This encyclopedic reference on pharmacognosy covers the study of natural substances, principally plants, used in medicine. It looks at both classical (crude and powdered drugs' characterization and examination) and modern (phytochemistry and pharmacology) aspects of pharmacognosy, and keeps pace with the growing importance of complementary medicine, including herbal compounds, homeopathics, and aromatherapy. Three introductory chapters explore the origins of pharmacognosy, its scope and practice, and plant nomenclature and taxonomy. The rest of the book is divided into sections on the plant and animal kingdoms as sources of drugs; principles related to the commercial production, quality and standardization of natural products; phytochemistry; pharmacopoeial and related drugs of biological origin; plants in complementary and traditional systems of medicine; non-medicinal toxic plants and pesticides; and morphological and microscopic examination of drugs. About 60 crude drugs, recently included in editions of the European and British pharmacopoeias, have now been given separate entries in Part 3. This edition reflects the shift away from material collection in the wild and towards cultivation under controlled conditions. There is a new chapter on plant nutraceuticals, and new material on the uses of genetic fingerprinting for characterizing closely related species of medicinal plants. There is also additional material on the safety and efficacy of Chinese and Asian drugs and other quality control issues. Information in presented in a two-column format, with boxes and b&w photos and illustrations. Evans is former reader in phytochemistry at the University of Nottingham, UK. He has been associated with the book for over 20 years. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)