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Book review: Evidence-based validation of herbal medicine, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2015, Edited by P. K. Mukherjee. 537 pp. ISBN: 978-0-12-800874-4
International Immunopharmacology 27 (2015) 177
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Immunopharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/intimp
Book review: Evidence-based validation of herbal medicine, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2015, Edited by P. K. Mukherjee. 537 pp. ISBN: 978-0-12-800874-4 Plants, and the natural world in general, have always been a source of medicines in all traditional cultures. Due to economic and cultural reasons, the vast majority of the world population still uses more or less refined herbal medicinal products on a large scale. The multi-authored book “Evidence-based validation of herbal medicine” is a rich source of information containing 24 well-illustrated chapters; notably a marvelously illustrated historical account of the herbal pharmacopeias across time and cultures (chapter 3, by Roy Upton). In modern drug discovery, the natural world remains a key source of chemical diversity. Many pharmacologically active agents, used as pure compounds with a defined cellular molecular target and a well described mode of action, are of natural origin. Cyclosporine A, tacrolimus and sirolimus are examples of natural drugs used in the immuno-pharmacological arsenal. Others agents are semi-synthetic (such as numerous penicillins or anti-inflammatory steroids) or somehow inspired from a natural prototype. One could argue that the ultimate scientific goal of ethnopharmacology and herbal medicine pharmacognosy is to elucidate the structure of active principles and integrate them in current molecular pharmacology. This approach is notably illustrated by a discussion of antimalarial drugs of natural sources (quinine, artemisin, etc.; chapter 14) and of antimicrobial secondary metabolites (chapter 23). Screening natural extracts for pharmacological activity (e.g., antiviral effect, chapter 8) is a sound drug discovery approach. Data bases that include huge banks of natural molecular structures can be used in computational virtual screening for binding to biochemical targets (J.L. Medina-Franco, chapter 21), a further cuttingedge development. A less ambitious scientific program would consist of continuing the administration of extracts and mixtures, but integrate up-to-date scientific and technical disciplines to standardize them (taxonomy, chromatography
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2015.05.001 1567-5769/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
and spectroscopy; chapters 4, 19, 22), address their often poor or ill-defined pharmacokinetic properties (chapter 10), improve marketing regulations (chapter 9) and pharmacovigilance (chapter 7) and, most importantly, test these remedies in formal clinical trials for efficacy and side effects. Several chapters cover research about the effects of herbal medicines on the skin, immunity, cognitive and cardiovascular disorders and viral infection. To the credit of contributors, the active principles are very often mentioned, and their structure, illustrated. The authors acknowledge that there is a clinical deficit of information about such remedies that are often sold as dietary supplement and, as such, evade rigorous clinical development. This central problem is notably discussed by G.B. Mahady (chapter 11) and one of the book contributions is a formal placebo-controlled clinical trial of a caraway extract tested for weight loss (chapter 16). There was a slight, but significant effect after 12 weeks of treatment (Δbody mass index = −0.8) and no significant side effect, a welcome indication of an objective effect. François Marceau Université Laval, CHU de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada E-mail address: [email protected] 30 April 2015
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Immunopharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/intimp
Book review: Evidence-based validation of herbal medicine, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2015, Edited by P. K. Mukherjee. 537 pp. ISBN: 978-0-12-800874-4 Plants, and the natural world in general, have always been a source of medicines in all traditional cultures. Due to economic and cultural reasons, the vast majority of the world population still uses more or less refined herbal medicinal products on a large scale. The multi-authored book “Evidence-based validation of herbal medicine” is a rich source of information containing 24 well-illustrated chapters; notably a marvelously illustrated historical account of the herbal pharmacopeias across time and cultures (chapter 3, by Roy Upton). In modern drug discovery, the natural world remains a key source of chemical diversity. Many pharmacologically active agents, used as pure compounds with a defined cellular molecular target and a well described mode of action, are of natural origin. Cyclosporine A, tacrolimus and sirolimus are examples of natural drugs used in the immuno-pharmacological arsenal. Others agents are semi-synthetic (such as numerous penicillins or anti-inflammatory steroids) or somehow inspired from a natural prototype. One could argue that the ultimate scientific goal of ethnopharmacology and herbal medicine pharmacognosy is to elucidate the structure of active principles and integrate them in current molecular pharmacology. This approach is notably illustrated by a discussion of antimalarial drugs of natural sources (quinine, artemisin, etc.; chapter 14) and of antimicrobial secondary metabolites (chapter 23). Screening natural extracts for pharmacological activity (e.g., antiviral effect, chapter 8) is a sound drug discovery approach. Data bases that include huge banks of natural molecular structures can be used in computational virtual screening for binding to biochemical targets (J.L. Medina-Franco, chapter 21), a further cuttingedge development. A less ambitious scientific program would consist of continuing the administration of extracts and mixtures, but integrate up-to-date scientific and technical disciplines to standardize them (taxonomy, chromatography
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2015.05.001 1567-5769/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
and spectroscopy; chapters 4, 19, 22), address their often poor or ill-defined pharmacokinetic properties (chapter 10), improve marketing regulations (chapter 9) and pharmacovigilance (chapter 7) and, most importantly, test these remedies in formal clinical trials for efficacy and side effects. Several chapters cover research about the effects of herbal medicines on the skin, immunity, cognitive and cardiovascular disorders and viral infection. To the credit of contributors, the active principles are very often mentioned, and their structure, illustrated. The authors acknowledge that there is a clinical deficit of information about such remedies that are often sold as dietary supplement and, as such, evade rigorous clinical development. This central problem is notably discussed by G.B. Mahady (chapter 11) and one of the book contributions is a formal placebo-controlled clinical trial of a caraway extract tested for weight loss (chapter 16). There was a slight, but significant effect after 12 weeks of treatment (Δbody mass index = −0.8) and no significant side effect, a welcome indication of an objective effect. François Marceau Université Laval, CHU de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada E-mail address: [email protected] 30 April 2015