Psychoactive Medicinal Plants and Fungal Neurotoxins

Book excerpt: This book provides a clear and comprehensive overview of psychoactive medicinal plants, explaining in detail the species that are most commonly used in medicine, and describing their mechanism of action, the implicated toxin, clinical manifestation and therapeutic role. It explores the recent research in the area of psychoactive medicinal plants and fungal neurotoxins, and presents the various biochemical pathways involved and the bioactive targets. The book also discusses the current literature in the field, including the latest methodology used to identify the active compounds, their pharmacological and physiological properties along with their clinical efficacy. Compiling the most up to date information on major psychoactive medicinal plants and fungal neurotoxins, the book covers all major classes of psychoactive drugs, including stimulants, cognitive enhancers, sedatives and anxiolytics, psychotherapeutic herbs, analgesics and anesthetic plants, hallucinogens and cannabis.