Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine The Definitive Home Reference

Good Resource
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Good resource book on hundreds of medicinal herbs. This is a book I use to determine whether a particular plant has medicinal uses or not. It is also good to find the actions and uses of less common medicinal herbs. For the more common medicinal herbs, I turn to other books as this one is not thorough enough for me. Good book to have for the herbalist and is one of my texts for clinical herbal medicine.

A great source of Knolege !
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Excellent book with a great pictures.Very accurate.A piece of art mixed with a great database of medicinal plants and wonderful reviews about it.

Very high recommended for beginners and professionals.

Good, but still lacking
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I bought this book looking for a complete reference book for herbals for my family. I have two young boys, and it has been very challenging finding at home remedies for them when they have been sick. I don’t like making too many trips to the doctor’s office if I don’t have to, and I’m more of a hands off, let nature take it’s course kinda gal. However, when the boys or my husband are sick, I like to have something on hand that’s not the most potent OTC you can buy, or even the herbal mixes they sell at the health food stores unless I am certain that what’s in there is going to do no harm, and actually help them. That being said, this book falls short of what I was looking for. The full color pages are nice, and there is quite a bit of information available on each herb represented. It is also nice that there is a special section on kids in the back which tells you what the proper dosage is for little ones. However, I am concerned to find very little information on contraindications or cautions, for instance, herbs you should never take if you are pregnant are not noted except in a small section in the back. Kind of an awkward way to read the book. Specifically, the herb Lobelia has no mention of the fact that many herbalists don’t use it because large doses can be fatal…might be good to know, eh? The organization is weird for the lay person (by scientific name), and there are some commonly found herbs in herbal remedies I have bought before that are not listed in the book. Overall, maybe good to have on hand, but not the one reference book you must have.

A heral magic
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love this book. I use its medicine for almost everything from headaches to stomachaches. I would remained this book to anyone looking to an alternate root for medicine.

Natural Health-Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I like the book. It shows different remedies that the plant can provide for any problems such as: headaches, mentrual cramps, fatigue, diarrhea, you name it. And it shows how you can make the remedies at home. Buy it, It’s a really good book!

What a reference!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is truly a desktop herbal and a necessary addition to any budding homeopaths library. Comprehensive, informative, historical and multicultural, I highly recommend this encyclopedia to anyone interested in herbology. Full color photographs of almost every herb, description, properties, uses, preparations and common misconceptions all laid out in a well indexed and easy to read format. You will not regret this purchase!

Beautiful as well as informative
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This book is organized in an easy to use logical manor. A lot of information with beautiful illustrations for each herb are in easy to view sections and all on one page. Step by Step instructions on how to make products are easy to understand and follow. The Historical section is an added bonus. There is a number of different glossaries and indexes so things may be looked up in different ways (e.g.: by ailment or plant name)that may bit confusing until you get use to it. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to anyone. It is a beautiful and informative addition to any library.

Best Herbal Encyclopedia I’ve come across!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I absolutely LOVE this book! I’ve had it for several years, and have given numerous copies away to friends and family including my own family doctor. My father was the one to first come across it in one of those discount book stores many years ago, and once I saw it I was hooked.

It is thourough and well written, and the lay-out is fantastic. It is so easy to read. Some of the reviews have complained about the fact that it is an alphabetical listing of plants/herbs as opposed to ailments/diseases, but this is what makes it great in my opinion. Often a particular plant has several therapeutic benefits, so it is nicer to read about one plant at a time (and less confusing, in my opinion). I disagree that it is difficult to find things, as the index also contains the common names of the plants as well as an index of ailments. Towards the back of the book there are ailment groups such as women’s health problems and pregnancy, Cold & Flu, Allergies/hayfever, Digestive ailments/nausea, Respiratory ailments, and more, where you have a bunch of the most useful herbs for each group of ailments listed.

It’s also a great book to sit down and flip through when you have a minute to read or rest. You can flip it open to a random page and read all about that particular plant. It’s all very facinating and useful information. I use this book all the time. Whenever someone complains of pain or discomfort, I look it up in my trusted Herbal Encyclopedia and see if there’s anything around the house I can use.

Some of the herbs I use more regularily are Camomile for stomach cramping, ground Ginger and Tumeric for nausea or stomach pain, Cardamon for gas, abdominal discomfort or if I need to burp, Rosemary for energy, Lemon juice in warm water for an internal shower of the digestive system…. to mention a few.

I also see a naturopath and take quite a few herbal mixes and supplements due to CFS, and being able to come home and look up why I’m taking each and every thing is great, and helps with compliance.

I’m actually looking for some new herbal books, as this one of course doesn’t contain every possible medicinal plant (thought it comes close), but I haven’t found one that comes close to this one. Highly recommend it to anyone. Especially great if you have children as it is a great reference guide when someone isn’t feeling well. Why use synthetic drugs when there is an effective yet gentle natural alternative! A total joy to read and always useful! Definitely 5 stars.

Yes it is an Encyclodedia.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Book Report:

The Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine by Andrew Chevallier, FNIMH

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley, Limited

I first decided to buy the book in hopes that it would be a good, up to the minute, desk reference on Medicinal Herbs. It turned out to be a little more of a text book to study by and what some book publishers call a coffee table book. A coffee table book is a book as large as a magazine, hardbound and full of color pictures, which would be entertaining even to people not interested in the subject yet. It is a good study help because of the sections in the back on how to use and administer herbs.

The first section tells about how medicinal herbs work by affecting different systems of the body with a number of chemicals working together to effect change. The book does divide the body’s system up a little differently than the Heart of Herbs Course, Making it a little confusing for those of us trying to study both texts at the same time. The authors system is:

The Skin, using herbs that are Antiseptic, Astringent and depurative.

Immune System, using herbs that are Immune stimulants

Respiratory System, using herbs that are Antiseptic, antibiotic, Expectorant,

Demulcent, and spasmolytics

Endocrine Glands using herbs that are adaptogens, hormonally active, and

Emmenagogues

Urinary System, using herbs that are antiseptic, astringent and diuretic.

Musculoskeletal System using herbs that are analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, and

Antispasmotic.

Nervous System using herbs that are nerviness, relaxants, stimulants and tonics.

Circulation and heart using herbs that are cardiotonics, circulatory stimulants,

Diaphoretics, and spasmolytics.

And the Digestive Organs using antiseptics, astringents, cholagogues, choleretics

Demulcents, hepatics, laxatives and stomachics.

Having all of the systems spread out with the medicinal actions associated with each one helps me to understand the medicinal action a little better.

The next section explains active constituents. I never noticed it before but these active ingredients are arranged in ten basic classes: Phenols, Volatile Oils, Flavonoids, Tannins, Proanthocyanins, Coumarins, Saponins, Anthraquinones, Cardiac Glycosides, Cyanogenic Glycosides, Polysaccharides, Glucosilinates, Bitters, Alkaloids, Vitamins and minerals. The last two, most of us all ready understand.

After a short discussion on quality control of herbs, there is a long history of Herbalism. People have been using herbs at least since 3000 BC, in Egypt, the Middle East, India and China. In the early times, Herbalism was connected to spiritualism, but it began to break away about 500BC. Hippocrates (460-377 BC) believed that an illness was a natural rather than a supernatural occurrence. Herbalism was well founded by trade between Europe and Asia through India and the Middle East from 300 to 600 BC. In Europe up through the so-called dark ages, people seemed to have a very good understanding of Herbalism. On the other side of the world an Herbalism tradition developed in the Maya, Aztec and Inca Civilizations unbeknownst to the Europeans.

Between 1000 and 1400 AD, Universities, Hospitals and Medical schools were established which used Herbalism and in that time period Herbal medicine was the only medicine. International trade during the middle ages contributed to the development of herbal tradition, by making formerly exotic herbs available everywhere. Following the discovery of digitalis in the herb foxglove by Dr. William Withering, in 1795, techniques were developed to extract the chemicals out of herbs in order to use the basic medicines and gain better control over quality.

From the early 19th century, laboratory produced medicines began to supplant mother nature as a source of medications. In 1803, narcotic alkaloids were extracted from opium poppies and a year later insulin was extracted form Elecampane, and in 1838 salicylic acid (Aspirine) was extracted from willow bark. From 1850 to 1900, conventional medicine established it’s own monopoly by trying to outlaw the use of medicines by any one not trained in a medical school.

As late as 1930, 90% of the medicines sold in drug stores, were of herbal origin, but in the last 50 years synthetic chemicals have taken over the medical industry. Now the tide is beginning to turn back toward Herbalism, due in part to bad mistakes and bad experiences in the use of chemicals such as thalidomide and in the poor state of health in Western Societies.

The next section of the book deals with the various herbal traditions, which have developed in such places as Europe, India, China, Africa, Australia, North America, and South America. Each location developed a slightly different tradition based on local tradition, religion and plants, as a combination of what was locally grown and what was brought in from other parts of the world.

The center section of the book is what I really wanted. It is divided into two parts, the first is a Materia Medica of the 100 most used herbs in detail with full color pictures of the herbs and the preparations. The habitat, constituents, actions, traditional and current uses are covered for each herb. The next section has another 450 herbs in it that are less commonly used or used only in a few places. The same type of information is included but not in such great detail as in the previous section. The only drawback to the Materia Medica sections is that the herbs are in alphabetical order but only by their Latin names.

The first herb is `Yarrow’, because the Latin name for the plant is: Achillea millefolium and that is first in the alphabet. That would decrease the value of the book as a reference tool except that there is a General Index beginning on page 323 that lists all of the herbs in the book by their common names, even for the herb that have more than one common name. When I looked up Yarrow, it gave me page 56, in bold type, and that is where the material medica for Achillea millefolium is located.

I don’t usually read an index to a book unless I am using it as a reference, but in this book, I noticed that behind the General Index is an Index of Herbs by Ailment. In this index, one can look up an ailment like Blood Pressure, High and be directed to: Blackcurrant 261, Buckwheat 301, eggplant 270, Garlic 301, 319, Ginger 301, Ginkgo 102, Hawthorn 90, Indian Snake root 260, mistletoe 283, olive 240. That index may be worth the $25.00 that the book costs to someone who is practicing as an herbalist trying to choose an herb to recommend for a particular ailment, especially if one herb does not help and a new one must be chosen.

In between the herb (material medica) sections and the index, there is a section giving the procedures for making infusions, decoctions, Tinctures (they make no difference between Tinctures and Extracts), ointments, creams and poultices. The procedures are very well illustrated as is the rest of the book, but the only thing new that they add is the use of a wine press to separate the oil or alcohol from the herbs after the infusion or extraction process. The last section before the index is an abbreviated guide of health problems and the herbal remedies that can be used to treat each group of problems.

I would recommend this book to just about any one but a very experienced herbalist. It is entertaining, easy to understand, and very informative.

liked the pictures–not easy to read/use
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
There is alot of information about the herbs and what forms they are best used in. It was hard to figure out what they should or should not be used for and finding an herb you are looking for is nearly impossible without knowing specific names. The listings are under the scientific name making it hard for someone like me just starting to learn to find anything in the book.

Herbs
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am taking a medicinal botany class and was not satisfied with the information the text book gave me and wanted to know more I saw this book and ordered it. I love it. It is a must have for someone interested in herbs even my instructor found it helpful. I also ended up ordering two more for classmates.

I bought “used” and received brand new!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was very pleasantly surprised that “terisongs” could send my beautiful book so fast and for so little cash. $21.69 is all I paid for this amazing book. It is often referrenced in my Foundation’s herbal class. Quite the eye candy book for all herb lovers!