Medical botany - plants affecting man's health PDF
Preview Medical botany - plants affecting man's health
MEDICAL BOTANY PLANTS AFFECTING MAN’S HEALTH MEDICAL BOTANY PLANTS AFFECTING MAN’S HEALTH WALTER H. LEWIS Professor of Biology, Washington University Senior Botanist, Missouri Botanical Carden MEMORY P. F. ELVIN-LEWIS Associate Professor and Chairman of Dental Microbiology Washington University St. Louis, Missouri A WILEY-INTERSCIENCE PUBLICATION JOHN WILEY & Sons, New York • London • Sydney • Toronto Copyright © 1977 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, nor transmitted, nor translated into a machine language without the written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data: Lewis, Walter Hepworth. Medical botany. “A Wiley-lnterscience publication.” Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Botany, Medical. 2. Materia medica, Vegetable. I. Elvin-Lewis, Memory P. F., 1933- joint author. II. Title. [DNLM: 1. Plants, Medicinal. QV766 L677m] RS164.L475 615'.32 76-44376 ISBN 0-471-53320-3 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 To our Parents Florence† and John Wilfred May Winnifred and Richard James† Preface Medical Botany is designed to bring into perspective the massive knowledge ac quired by man to retain his health by us ing the plants around him. Man’s survival has been dependent on his innate curiosity, his desire to examine by trial and error all aspects of his environment, and to conclude, for example, which ma terials are remedial, which ones are harmful, and which give him the greatest nourishment. This legacy exists today, but it is only partially utilized in our endless quest for well-being. During the past century, the extraor dinary results of research have unques tionably led to the success at an ex ponential rate that the practitioner of cosmopolitan (modern) medicine now enjoys. However, the nearly exclusive use of this research-oriented approach, with little regard for data acquired through the empirical method, has served to delay the application of many potential benefits. For example, it is unfortunate that man’s first cosmopolitan tranquilizer derived from Rauvolfia did not come into general use until 1952, despite the long history of its use in Ayurvedic medicine in India, or that cromolyn, the miraculous prophylactic drug for asthma, has only recently been introduced, though its use in the form of Ammi seeds was part of Bedouin folk medicine for centuries. The rarity of these discoveries is understandable, however, for it is not always easy to retrieve such information from the many meaningless folk remedies. Whereas a few centuries ago the physician was also trained in botany, vii viii PREFACE few medical scientists nowadays have this This book may also be used by under appreciation. Thus their search for graduate students, particularly those medically useful elements seldom com planning medical or paramedical careers bines the ability to distinguish chemical and those having an appreciation for compounds for medical value with the natural history and a sensitivity for envi ability to recognize the relationship of ronmental phenomena. It is based on a plants used medically by different cul course, taught at Washington University tures. Clearly, empirical selection has led by the authors, which lends itself to a to studies resulting in the isolation and team approach with the course master use of important active principles and trained in botany. Students having mul these, together with synthetic derivatives tidisciplinary interests beyond biology of natural products, are an important and medicine have found the course source of our therapeutic armament. Na valuable while studying psychology and ture is still mankind’s greatest chemist, anthropology, as have those taking liberal and many compounds that remain undis arts and general studies programs. The covered in plants are beyond the content of Medical Botany provides an imagination of even our best scientists. interface between the more pre We hope that by bringing together in professional course and that designed formation gleaned from both cosmo for a liberal educational experience. politan and herbal medicine, we will en Plants relating to man’s health fall into courage future discoveries along these three categories: those which injure, lines. those which heal and nourish, and those Botanical sources for new drugs may which alter the conscious mind. Our seem endless, but are they? Should man book is divided on this basis into three not be concerned with the rapid destruc sections, for normally a plant may be tion of our vegetation, particularly in placed in one of these groups with little tropical regions containing the greatest difficulty. In a minority of cases, however, diversity of plants, often in limited quan typical characterization of a plant’s tities? Many species may be irretrievably activity as injurious, remedial, or lost now or in another generation. The psychoactive is questionable; for ex answer is obvious, but those interested in ample, it may depend entirely on the natural history, conservation, and concentration or amount of the plant ex medicine must do their utmost to tract being used. Thus some plants ap prevent the extinction of even a single pear in two or even three categories; in species that might contain a compound these cases, the index should be helpful invaluable to man’s well-being. in locating the organism. We recognize that our attraction to Some compounds that are not wholly self-medication has made us vulnerable natural (semisynthetic) or even synthetic to exploitation by those who foster the are included, to ensure presentation of a use of natural substances without more complete discussion. Very often the reasonable knowledge of their scientific synthetic compounds have been pat value. Therefore it is necessary to take terned after those found in nature, and it away some of the mystique, dealing ob seems logical to discuss barbiturates in jectively with the many facets involved relation to naturally occurring de and teaching the reader who lacks pressants or amphetamines in any dis medical training the language describing cussion of stimulants. more fully the implications of such Generally each chapter introduces the activities. subject through a brief historical account PREFACE ix and/or statistical review; there follows a with the most advanced plants, all of short, reasonably nontechnical descrip them flowering. Since the majority of tion of the system on which the plant de plants with known medical properties are rivatives react, including where appro found among this advanced group, we priate their microbial infections, and also have arranged them in a phylogenetic an account of the plants’ uses in cosmo system, to permit the reader to obtain politan (orthodox) medicine both now some idea of their relationship. This may and in the past. Finally, most chapters be of considerable practical importance contain a section on herbology that for those interested in compounds com describes the plants employed in mon to the plants brought together by domestic or indigenous medicine. this system. Usually this is a random sample from the The plants and animals are usually vast array of plants being used referred to by their vernacular (common) domestically around the world, in addi and scientific names, often including tion to our emphasis on those utilized by both specific (binomial) and familial North American Indians. However, this designations. Authorities for taxa are not selection in no way implies any particular given, but the authors for most species efficacy. Pertinent research literature included may be found in either Bergey’s concludes each chapter; additional Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, references to broadly useful herbals and 8th edition, 1974, or JCT Uphof’s Dic medically oriented botanical texts are tionary of Economic Plants, 2nd edition, found in Appendix II. 1968. A difficulty for most individuals reading This book, which is directed to all about many organisms under a single those concerned with man’s health, topic is an understanding of what is being should be useful to the physician and the included and how the material is or biologist and interesting to the layman. ganized and categorized. Our broad We hope that our approach will stimulate definition of plants includes not only worldwide interdisciplinary studies of those which are usually green and are plants in relation to the health of man. classified into major groups from the seaweeds to the flowering plants, but also WALTER H. LEWIS those which are not characteristically MEMORY P. F. ELVIN-LEWIS green. These include the bacteria and fungi. All major taxa referred to in the text are listed in Appendix I beginning St. Louis, Missouri with the most primitive forms and ending July 1976
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