Medicinal Plants of China, Korea, and Japan Bioresources for Tomorrow’s Drugs and Cosmetics

Asian medicinal plants show great promise in pharmaceutical and cosmetological development. Researchers engaged in the discovery of new leads in these areas need robust conceptual tools and understanding of interrelated basics of botany, ethnobotany, biomolecular pharmacology, phytochemistry, and medicinal chemistry to guide their investigations. Medicinal Plants of China, Korea, and Japan: Bioresources for Tomorrow?s Drugs and Cosmetics explores the fundamental science and demonstrates the compelling potential of these versatile plants, providing an essential resource to stimulate and guide focused inquiry.

It is essential that researchers appreciate the chemotaxonomical statuses of these plants, so chapters are arranged according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system of plant taxonomy. The book discusses the history, synonymy, habitat, description, traditional uses, and pharmacochemistry of each plant. Detailed photographs and hand-made botanical plates enable quick and reliable identification of each plant species. Critical analyses of peer-reviewed articles provide the basis for Bioresource sections in each chapter wherein readers are advised, engaged, and guided towards exciting pharmaceutical and cosmetological research proposals. Also included are indexes of botanical terms, pharmacological terms, natural products, and local names.

Detailing 200 medicinal plant species carefully selected for their novelty and pharmacological and cosmetological importance, this volume provides a firm starting point for anyone looking forward to unlocking the potential of Asian medicinal plants. In addition, this invaluable book identifies numerous patentable leads.

Superorder Austrobaileyanae Doweld ex M.W. Chase & Reveal, 2009. Superorder Magnolianae Takht.,1967. Superorder Lilianae Takht.,1967. Superorder Ranunculanae Takht. ex Reveal,1992. Superorder Rosanae Takht.,1967. Superorder Saxifraganae Reveal,1994. Superorder Santalanae Thorne ex Reveal,1992. Superorder Caryophyllanae Takht.,1967. Superorder Asteranae Takht.,1967. Index.

Dr. Christophe Wiart has been studying the medicinal plants of China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India for the last 16 years. He has collected, identified, and classified several hundred species of medicinal plants and is regarded as the most prominent authority in the field of Asian ethnopharmacology, chemotaxonomy, and ethnobotany. He is based in the School of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Nottingham and has authored numerous best-selling reference books on the medicinal plants of Asia.