Journal of Ethnopharmacology 129 (2010) 140
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm
Book review
Trease & Evans’ Pharmacognosy, 16th ed., W.C. Evans. Saunders
Ltd., Elsevier, Edinburgh, UK (2009). ix+ 603 pp., bibliogra-
phy, index, 230 figures of chemical drawings and schemes,
279 × 219 mm. ISBN: 978-0-7020-2933-2. International Edition
ISBN: 978-07020-2934-9. £72.99/D 83.99/$122.00 (hardcover). E-
book ISBN: 978-07020-4129-7. £69.99/D 80.99/$122.00
Trease & Evans’ Pharmacognosy is now a worldwide classic as a
pharmacognosy textbook, was first published in 1934, and seven
years after the previous edition this 16th revised and updated edi-
tion is now available It is edited by William C. Evans, with the
assistance of Daphne Evans it also includes contributions by 10
authors.
As in the previous editions with its encyclopedic, multi-
disciplinary and comprehensive style, it bridges all aspects of
biosciences, Materia Medica, pharmacognosy and a wide spectrum
of natural product research. Using a botanico-systematic approach,
plant drugs are at the focus, but also animal and microbial sources
as drugs from nature are presented in detail.
The new edition of Pharmacognosy contains more than 600
pages and 230 figures with eight main parts constituted of 43 chap-
ters. The book includes a very comprehensive index of 33 pages
with more than 7100 index entities, which is very useful feature
for quick individual “key word” searches. Especially, plant names,
families, chemical names and formulae are well indexed. The eight
parts have 2–16 individual chapters, which also have subheadings.
Most of the chapters have an organized “Further Reading” section
with update references. Cross indexing throughout the book is fre-
quent and important references such as reviews and books are cited
within the chapter paragraphs, which is also very useful for further
research.The main parts of the book are:
(1) Introduction,
(2) The Plant and Animal Kingdoms as Sources of Drugs,
(3) Principles Related to the Commercial Production, Quality and
Standardization of Natural Products,
(4) Phytochemistry,
(5) Pharmacopoeial and Related Drugs of Biological Origin,
(6) Plants in Complementary and Traditional Systems of Medicine,
(7) Nonmedicinal Toxic Plants and Pesticides, and finally,
(8) Morphological and Microscopical Examination of Drugs,
respectively.
Part 5 constitutes the largest volume and includes16 individ-
ual chapters and more than 300 pages. Generally each chapter
varies from 2 to 24 pages. Chemical formula, schemes and illustra-
0378-8741/$ – see front matter
doi:10.1016/j.jep.2010.03.001
tions, biosynthetic pathways to natural products consolidate the
information provided. Also high quality microscopical drawings
support the knowledge on crude and powdered drug charac-
terization and examinations along with modern phytochemical
and pharmacological aspects. Themes such as ethnopharmacol-
ogy, commercial plant drug production, nutraceuticals, coloring
and flavouring agents and quality control are also covered.
Advances and developments in topics such as genetic finger-
printing, British as well as European Pharmacopeia methods and
monographs, Complementary and Traditional systems such as Tra-
ditional Chinese Medicines, Asian and African Drugs, as well as their
quality and standardization, and discovery of new lead compounds
in pharmaceutical research covered with updated references and
information. The book also provides basic illustrative details on
plant morphology, anatomy, and plant taxonomy. Also features
of the families of flowering plants and their products, metabolic
pathways and important secondary metabolites are useful.
The book is really a masterpiece after 75 years of work and regu-
lar improvement. All contributors with their chapters are also a part
of a stunning mosaic. The quality of schemes, individual structures
with stereochemistry is almost perfect. However, in some instances
inconsistency of some chemical formulae drawings (e.g. in Chapter
18, Table 19.4, Fig. 19.6, 21.15) drawings is distracting as a minor
criticism. Also drawings of some flowering plant drugs would be
a nice supplement even better with color photos and illustrations
according to the subject which are missing in my opinion.
Being a member of the pharmacognosy family, obviously this
excellent book is an obligatory reference for me. I strongly recom-
mend it not only to my colleagues, but also to all who are involved
in pharmacy education at various levels such as undergraduate
or postgraduate teaching. Furthermore, I recommend this book to
all who are working and who are interested in medicinal natural
product related research such as medicinal chemistry, biochem-
istry, natural products chemistry and for scientists in medicine and
biosciences. The audience of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology will
also benefit from vast pharmacognosy information provided in this
book. It is definitely worth its price, which is affordable and also
available as an e-book.
Fatih Demirci
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy,
Anadolu University, 26470 Eskişehir, Turkey
E-mail address: fdemirci@anadolu.edu.tr
Available online 17 March 2010