Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology of Herbal Products. Melanie Johns Cupp, ed. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 2000, 325 pp., $89.50. ISBN 0-89603-791-6.

摘要

Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology of Herbal Products is the third volume in the Forensic Science and Medicine series published by Humana Press. The title captures the goal of the book, which was to provide “an objective review of the available information on the pharmacology and toxicology of commonly used herbs”. This goal was met to a certain degree, but it often was lost in peripheral information that reduced the focus and impact of the book.The book is subdivided into three parts. Part I is a brief but well-organized synopsis of some of the regulatory issues surrounding the manufacture and use of herbal products. Important aspects such as product variability are clearly outlined, and appropriate cautions and concerns are raised. Part II is composed of a series of “monographs” written about a set of 28 medicinal plants. The list was reportedly chosen because these are “the herbs that are most often encountered”. It is difficult to …