Medicinal plants in tropical countries. Traditional use - experience - facts.
Mueller M. S., Mechler E.
Author Affiliation: German Institute for Medical Mission, Tuebingen, Germany.
: viii + 168 pp.
Abstract : The plants described in this book were chosen from a list of 4776 medicinal plants predominantly used in Africa. Fifty-four were described in ethnopharmacological reports from 5 or more African countries; from this list 25 of the most frequently reported plants were chosen for this collection of monographs. The purpose of the monographs is to present a helpful summary of the often contradictory information on the use of medicinal plants in traditional medicine in a way that is useful to doctors, pharmacists and other health practitioners in developing countries. Chapter 1 entitled 'Traditional medicine and modern medicine: the need to collaborate' covers folk medicine, the medicine of traditional healers, conceptual traditional medicine and the integration of medicinal plants into primary health care. The second introductory chapter uses malaria as an example and discusses the value of medicinal plants. The monographs themselves provide the following information on the selected species: plant parts used, constituents, traditional uses, results of experimental studies, results of clinical studies, cautions and undesired effects, dosages and instructions for use, an evaluation, and a list of references. The species covered are Adansonia digitata, Allium sativum, Aloe barbadensis, Balanites aegyptiaca, Cajanus cajan, Capsicum frutescens, Carica papaya, Cassia alata, Cassia senna, Curcuma longa, Eucalyptus globulus, Euphorbia hirta, Indigofera arrecta, Jatropha curcas, Mangifera indica, Maytenus senegalensis, Passiflora incarnata, Psidium guajava, Punica granatum, Rauvolfia vomitoria/Rauvolfia serpentina, Ricinus communis, Sida cordifolia, Vernonia amygdalina, Zea mays and Zingiber officinale.