Herb-drug Interactions in Oncology

Book excerpt: The book provides science-based information about herbal remedies, other dietary supplements, and non-mainstream products promoted as cancer treatments for the medical community. Each herb or remedy description is accompanied by information as to its origin, most common uses, benefits, and risks/dangers. The book will provide detailed information on over 250 remedies and describes their constituents, mechanisms of action, adverse reactions, pharmacokinetics, and contraindications. Information on each herb or other remedy was developed through careful and critical reviews of research conducted by experts in pharmacy, botanicals, and complementary therapies. Each herb or product is described in terms of the following sections: common name, scientific name, key words, clinical summary, herbal constituents, warnings, mechanisms of action, usage, adverse reactions, drug interactions, dosage, literature summary and critique, and notes. This book has the look and feel of a fine field guide to medicinal plants, thanks to the beautiful drawings by Angela Donato, and it will be of interest to a wide audience beyond the medical specialists, including cancer patients.