Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology of Herbal Products

In 1998, 1264 papers were published about cocaine and only 17 about kava kava, an abused herb that is not without toxic side effects. In Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology of Herbal Products, Melanie Johns Cupp and a host of knowledgeable specialists review in an accessible format the latest scientific findings about twenty-eight widely used herbal medicines. Using only reliable, peer-reviewed data, these specialists describe in detail the pharmacology and toxicology of each herb, including clinical and pathological findings from clinical trials and case reports of adverse effects, pharmacokinetics, methods of chemical and biofluids analysis, and the known pharmacologic and toxicologic effects arranged by organ, organ system, or therapeutic/toxicologic effect. The authors also discuss the history and traditional uses, current promoted uses, dosage forms, potential drug interactions, and regulatory issues of these herbal products. Authoritative and exhaustive, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology of Herbal Products provides today's pharmacologists, toxicologists, pathologists, medical examiners, and health care providers with a unique, reliable reference to all the available scientific information on the pharmacology and toxicology of these commonly used herbs. The herbai medicine industry is growing at an astounding rate. Trade group estimates suggest that total sales exceeded $4 billion dollars in 1999. Herbai remedies are for sale not just in health food stores, but in supermar­ kets, drug stores, and even discount warehouses. Along with the proliferation in sales has come a proliferation ofinformation sources. Not all ofthe sources are equally reliable, or even intelligible. Traditional herbalists c1assify thistle and mugwort as "cholagogues," substances used to make the gallbladder con­ tract and release bile. Medical school graduates are unlikely to have ever heard the term, or even accept the notion that most right-sided abdominal pain is a result of diminished bile flow. Heroin and cocaine may not be the only drugs to come from plants, but a practicing physician or toxicologist might be forgiven for thinking so. In 1998, 1264 papers were published about cocaine and only 17 about kava kava, an abused herb that is not without toxic side effects. Unfortunately, the majority of the papers about kava kava were published in journals not found in ordi­ nary hospitallibraries. In recognition ofthis fact, and ofthe obvious need for a reliable reference work on herbai toxicology, The Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology 0/ Herbal Products was an early addition to our new series in Forensie Science and Medicine. It is very badly needed.