Alternative and complementary medicine has become very popular in many industrialised countries in recent years. This move has been partly motivated by a wider emphasis on the side effects of many conventional medicines, coupled with the unfounded belief that natural products must, by de®nition, be safer. Whilst it may be true that the majority of herbal remedies may be relatively harmless, it is also likely that they may carry a potential to cause harm either in their own right or through interference with prescription medicines taken concurrently. It is for this reason that many countries have limited the advertising of any herbal medicine for speci®c clinical indications, unless there is objective clinical evidence of ef®cacy. Clearly, given the larger number of practitioners of alternative and complementary medicine in most countries, it is often dif®cult to determine which, if any, of the natural products are effective and safe treatments.
Until the middle of the last century, most drugs listed in the pharmacopoeias of Europe were of plant origin. More recently, there has been considerable research into the pharmacological activity of herbal medicines. The present volume is a valuable attempt to review the scienti®c evidence regarding the herbal