Greco-Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine: Traditional System, Ethics, Safety, Efficacy, and Regulatory Issues

by Bashar Saad, Omar Said

Overview

A one-of-a-kind review of traditional Arab herbal medicine in modern use

As one of the foremost herbal systems in the world, traditional Arab-Islamic herbal medicine plays an increasingly influential role in modern Western medicine. This book addresses the need in the field for a comprehensive, English-language work on the subject, introducing an important academic treatment of Arab herbal medicine.

The authors offer for the first time an introduction to various details using original ethnopharmacological surveys they conducted in the Mediterranean area. Drawing on expertise in pharmacology, cell biology, and immunology, they combine scientific knowledge with herbal wisdom, discussing a full range of topics, from historical overview to Arabic medical principles. Special emphasis is given to the potential use of Arab herbal medicines in modern drug discovery and therapies. Coverage includes:

• Common roots of Arab and Western medicine
• Traditional as well as evidence-based applications of commonly used herbal medicines
• Methodology of drug discovery and therapy in Arabic and Islamic medicine
• The use of in vitro and in vivo techniques for the evaluation of plant safety and efficacy
• Toxicity of herbal formulations, quality assurance, and chemical analytical techniques
• The use of medicinal plants and methods for extracting their active ingredients
• Regulations governing the sale of herbal remedies in different countries

Complete with hundreds of citations from original scientific papers and articles, as well as numerous figures, tables, and color photographs of medicinal plants, Greco-Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine is an invaluable resource for researchers in academia and industry and for anyone with an interest in herbal medicine, natural products, and dietary supplements.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118002261
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/27/2011
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	560
File size:	67 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Bashar Saad, PhD, is Professor of Cell Biology and Immunology at the Arab American University-Jenin, Palestine, and Director of the Qasemi Research Center at Al-Qasemi Academic College, Baqa Algharbiya, Israel. He made a significant contribution in combining cell biology, immunology, and 3D cell culture techniques with Arab-Islamic herbal wisdom. His research interests include anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties of medicinal plants. He has written more than fifty original papers as well as review articles and book chapters on Arab-Islamic herbal medicine.

Omar Said, PhD, is Director of the Antaki Center for Herbal Medicine, Israel and serves as the head of the Arab medicinal plant project in the Galilee Society R&D regional center, Israel. He is a doctor of pharmacology. As an expert in the fields of pharmacology and ethnopharmacology, he has made significant contributions in combining this modern science with the medicinal plants tradition. His research interests include diabetes, obesity, fertility, psoriasis, acne, hyperlipidemia, and liver diseases. He has written more than thirty-five original papers as well as review articles and book chapters on Arab-Islamic herbal medicine.

Table of Contents

Foreword.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

1. An Overview of Greco-Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine.

2. History of Greco-Arab and Islamic Medicine.

3. Herbal Medicine.

4. The Arab-Islamic Roots of Western Medicine.

5. Contributions of Arab and Islamic Scholars to Modern Pharmacology.

6. Natural Drugs in Greco-Arabic and Islamic Medicine.

7. Method of Therapy in Greco-Arab and Islamic Medicine.

8. Commonly Used Herbal Medicines in the Mediterranean.

9. The Current State of Knowledge of Arab Herbal Medicine.

10. Greco-Arab and Islamic Medicine Practiced Outside the Middle East.

11. Biosafety of Herbal Medicine.

12. Arab Medicinal Plants: From Traditional Uses to Scientific Knowledge.

13. Modern In Vitro Test Systems.

14. Modern In Vivo Evaluations and Clinical Trials.

15. Medical Ethics in Arab and Islamic Medicine.

16. Medicinal Herbs and Extracting Their Active Ingredients.

17. Food Therapy.

18. Drug Development from Herbal Sources.

19. Herbal Remedies: Use and Demographic and Regulatory Issues.

Appendix A: Plant Naming.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

The formula adopted in Greco-Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine makes it appealing to a broad spectrum of readers on both regional and global levels.”  (HerbalGram, 1 February 2013)

From the Publisher