The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs, Second Edition [Hardcover]

Kee C. Huang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0849316650 | ISBN-13: 978-0849316654 | Edition: 2

Records cataloging the healing powers of natural substances - plants, minerals, and animal byproducts - date back more than 4,000 years. There is no denying the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine, yet - until recently - the roots of this knowledge were largely lost in superstition and folklore. However, the use of herbs as an alternative medical treatment for many illnesses has increased steadily over the last decade, particularly since such herbs are categorized as "Natural Food Products" and are not yet subject to strict control by the FDA. Reports published in 1996 indicate that more than 10% of the US population has used herbal remedies.

This book does not debate the value of Eastern or Western medicine but brings together Chinese herbal lore and Western scientific methods in a current, comprehensive treatise on the pharmacology of Chinese herbs. This second edition of The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs presents the chemical composition, pharmacological action, toxicity, and therapeutic value of 473 herbs.

The book:

Classifies herbs according to their therapeutic value

Informs how active ingredients in herbs may adversely interact with other herbs or drugs

Evaluates which herbs have the potential for more investigation and possible use as drugs

Describes the pharmacological action of each herb based on recent scientific study and describes each herb according to Chinese pharmacopoeia and folk medicine

Provides a review of Chinese medical history

Presents information on how to use modern chemical techniques for enhancing or modifying herbal ingredients into better agents with more strength and activity


What's New in the Second Edition
Discussions on:

Herbs and their specific effects on the immune system

Herbs and fertility/infertility

Anti-cancer herbs

Anti-HIV herbs

Anti-malarial herbs

Ginseng and ginsenosides

Anti-Alzheimer herbs

Herbs affecting the nervous system

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: CRC Press; 2 edition (July 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849316650
• ISBN-13: 978-0849316654
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough...a bit pricy, but well worth the expense., December 9, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (University of California, Riverside) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs, Second Edition (Hardcover)

As a Ph.D. student in biochemistry I have sought out critical references that would be accurate and legitimate treatises on the biochemistry and pharmacology of herbs. If one is truly interested in understanding the biochemistry and pharmacology of Chinese herbs, then this is the reference to purchase. Very intelligently presented in a concise scientific journal format, presenting critical and relevant studies on the herbs as they are currently understood with many references to the original research papers. I would certainly purchase other titles similar to this if their coverage of other herbs (e.g. South American, Ayurvedic) were as comprehensive, relevant, and credible as this one. Not for the herbologist interested in a hokey metaphysical distortion of truth. Ideal for the intelligent and/or educated layman that really wants to know what compounds are present in various Chinese herbs and what their activities are.

Pitfalls: Some listings are very brief (less than a page) For instance the discussion of Centella asiatica is only 1/2 page and listed under antipyretic herbs and makes no mention of nootropic effects if they, in fact, exist-Nobody's perfect.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise guide to the scientific base of major herbal drugs, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs, Second Edition (Hardcover)

Very outstanding among the books on chinese herbs written in English (to be fair, many better books in Chinese exist but not well translated!)

Starting from the chemistry and ending with the toxicology, each important herbs included are presented in a well-balanced format; the therapeutic values are thus projected clearly on the empirical grounds.

The new edition is an updated gist of those related scientific works done but could not be tracked on the great MedLine due to the language barrier.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the money, Nothing you cannot find on pubmed.com, April 28, 2004

By 

G. Mandler (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs, Second Edition (Hardcover)

I'm shipping this book back. It isn't worth the price tag given the info it provides. It is basically a regurjitation of pubmed.com research and abstracts. In fact with some of the entries I can almost read verbatim the abstract that it references. (In general I find CRC press books too pricey)