Ethnobotany : The Renaissance of Traditional Herbal Medicine/Rajiv K. Sinha. 1996, 242 p., 16 plates, figs., tables, $32.
Contents: Preface. 1. Ethnobotany : biological contribution of the ethnic society to the modern man. 2. The renaissance of traditional herbal medicine. 3. Ethnobotanical documentation of traditional herbal medicine : from past to the present. A Methodology of study. 5. Ethnobotany of medicinal herbs and their products. 6. The genesis of herbal treatment given by the herbal vendors. 7. Scientific assessment of traditional herbal medicines and treatment given by the herbal vendors. 8. Summary, emerging ideas, observations and suggestions. References. Tools of investigation. Appendix: Summary of some papers published on "Medical Ethnobotany" by the author in some Scientific Journals of India. Author Index. Subject index. Index of important medicinal herbs.
"The book is based on the original research of the author. The herbal vendors are "barefoot doctors" giving door to door medical service. They are descendants of primitive tribal communities of Central India who have acquired knowledge about herbal medicine from their forefathers through accumulated experience and often through experimentations upon themselves.
"The plants and plant products used by the herbal vendors as medicines; their biochemical compounds responsible for the biological action; and the diseases in which they are used as a cure have been recorded. A noteworthy feature is the scientific assessment of the herbal treatment given by herbal vendors which has stood to the test of modern investigations thus justifying their role in community health-care system." (jacket)