Herbal Medicines. Fourth edition

Abstract

The purpose of reviewing this book is to determine if it will supply adequate information for medical professionals to use in daily treatment of their patients and to see if the book will be an enhancement for the health sciences library of the hospital that purchases it. This work is a fairly well put-together book that should not fall apart easily or quickly, despite much use. Herbal Medicines is as complete a tome as exists; however, with the advent of “instant news,” one must be able to check the facts as presented in this book for any corrections at the moment of prescription. The book also contains color pictures on almost every page of the flower, root, and so on from which the medicines are taken. The fourth edition has many additions, including epimedium, black currant, peppermint, peony, noni, and tea tree. The safety and efficacy of herbal medicines continue to be of concern to the medical community, and this book seems to provide a comprehensive source of information for the most commonly used herbal products. There is very little “white space,” and the font used throughout is small, so there is a tremendous amount of actual material and lots of work that went into this product, all contributed by experts in this field. All of the entries seem quite complete, and there are disclaimers written in a few places as the work strives to include “impartial information on herbal medicinal products.” The US National Institutes of Health has a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) that conducts research; awards grants to others who do research; provides training through lectures and other events; issues alerts, other warnings, and news releases; and offers Clinical Practice Guidelines to physicians and others related to herbal and other alternative medicine. As a result, this book is recommended with a caveat, and readers may wish to check the NCCAM site for any alerts or changes that may exist at that moment. The contents are arranged alphabetically by herb or plant name. There is a chapter on “How to Use Herbal Medicine.” Each chapter is fairly complete, including various uses, side effects, toxicity, contraindications, and warnings. Several hundred herbs and medicinal flowers are covered. The authors themselves admit that this book is a reference book and that they take no responsibility for the dosages recommended in the book, if used to prescribe for a patient. A separate chapter on drug-herb interactions is helpful. Some amount of cross-checking of information was done with Natural Medicines (a proprietary database that covers similar material), which is considered reputable but expensive. Although the information is similar, the database is easier to read and the book is somewhat more complete. Both are quite professional in appearance and scope. In all, this book will make an impressive addition to a library, both in breadth and scope. It is updated every few years and is quite complete in contents, teaching, and full explanations.