Chinese Medicinal Plants, Herbal Drugs and Substitutes

“Herbal drug ingredients (materia medica) are pivotal to the practice of herbal Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), an integral component of China’s national healthcare system.” After this introduction, the authors of Chinese Medicinal Plants, Herbal Drugs and Substitutes: An Identification Guide discuss the rising global demand for these medicinal plants and their drugs and the need for their proper identification and descriptions in English.

I first read this book with some skepticism. Is it just a well-produced guide to medicines based on folklore? Several facts changed my opinion.

All identified drugs are in the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China as compiled by that country’s Ministry of Health. The authors are at two prestigious organizations that worked together for fifteen years on this project. Christine Leon is at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Lin Yu-Lin is at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. This collaboration and the depth of scholarship convinced me of the academic merit of this work.

This is not a small field guide. Large in physical dimensions and over 800 pages, it is a major reference work describing both the living plants and the harvested and prepared parts used in medicine. The cross-referencing, especially between Chinese and Western traditions, is extensive. I recommend it to anyone working with or interested in traditional Chinese medicine.

Published in the June 2018 edition of Leaflet for Scholars, Volume 5, Issue 6.