| European
Tropical Forest Research Network |
Review PROTA Medicinal plants 1 By: Tinde van Andel* Medicinal plants 1 is the first of Prota’s four volumes describing medicinal plants of tropical Africa. Compiled by a large number of contributors, many of whom from African countries, this book will be very useful for anyone working with or interested in African medicinal plants. It includes detailed descriptions of 134 wild, cultivated and domesticated medicinal plant species, with distribution maps and small, but clear line drawings. Much effort is made to provide reader-friendly information on the bioactive compounds of these plants and possible links between traditional use and pharmacological activity. The paragraphs on trade, propagation, management and handling after harvest, often derived from inaccessible ‘grey literature’ are also quite useful. The inclusion criteria of species in this volume are not entirely clear to the reader. Accounts of 272 plants of minor importance are given without maps or drawings, and another 488 species with limited medicinal use are shortly mentioned. Why are these lesser important species included in the book, while other widely used and internationally traded medicinal species like Prunus africana and Tetrapleura tetraptera are left out? Fortunately, these missing species can be found in the excellent on-line database Protabase (http://database.prota.org/search.htm). Field guides on useful plants always attract a large, non-scientist audience, including decision-makers in politics and rural development. These readers form a target group of the PROTA project, but are in general less familiar with botanical descriptions. They will be disappointed by the limited number of drawings and local names, and the absence of an index of illnesses and a glossary that explains medical terms like dyspepsia and schistosomiasis. For some species (e.g., Microdesma puberula), a very detailed wood anatomical description is given, which is of limited interest to people looking for medicinal plants. Such information would be more appropriate in the Timber volumes. The remaining space could then be used to include more drawings or species. Some general Genus information (e.g. “Croton comprises around 1200 species…”) is often repeated for each species, while it could be mentioned once, at the beginning of the Genus, to save space. The CD-Rom is useful for those without access to the on-line Protabase. The scanned drawings are, however, of lesser quality than those in the book. Because of its accurate scientific information, clear drawings, English and French edition and reasonable price, this book would be well-suited for students, scientists, practitioners working in the field of rural development or conservation, or any other person interested in the fascinating African medicinal Flora. *PhD. National Herbarium of the Netherlands, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. E-mail: T.R.vanAndel@uu.nl |
Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 11(1). Medicinal Plants 1. 791p. G.H. Schmelzer and A. Gurib-Fakim (eds.). PROTA Foundation / Backhuys Publishers / CTA. P.O. Box 380, 6700 AJ Wageningen, the Netherlands. Ressources végétales de lÁfrique tropicale 11(1). 869 p. G.H. Schmelzer and A. Gurib-Fakim (eds.). Plantes médicinales 1. Fondation PROTA / Backhuys Publishers / CTA. P.O. Box 380, 6700 AJ Wageningen, Pays-Bas. |