Collection Development Manual

Medical Botany

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Definition

The study and use of plants in biomedicine.

Discussion:

Includes the effect on human health of injurious, remedial, and psychoactive plants, fungi, and microorganisms. Currently there is great interest in testing the use and efficacy of traditional botanical remedies as a basis for the development of new therapies and pharmaceutical agents.

Scope and emphasis:

Medical botany including medical ethnobotany is comprehensively collected. Materials on the cultivation of medicinal plants are not collected.

See also:

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Pharmacology

Plant Biology

1/7/04