In setting forth a detailed, practical, and research-based approach to the use of herbal treatments, the authors commence with a review of a variety of herbal therapeutic systems through the ages and around the world. They detail the principles of herbal pharmacologythe phytochemistry, and pharmacodynamics of the archetypal plant constitutents. They describe and discuss the principles of traditional herbal treatment, grounded in the individualization of the patient, and contrast it with the tendency of modern technological medicine to view herbs solely as milder versions of modern drugs. They propose that the industry and profession consider adopting an integrated, moderate-cost, but rigorous and validatable research program that reflects the special character and fundamental principles of the herbal tradition. They attend to practical considerations including optimal safety, dosage and dosage forms, then present a systematic approach to herbal prescribing, and detail herbal therapies for a wide range of system dysfunctions. Following these practical clinical guides, 44 selections from the herbal materia medica are reviewed at length. The coverage includes synonyms (English, Latin, German, French, Italian, and Danish), brief historical detail, effects, traditional perspectives, summary actions derived from the chemical constituents, indications supported by clinical trials, traditional therapeutic uses, extrapolations from phamacological studies, preparations, dosage, duration of use, summary assessment of safety rating, technical data including botany, constituents (including molecular sketch), pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, clinical trials, toxicology, contraindications, interactions, and current regulatory status in a variety of countries. This is a full and wide-ranging text that draws on the practical talents of two articulate and distinguished clinicians who have drawn from their knowledge base in Western scientific medicine as well as in herbal medicine to further an approach that respects and fosters the ideals and traditions of herbal therapy while providing it the support of modern scientific methods.

Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy by Simon Mills and Kerry Bone