AS A MEDICINAL MUSHROOM
  • 9.3. TAXONOMY
  • 9.4. CULTIVATION, GLOBAL USE, AND MANUFACTURE OF PRODUCTS
  • 9.5. MAJOR BIOACTIVE COMPONENTS
  • 9.6. THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS
  • 9.7. CONCLUDING REMARKS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• 10. Pomegranate Ellagitannins
  David Heber.
  • 10.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 10.2. BIOACTIVITY OF POMEGRANATE POLYPHENOLS AND METABOLITES
  • 10.3. CANCER PREVENTIVE POTENTIAL OF POMEGRANATE POLYPHENOLS
  • 10.4. MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS FROM CELL CULTURE AND ANIMAL STUDIES
  • 10.5. EVIDENCE OF BIOACTIVITY FROM HUMAN CLINICAL STUDIES
  • 10.6. DETAILED STUDIES OF BIOAVAILABILITY AND METABOLISM
  • 10.7. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 11. Medical Attributes of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
  Kenneth M. Klemow, Andrew Bartlow, Justin Crawford, Neil Kocher, Jay Shah, and Michael Ritsick.
  • 11.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 11.2. TAXONOMY AND DESCRIPTION
  • 11.3. TRADITIONAL ORIGINS
  • 11.4. CURRENT USAGE AND PREPARATIONS
  • 11.5. ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
  • 11.6. HEALTH EFFECTS: THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
  • 11.7. ADVERSE EFFECTS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER DRUGS
  • 11.8. FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS
  • 11.9. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 12. Health Benefits of Tea
  Mauro Serafini, Daniele Del Rio, Denis N’Dri Yao, Saverio Bettuzzi, and Ilaria Peluso.
  • 12.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 12.2. TEA: HISTORY AND ORIGIN
  • 12.3. TEA: HOW MANY USE IT, TRADE VOLUME, WAY OF INTAKE, PREPARATION, AND PROCESSING
  • 12.4. ACTIVE INGREDIENTS AND MECHANISMS OF ACTION
  • 12.5. HEALTH EFFECTS: THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
  • 12.6. ADVERSE EFFECTS OF GREEN TEA CATECHINS EXTRACT ADMINISTRATION
  • 12.7. RESEARCH NEEDS
  • 12.8. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 13. Turmeric, the Golden Spice: From Traditional Medicine to Modern Medicine
  Sahdeo Prasad and Bharat B. Aggarwal.
  • 13.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 13.2. ORIGIN, NOMENCLATURE, HISTORY, CULTIVATION, AND PROCESSING OF TURMERIC
  • 13.3. COMPOSITION OF TURMERIC
  • 13.4. CONSUMPTION AND IMPORTANCE OF TURMERIC
  • 13.5. TURMERIC AS A TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
  • 13.6. FROM TRADITIONAL MEDICINE TO MODERN MEDICINE
  • 13.7. STUDIES WITH TURMERIC OIL
  • 13.8. SAFETY, EFFICACY, AND CONTRAINDICATIONS
  • 13.9. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 14. Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects of Chinese Wolfberry
  Peter Bucheli, Qiutao Gao, Robert Redgwell, Karine Vidal, Junkuan Wang, and Weiguo Zhang.
  • 14.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 14.2. DESCRIPTION AND TRADITIONAL USE OF WOLFBERRY FRUIT
  • 14.3. IDENTIFICATION OF BIOACTIVES
  • 14.4. BIOAVAILABILITY OF WOLFBERRY BIOACTIVES AND EFFECTS OF PROCESSING
  • 14.5. IMMUNOMODULATING ACTIVITY
  • 14.6. ANTIDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF WOLFBERRY
  • 14.7. CARDIOVASCULAR BENEFITS OF WOLFBERRY
  • 14.8. IMPROVEMENT OF SEXUAL FUNCTION BY WOLFBERRY
  • 14.9. COGNITIVE BENEFIT OF WOLFBERRY
  • 14.10. VISION BENEFITS OF WOLFBERRY
  • 14.11. CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCES
• 15. Botanical Phenolics and Neurodegeneration
  Albert Y. Sun, Qun Wang, Agnes Simonyi, and Grace Y. Sun.
  • 15.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 15.2. OXIDATIVE STRESS AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS
  • 15.3. INTEGRATED SIGNALING MECHANISMS OF BOTANICAL PHENOLICS IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• 16. Cardiovascular Disease
  Richard Walden and Brian Tomlinson.
  • 16.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 16.2. ESSENTIAL MICRONUTRIENTS AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
  • 16.3. HERBAL MEDICINES AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
  • 16.4. HERBAL MEDICINE AND DRUG INTERACTIONS
  • 16.5. RESEARCH NEEDS
  • 16.6. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 17. Herbs and Spices in Cancer Prevention and Treatment
  Christine M. Kaefer and John A. Milner.
  • 17.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 17.2. ALLSPICE
  • 17.3. BASIL
  • 17.4. CARAWAY
  • 17.5. CARDAMOM
  • 17.6. CINNAMON
  • 17.7. CLOVE
  • 17.8. CORIANDER
  • 17.9. CUMIN
  • 17.10. DILL
  • 17.11. GARLIC
  • 17.12. GINGER
  • 17.13. ROSEMARY
  • 17.14. SAFFRON
  • 17.15. THYME
  • 17.16. CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCES
• 18. Herbal Treatment for Dermatologic Disorders
  Philip D. Shenefelt.
  • 18.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 18.2. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
  • 18.3. HERBAL TREATMENTS FOR DERMATOLOGIC DISORDERS
  • 18.4. ADVERSE EFFECTS OF HERBAL TH ERAPY
  • 18.5. CAVEATS CONCERNING HERBAL THERAPY AND DERMATOLOGIC SURGERY
  • 18.6. RESEARCH NEEDS
  • 18.7. CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 19. Diabetes and Herbal (Botanical) Medicine
  William T. Cefalu, Jaqueline M. Stephens, and David M. Ribnicky.
  • 19.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 19.2. HISTORICAL USE OF BOTANICALS
  • 19.3. PROPOSED MECHANISMS OF BOTANICAL ACTIONS
  • 19.4. INSULIN RESISTANCE IN TYPE 2 DIABETES
  • 19.5. BOTANICALS AND MECHANISMS RELEVANT TO TYPE 2 DIABETES
  • 19.6. CONCLUSIONS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• 20. Bioactive Components in Herbal Medicine Experimental Approaches
  Foo-tim Chau, Kwok-pui Fung, Chi-man Koon, Kit-man Lau, Shui-yin Wei, and Ping-chung Leung.
  • 20.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 20.2. THE EFFICACY-DRIVEN APPROACH TO RESEARCH IN HERBAL MEDICINES AND THE ROLE OF CHEMOMETRICS FINGERPRINTING: AN OVERVIEW
  • 20.3. AN HERBAL FORMULATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR WELL-BEING: DANSHEN AND GEGEN
  • 20.4. QUALITY CONTROL OF HERBS: THE CHEMOMETRICS APPROACH
  • 20.5. CONCLUDING REMARKS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• 21. Ethics of Using Herbal Medicine as Primary or Adjunct Treatment and Issues of Drug-Herb Interaction
  Lauren Girard and Sunita Vohra.
  • 21.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 21.2. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES RELATING TO TREATMENT DECISIONS
  • 21.3. EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HERBAL MEDICINE USE
  • 21.4. PHARMACOLOGY OF HERBAL MEDICINES
  • 21.5. HERBAL MEDICINES AS PRIMARY TREATMENT
  • 21.6. HERBAL MEDICINES AS ADJUNCT TREATMENT
  • 21.7. ISSUES OF DRUG-HERB INTERACTION
  • 21.8. RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 21.9. CONCLUSIONS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• 22. Integration of Herbal Medicine into Evidence-Based Clinical Practice: Current Status and Issues
  Anthony Lin Zhang, Charlie Changli Xue, and Harry H. S. Fong.
  • 22.1. INTRODUCTION
  • 22.2. CURRENT STATUS AND MAJOR ISSUES OF INTEGRATION OF HERBAL MEDICINE IN EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICAL THERAPY
  • 22.3. FACTORS RELEVANT TO/AFFECTING INTEGRATION OF HERBAL MEDICINE INTO MODERN MEDICAL PRACTICES
  • 22.4. RESEARCH NEEDS
  • 22.5. CONCLUSIONS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCE