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Toxic Plants: Dangerous to Humans and Animals
Toxicon 39 (2001) 429
www.elsevier.com/locate/toxicon
Book Reviews Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants Jean Bruneton, Intercept Ltd, P.O. Box 716, Andover, Hants., UK. (Tel.: +44(0)1264 334748; Website: http://www.intercept.co.uk) 2nd ed. 1999. 1119 pp, 85 illustrations, Hardcover, 199.71 ISBN: 1-898298-63-7 After only four years, the second, revised and expanded (over 200 additional pages) edition of this book, which is a translation into English of the French edition ``Pharmacognosie, phytochimie, plantes meÂdicinales'' has been published in 1999. It is divided into four Parts. Part 1 deals with compounds of primary metabolism, thus with carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, peptides and enzymes. Here, also basic knowledge is imparted. Part 2 is entitled ``Phenolics, Shikimates, Acetates'', Part 3 ``Terpenoids and Steroids'' and Part 4 ``Alkaloids''. As can seen from the titles, the author places chemistry and biochemistry of natural products into the foreground. First the classes of compounds are described, after that the drugs and plants e.g. iridoids and iridoid-containing drugs. The
book develops, for each class, phytochemical generalities, distribution, biosynthesis, extraction and quantitation methods, and biological aspects. A considerable amount of botanical, chemical, analytical, pharmacological, and therapeutic data is gathered into a particularly coherent compilation; for each product, the therapeutic indications and recommended usage are speci®ed. For each chapter, a high number of references are given; nearly 500 recent references represent a valuable starting point for the reader's own literature search. The structure of the book, mostly the sequence of headings, is a little bit confusing. The book ends with an appendix ``Glossary of botanical terms''. This book is written clearly and it is plentiful in information. It provides the reader with well balanced discussions on the subject. The presentation is good and the book should certainly ®nd its way to it's audience. It is recommended to botanists, chemists, toxicologists, pharmacists, physicians and veterinarians. It is also an useful tool for students. H.C. Krebs
PII: S 0 0 4 1 - 0 1 0 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 4 2 - 2
Toxic Plants: Dangerous to Humans and Animals Jean Bruneton, Intercept Ltd, P.O. Box 716, Andover, Hants., UK. (Tel.: +44(0)1264 334748; website: http://www.intercept.co.uk) 1999, 545 pp., 102 illustrations, Hardcover, 149.40 ISBN: 1898298-62-9 This book, which is a translation into English of the French edition ``Plantes toxiques pour l'homme et les animaux'', is divided into two parts. Part 1 deals with general aspects and lists the common causes of plant induced incidents and accidents in humans and animals. The risks are described, in particular those inherent to herbal drugs. The main headings of this part are ``Humans and plants: incidents and accidents associated with plants'', ``Management of plant poisoning'' and ``Intoxications of animals by plants''. In the main part 2 ``Monographs'' the families are listed in alphabetical order within the main chapters ``Pteridophyta'', ``Gymnospermae'' and ``Angiospermae''. For each plant covered, the circumstances of the intoxication, symptoms, PII: S 0 0 4 1 - 0 1 0 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 4 3 - 4
proposed treatment, and if possible, the toxic doses are discussed. The author sets great store by mentioning the toxicity in animals. More than 350 plant species are described, most of them represented by excellent drawings. Chemical structures of the plant products are given in clearly arranged schemes. Most worthy of mention is the high number of more than 1300 literature references. The ®nal section of this book contains two appendices, ``Glossary of botanical terms'' and ``Elements of phytochemistry''. This book is written clearly and it is plentiful in information. It provides the reader with well balanced discussions on the subject. The presentation is excellent and the book should certainly ®nd its way to it's audience. It is not only recommendable to botanists, chemists, toxicologists, pharmacists, physicians and veterinarians, but it would also be a useful reference book for the interested layman even if it may be to expensive for him. H.C. Krebs
www.elsevier.com/locate/toxicon
Book Reviews Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants Jean Bruneton, Intercept Ltd, P.O. Box 716, Andover, Hants., UK. (Tel.: +44(0)1264 334748; Website: http://www.intercept.co.uk) 2nd ed. 1999. 1119 pp, 85 illustrations, Hardcover, 199.71 ISBN: 1-898298-63-7 After only four years, the second, revised and expanded (over 200 additional pages) edition of this book, which is a translation into English of the French edition ``Pharmacognosie, phytochimie, plantes meÂdicinales'' has been published in 1999. It is divided into four Parts. Part 1 deals with compounds of primary metabolism, thus with carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, peptides and enzymes. Here, also basic knowledge is imparted. Part 2 is entitled ``Phenolics, Shikimates, Acetates'', Part 3 ``Terpenoids and Steroids'' and Part 4 ``Alkaloids''. As can seen from the titles, the author places chemistry and biochemistry of natural products into the foreground. First the classes of compounds are described, after that the drugs and plants e.g. iridoids and iridoid-containing drugs. The
book develops, for each class, phytochemical generalities, distribution, biosynthesis, extraction and quantitation methods, and biological aspects. A considerable amount of botanical, chemical, analytical, pharmacological, and therapeutic data is gathered into a particularly coherent compilation; for each product, the therapeutic indications and recommended usage are speci®ed. For each chapter, a high number of references are given; nearly 500 recent references represent a valuable starting point for the reader's own literature search. The structure of the book, mostly the sequence of headings, is a little bit confusing. The book ends with an appendix ``Glossary of botanical terms''. This book is written clearly and it is plentiful in information. It provides the reader with well balanced discussions on the subject. The presentation is good and the book should certainly ®nd its way to it's audience. It is recommended to botanists, chemists, toxicologists, pharmacists, physicians and veterinarians. It is also an useful tool for students. H.C. Krebs
PII: S 0 0 4 1 - 0 1 0 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 4 2 - 2
Toxic Plants: Dangerous to Humans and Animals Jean Bruneton, Intercept Ltd, P.O. Box 716, Andover, Hants., UK. (Tel.: +44(0)1264 334748; website: http://www.intercept.co.uk) 1999, 545 pp., 102 illustrations, Hardcover, 149.40 ISBN: 1898298-62-9 This book, which is a translation into English of the French edition ``Plantes toxiques pour l'homme et les animaux'', is divided into two parts. Part 1 deals with general aspects and lists the common causes of plant induced incidents and accidents in humans and animals. The risks are described, in particular those inherent to herbal drugs. The main headings of this part are ``Humans and plants: incidents and accidents associated with plants'', ``Management of plant poisoning'' and ``Intoxications of animals by plants''. In the main part 2 ``Monographs'' the families are listed in alphabetical order within the main chapters ``Pteridophyta'', ``Gymnospermae'' and ``Angiospermae''. For each plant covered, the circumstances of the intoxication, symptoms, PII: S 0 0 4 1 - 0 1 0 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 4 3 - 4
proposed treatment, and if possible, the toxic doses are discussed. The author sets great store by mentioning the toxicity in animals. More than 350 plant species are described, most of them represented by excellent drawings. Chemical structures of the plant products are given in clearly arranged schemes. Most worthy of mention is the high number of more than 1300 literature references. The ®nal section of this book contains two appendices, ``Glossary of botanical terms'' and ``Elements of phytochemistry''. This book is written clearly and it is plentiful in information. It provides the reader with well balanced discussions on the subject. The presentation is excellent and the book should certainly ®nd its way to it's audience. It is not only recommendable to botanists, chemists, toxicologists, pharmacists, physicians and veterinarians, but it would also be a useful reference book for the interested layman even if it may be to expensive for him. H.C. Krebs