Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 12 (1984) 337-338 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd.

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Book Reviews

0 Indio e as plantas alucinbgenas. Tribos das 3 Americas e civiliza@es prb- colombianas, Sangirardi Jr., Editorial Alhambra 207 pp., illustrated.

Notwithstanding the great wealth of aboriginally employed hallucinogenic plants in the New World, especially in Latin America, there is a notable scarcity of books on this subject in Spanish or in Portuguese. Here is a recent contribution from Brazil -harbinger, it is hoped, of increased interest in the interdisciplinary study of these psychoactive species that have played and continue to play such a vital magio-medico-religious role in the Western Hemisphere.

Sangirardi has presented a complete survey of the major New World hal- lucinogenic plants from the point of view of the Indian belief in the sacre- dness of these mind-altering organisms. He has integrated successfully the botany, chemistry, pharmacology and psychology with the native respect for these plants. His introduction, “Some Thoughts on Drugs”, is an inter- esting socio-historical discussion. There follow 12 chapters each dedicated to an hallucinogen or to a group of related hallucinogens.

One of the several outstanding contributions of Sangirardi’s book is his last chapter “Jurema - the magic drug of the caatinga.” In this chapter, he offers what I believe is the most thorough discussion of the various plants known as jurema, especially the little known jurema pr6ta (Mimosa hostilis), formerly employed as a principal hallucinogen in the drier caatingas of eastern Brazil.

Although written in Portuguese, a language not so widely understood as other European languages, this book should be on the shelf of every research scholar interested in psychoactive drugs. Sangerardi has shown a broad and interdisciplinary understanding of the use of these plants and a sympathetic and praiseworthy love of the Indians and their cultures, where these active narcotics long ago acquired deep and unshakable respect as sacred agents capable of freeing the mind to such a state that, in their belief, visitation with the spirit world is possible

Richard Evans Schultes

Cultivation and Utilization of Medicinal Plants, C.K. Atal and B.M. Kapur, 2nd Edn., Regional Research Laboratory Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Jammu-Tawi, India, 1982, xxii + 877 pp., (Rs. 100; U.S. $35.00; $16.00).

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The revised second edition of Cultivation and Utilisation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants is now appearing in two separate volumes. This volume, significantly enlarged, covers a broad range of medicinal plants chosen for from the pharmacopoeias of various countries; it is not confined to a con- sideration of Indian plants. One of the thrusts of the book concerns the advisability and need to cultivate species that, because they have commer- cially been gathered in the wild, are now in danger of depleted germ plasm for future genetic research. Another thrust recommends increased attention on the part of science and industry to native Indian medicinally employed species in the hope of discovering new therapeutically valuable constituents.

With 106 contributors, mostly Indian, this book is destined long to be of outstanding utility to the pharmaceutical sciences, to ethnopharmacology and to industrial organizations. The volume is divided into eight sections: (1) General; (2) Medicinal Plants; (3) Products used as Additives in Medi- cines; (4) Ethnobotany; (5) Marine Products; (6) Insecticides; (7) Related Aspects of Medicinal Plants Cultivation; (8) Miscellaneous. Especially exten- sive is section two which is organized in nineteen parts: Steroids; Alkaloidal; Poppy; Ergot; Cinchona; T’ropanes; Gloriosa; Periwinkle; Rauwolfia; Ipecac; Coumarins; Flavonoids; Rutin; Catechu and Catechin; Glycosides; Poly- terpenoids; Cathartics; Adaptogen; Others.

From the point of view of ethnopharmacology, section four is particularly interesting, especially in view of the tremendous growth in research into native uses of plants now underway in India. Included in this section are contributions on the pharmacological basis of Ayurvedic medicine; medicinal plants of the Amchies; Unani systems of medicine; homeopathic pharmacy in India; ethnobotany of lesser known Indian medicinal plants; Indian plants used to control fertility; indigenous species as anti-diabetics.

Each contributed chapter contains a pertinent bibliography - one of the attractive features of the book. The index is complete with botanical bino- mials, chemical names, vernacular names and general subjects. Since the book is inexpensive compared to today’s prices, it should attract wide atten- tion and be commercially successful. Furthermore, with the mass of material not easily found elsewhere, it should play a definite role in orienting think- ing and planning in the cultivation of drug plants and the search for new potential medicinal species not only in India but over a much wider area of the world.

Richard Evans Schultes