CRC Press Assessment of Medicinal Plants for Human Health: Phytochemistry, Disease Management, and Novel Applications (Innovations in Plant Science for Better Health)

This volume looks at the importance of medicinal plants and their potential benefits for human health, providing insight with scientific evidence on the use of functional foods in the treatment and management of certain diseases. Divided into four sections, the volume covers the assessment and identification of medicinal plants, the role of medicinal plants in disease management, the ethnobotany and phytochemistry of medicinal plants, and novel applications of plants.  Assessment of Medicinal Plants for Human Health: Phytochemistry, Disease Management, and Novel Applications sheds light on the potential of certain plants and will be of value to faculty and advanced-level students of natural products, food science, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, and biochemistry. It will also be of interest to researchers in the area of drug discovery and development. About the Author Megh R. Goyal, PhD, PE, is a Retired Professor in Agricultural and Biomedical Engineering from the General Engineering Department in the College of Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico–Mayaguez Campus; and Senior Acquisitions Editor and Senior Technical Editor-in-Chief in Agriculture and Biomedical Engineering for Apple Academic Press Inc. He has worked as a Soil Conservation Inspector and as a Research Assistant at Haryana Agricultural University and Ohio State University. He was the first agricultural engineer to receive the professional license in Agricultural Engineering in 1986 from the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico. On September 16, 2005, he was proclaimed as “Father of Irrigation Engineering in Puerto Rico for the twentieth century” by the ASABE, Puerto Rico Section, for his pioneering work on micro irrigation, evapotranspiration, agroclimatology, and soil and water engineering. During his professional career of 45 years, he has received many prestigious awards. A prolific author and editor, he has written more than 200 journal articles and several textbooks and has edited over 60 books. He received his BSc degree in engineering from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India; his MSc and PhD degrees from Ohio State University, Columbus; and his Master of Divinity degree from Puerto Rico Evangelical Seminary, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, USA. Durgesh Nandini Chauhan, MPharm, has several years of academic (teaching) experience at institutes in India in pharmaceutical sciences. She taught subjects such as pharmaceutics, pharmacognosy, traditional concepts of medicinal plants, drug delivery, phytochemistry, cosmetic technology, pharmaceutical engineering, pharmaceutical packaging, quality assurance, dosage form designing, and anatomy and physiology. She is a member of the Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India, SILAE: Società Italo-Latinoamericana di Etnomedicina (The Scientific Network on Ethnomedicine, Italy), and others. Her previous research work included “Penetration Enhancement Studies on Organogel of Oxytetracycline HCL.” She has attended several workshops, conferences, and symposiums, including the AICTE-Sponsored Staff Development Program on “Effects  of Teaching and Learning Skills in Pharmacy: Tool for Improvement of Young Pharmacy Teachers.” She has written more than ten articles published in national and international journals, 13 book chapters, and two books: Optimization and Evaluation of an Organogel and Plant- and Marine- Based Phytochemicals for Human Health: Attributes, Potential, and Use (Apple Academic Press). She is also active as a reviewer for several international scientific journals and an active participant at national and international conferences, including Bhartiya Vigyan Sammelan and the International Convention of the Society of Pharmacognosy. Presently she joined the Ishita Research Organization, Raipur, India as a freelance writer and guide for students in pharmacy, Ayurvedic, and science in their research projects. Mrs. Chauhan earned her BPharm degree in pharmacy