Chinese Herbs: Their Botany, Chemistry, and Pharmacodynamics (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

An illustrated encyclopaedia of over 250 herbs for medical problems ranging from anaemia to asthma, from tetanus to TB. Each entry includes the herb's Latin name, its English name, the name in Chinese characters, a botanical description, a pharmaceutical description, a phytochemical analysis, pharmacodynamic investigations, the Chinese therapeutic use of the drug, dosage given by Chinese herbalists and other relevant information.

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (March 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804816670
• ISBN-13: 978-0804816670
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #615,053 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice collection of tidbits, September 28, 1998

By A Customer

This is that strange type of herb books, written about Chinese herbs, but from a Western medicine -point of view.

The book is good for a fast overview of the about 300 plants, minerals and animal parts covered, but the information is far too sketchy to be of any practical importance. As an example, a typical entry on the use is "Used as stomachic and carminative, Dose, 10-15 gm.".

TCM herbalists are possibly happy about the Chinese characters with each entry, but as the author has gone to great lengths to translate TCM terms into western ones it's doubtful if TCM people find any value in the work.

The index of western ailments / Chinese herbs could perhaps point you into a new direction if you're stuck in your therapeutics. But otherwise the book is just a nice collection of tidbits for the herbalist.