The Western Herbal Tradition: 2000 Years of Medicinal Plant Knowledge

Description

By Graeme Tobyn
Trade paperback book
ISBN 9781848193062
378 pages, 8.00 x 10.00″

This work is a comprehensive and critical exploration of the use of plant medicines through two thousand years of history, from Dioscorides to the present day. It follows each of 27 herbs through a wide range of key sources from European, Arabic, and American traditions including Greek, Roman, and Renaissance texts. A rich discussion of the historical texts is balanced with current applications and research. Each illustrated monograph contains information on species, identification, and botanical description; characterization and medicinal use drawn from featured herbals; consideration of traditional therapeutic approaches; current evidence on pharmacological constituents; review of evidence on safety; recommendations for internal and external uses; prescribing; and dosage.

The Western Herbal Tradition provides a comprehensive and critical exploration of the use of plant medicines through 2000 years of history from Dioscorides to the present day. It follows each of the 27 herbs through a wide range of key sources from European, Arabic and American traditions including Greek, Roman and Renaissance texts. A rich discussion of the historical texts is balanced with current application and research.

• The herbs have been selected on the basis of common use by practicing herbalists.
• Each illustrated monograph contains:
• Species, identification and botanical description
• A study of the characterisation and medicinal use of the plants consistently drawn from featured herbals which includes the author’s own translations from the Latin
• Assessment of past and current texts in the transmission of herbal knowledge
• Consideration of traditional therapeutics, including humoral and physiomedical approaches
• Suggestions towards a modern experimental approach through Goethean methodology
• Current evidence on pharmacological constituents
• Review of evidence on safety
• Recommendations for internal and external uses, prescribing and dosage