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This book contains information on 600 species of plants used in the preparation
of Chinese medicines. In order to help the reader gain a deeper understanding
of these plants, each entry includes a color illustration of a plant in
its natural habitat and a description of the plant in Chinese. The description
of each Chinese medicine includes its official name, alternate names, origins,
characteristics, geographic distribution, collection and processing, constituents,
pharmacological actions, indications, and clinical applications The Chinese
medicines described in this book are grouped according to family. The families
are ordered after the Iconographia Cormothytorum Siniscrum from lower to
higher level. Within each family, plants are organized alphabetically according
to the Latin spelling of the scientific names of their genus and species.
The official names given in this book are, in general, taken from the commonly
used name for each Chinese medicine, such as Rehmanniae Radix, Platycodonis
Radix, Glybotanical name of each source plant is given and the name of the
Chinese medicine follows in parentheses, e. g., Prunus persica (Persicae
semen), Prunus davidiana (Persicae semen), or Arisaema erubescens (Arisaematis
rhizoma ) and Pinellia pedatisecta (Arisaematis rhizoma). If a plant's roots,
fruit, rhizomes, and tubers are all used to make Chineese medicines, they
are listed under one official name and subsidiary names are included in
parentheses, thus explaining that the different parts of one plant are used
to produce more than one kind of Chinese medicine, e. g., Sophorae Flos
Immaturus (Sophorae Fructus ). In the case of popular remedies, either the
popular name or the commonly-known plant name is used. Alternate names.
Common alternate names from different parts of China for each medicinal
plant are provided, though space constraints limits these to the most common
names only. Origins. Scientifically records the family and botanical name
of each plant and indicates the part or parts used for medicine. Characteristics.
Describes in morphological detail the plant from which each Chinese medicine
is taken and the special characteristics of the parts that are used. Geographic
distribution. Records the growing environment in the wild for each plant
or conditions for cultivation, as well as a summary of its geographic distribution
in China. Geographic distribution is divided into major regions such as
provinces south of the Yangtze River, the Northeast, the Southwest, and
so on, though distribution for most plants is listed by province. Collection
and processing. Describes the seasons for and methods of collecting each
plant, and outlines the ways in which plants are processed and refined. Constituents. Describes the main chemical and active components of each
medicinal plant. Pharmacological actions. Describes the properties and
actions of various preparations, extracts, and active ingredients of each
plant on animals. Indications. Describes the flavor, properties, major
functions, uses and dosages of each Chinese medicine and notes its toxicity
and incompatibilities. Clinical applications. Provides a summary of the
use of each Chinese medicine in both traditional formulas and modern clinical
applications for treating specific illnesses. Also describes experiences
with popular applications.
For ease in locating information, this book includes a full table of contents
and has indices organized by scientific and Chinese names (stroke-count
index and alphabetic index).
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