PDR for Herbal Medicines, 4th Edition (Hardcover)

by Thomson Healthcare (Author)
Key Phrases: unproven uses, chinese medicine, tea tree, Mode of Administration, Other Names, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Known for their reference manuals (Physicians' Desk Reference; PDR Medical Dictionary; PDR for Nonprescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements) that have been indispensable to the medical world, PDR has compiled a list of extensive explanations of more than 600 herbal medications available. Addressing the influx of natural supplements into mainstream supermarkets, PDR intends to educate consumers and assist them in choosing the best herbs to treat an ailment or simply to help maintain a healthy life. Arranged by the herb's Latin name (cross-referenced by common name), each herbal entry contains pertinent information: description, physical properties, intended usage and expected effects, precautions and adverse reactions, recommended dosage and references for additional reading. To assist in identifying these supplements, the editors have included color photos of many of these herbs as they exist naturally. The indexes are also helpful; one lists both the scientific and common name of each herb and the other lists ailments such as acne, cardiovascular disease, migraines and rhinitis, and the herbs recommended for treatment. This manual could well become a standard guide for those on the road to self-medication.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This comprehensive resource on herbal medicine, in the tradition of the PDRR series, will be a welcome addition to most collections. Over 600 botanical remedies are described in great detail, including: scientific/common names; pharmacological effects; indications and contraindications; adverse reactions and modes of administration; and a most impressive list of literature citations incorporating the latest Commission E findings. The section of full-color photos of hundreds of herbs is a useful tool. (LJ 3/1/99)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1300 pages
• Publisher: Thomson Reuters; 4 edition (September 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563636786
• ISBN-13: 978-1563636783
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #91,779 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than the 1st Edition, December 27, 2000

By	Jerry Cott (College Park, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PDR for Herbal Medicines (Hardcover)

This new edition of the PDR for Herbal Medicines goes beyond the first edition, published in December of 1998. While the first edition was somewhat limited by dated, unreferenced information, this one is much more up-to-date and includes recent references to the literature, such as the St. John's wort interactions with indinavir and cyclosporin that were just published this year. Each entry gives a botanical overview, describes actions and pharmacology, and discusses indications and usage in various medical traditions. There is information on clinical trials, and more material on herb/drug interaction, precautions, contraindications, adverse reactions, and dosage. Having a complete herbal reference is a necessity for physicians and other health-care providers in today's world - whether they want to include some herbals in their armamentarium or merely wish to head off possible herb-drug interactions among the patients who are treating themselves.

A careful reading of the hypericum section, however, revealed that several newer clinical trials were not included, while an old (1994) study remained.

In this reference, the physician would learn St. John's wort taken concomitantly with sertraline may lead to "serotonin syndrome," e.g., sweating, tremor, flushing, confusion and agitation. The likelihood of seeing this effect would be difficult to judge, however, since these anecdotal reports from the literature are taken a face value with little critical appraisal. If we don't know how many patients have taken this particular combination, we have no denominator. The inclusion of all material related to toxicologic effects is good for the sake of a comprehensive overview, but the drawback is to lose the feel for what may really be important. An example is the inclusion of a reference regarding hypericum toxicity when directly incubated with sperm or oocytes. Without pointing out that this very unusual study is not the way reproductive or teratogenic is determined during drug development, the reader may be left with the belief that hypericum showed reproductive toxicity. The reference to an interaction with theophylline might have mentioned that the patient was on a plethora of other drugs and relied on her recollection of events. It might also have mentioned that direct human studies of the 1A2 and 2D6 enzymes found no effect from hypericum. Rather, it stated that hypericum "...may significantly affect plasma concentrations of any drug that is metabolized by the cytochrome P-450 system." This is not supported by data. Also unsupported is the incorrect statement taken from Schultz et al's Rational Phytotherapy that phototoxicity may occur at hypericin plasma concentrations of 50 mcg/mL. This should have read 50 mcg/L (or 50 ng/mL) as the original paper reported. Also not useful is the daily dosage recommendation of 200 - 1000 mcg hypericin for depression; one might conclude that there is evidence for this.

While this book is sold as a mainstream reference it may be somewhat daunting for the layman. It's well-organized style and the provision of recent scientific and medical references will make it a useful starting place for more in depth research for health-care professionals. Perhaps the publication of an erratum could be recommended.

78 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Practical Guide to Natural Medicines is better!, May 2, 1999

By	Peg (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PDR for Herbal Medicines (Physician's Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines) (Hardcover)

I'm a former practicing pharmacist, now a health promotion educator who must, for my lectures, keep up to date on the rapidly emerging information (peer reviewed research & commercial publications, internet, etc.) about medicinals, vitamins, minerals, supplements, herbs, natural remedies, etc. available to public with and without a prescription. My goal is to ferret out fact from fiction. I believe THE AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION PRACTICAL GUIDE TO NATURAL MEDICINES is a MUCH BETTER (a FIVE star) resource--especially since it's a 1999 publication that cites sources including German monographs that are basis of PDR. The description of APA Guide, on Amazon.com, does not do this book justice. Once I got PRACTICAL GUIDE TO NATURAL MEDICINES I no longer used PDR.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference for herbal medicines, January 7, 2006

By	Richard M. Caiander "Richard Caiander" (Shelburne Falls, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: PDR for Herbal Medicines (Hardcover)

Being a licensed practitioner of Chinese medicine here in the US, I purchased the PDR for Herbal Medicines, 3rd ed. because I wanted to have access to western scientific resource material about the many (about 700) herbal medicinals covered in the volume. If you're looking for a good clinical or diagnostic manual for learning how to prescribe herbal medicinals, this book, by no means, articulates how to actually effectively prescribe herbal medicines properly. In order to prescribe herbal medicines safely and effectively, they must be applied according to a diagnostic pattern discrimination methodology that is suitable for each patient's constitution, clinical presentation and pathological disease situation. All that said, however, the book is an excellent resource for information about known scientific research, references to other source materials as well as pharmacological, chemical, toxicological cautions and contraindications for each herb covered in the volume. In fact, for this kind of information, the text is hard to beat. No one should use or prescribe a medicinal that they do not know the possible side effects and toxicity potential for that particular plant material. Although some naive individuals believe that all medicinal plants are safe to use, in fact, some herbal substances are toxic, contraindicated during pregnancy, should only be used for a short period of time, etc. This book has explicit information that is consistent with many of the best herbal medicine text books that I own. The book even has ratings by the well known German 'Commission E' board that approves herbal medicines in Europe for professional use. And if that isn't enough, many Chinese and Ayurvedic medicinals are also covered. There is also a section that covers many nutritional supplements on the market as well. All in all, I highly recommend the book to those who want detailed identification, dosage, usage, pharmacological and toxicological reference material for a large number of useful plant medicinal substances. This is a great book to fill in the blanks that many other reference texts simply do not cover.