Pdr? For Herbal Medicines - Review

PDR[R] FOR HERBAL MEDICINES Thomas Fleming, chief ed. 1998; 1244 pp. $59.95. Medical Economics Company.

There is more to healing than medical science, and more to herbalism than chemistry and pharmacology. That said (and assuming the student maintains relations with the herbal communities and their publications), this is a wonderful and welcome book.

Produced by the publishers of the Physicians Desk Reference, PDR for Herbal Medicines is an ambitious attempt to separate scientific from anecdotal evidence. A stated purpose is to provide doctors with a reference so they can better advise patients asking about specific herbal remedies. The publishers claim that the book is "the closest available analog to FDA-approved labeling." The book is mostly based on the monographs of the German Regulatory Authority, "Commission E." While some herbalists have questioned the Authority's authority, the information seems to me to be a clear step above earlier American attempts such the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, which is almost useless for assessing the effectiveness of an herb for a particular condition.

The book lists more than 600 plants by scientific name. Each listing has sections covering actions and pharmacology; indications and usage; contraindications; precautions and adverse reactions; overdosage; dosage; and literature.

A wealth of indexes immensely increases the usefulness of an already useful book, beginning with indexes for scientific and common names, and for indications (including, for example, nineteen subcategories under "pain"). Next is an index of therapeutic categories (I found Artemisia absinthium, one of my favorite plants, listed under "appetite stimulants"; oddly, I did not find Cannabis there, though it appears under several other headings, such as "antispasmotics'). The side-effects index and a drug/herb interactions guide are alone worth much of the price of the book. In the latter I learned that yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, interacts with MAO inhibitors to increase blood pressure, and that ginkgo should not be taken with antiarrhythmics.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Point Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group