Of the 300,000 species of plants identified in the world, around 700 are poisonous. This book provides details, in textual and pictorial form, of the poisonous plants found in Pakistan, and their distribution. It also provides valuable information on how to recognise the symptoms of poisoning and provide first aid.

Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. The importance of plants as medicine is further supported by archeological evidence from Asia and the Middle East. Today, around 1.4 billion people in South Asia alone have no access to modern health care, and rely instead on traditional medicine to alleviate various symptoms. On a global basis, approximately 50 to 80 thousand plant species are used either natively or as pharmaceutical derivatives for life-threatening conditions that include diabetes, hypertension and cancers. As the demand for plant-based medicine rises, there is an unmet need to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbals by the “scientific methods”. Current research on drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. For instance, high throughput robotic screens have been developed by industry; it is now possible to carry out 50,000 tests per day in the search for compounds, which act on a key enzyme or a subset of receptors. This and other bioassays thus offer hope that one may eventually identify compounds for treating a variety of diseases or conditions. However, drug development from natural products is not without its problems. Frequent challenges encountered include the procurement of raw materials, the selection and implementation of appropriate high-throughput bioassays, and the scaling-up of preparative procedures. Research scientists should therefore arm themselves with the right tools and knowledge in order to harness the vast potentials of plant-based therapeutics. The main objective of Plant and Human Health is to serve as a comprehensive guide for this endeavor. Volume 1 highlights how humans from specific areas or cultures use indigenous plants. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West. The integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is important for our understanding of this ethnobotanical relationship. Volume 2 deals with the phytochemical and molecular characterization of herbal medicine. Specifically, it focuess on the secondary metabolic compounds, which afford protection against diseases. Lastly, Volume 3 discusses the physiological mechanisms by which the active ingredients of medicinal plants serve to improve human health. Together this three-volume collection intends to bridge the gap for herbalists, traditional and modern medical practitioners, and students and researchers in botany and horticulture.

This volume compiles the `state of the art' knowledge on several aspects of ``Biodiversity, Conservation, and Systematics". The International Botanical Community recognizes "that plants create the ecological habitat for all terrestrial organisms, and that their management and conservation depend on a good understanding of their taxonomy". Biodiversity is considered as "an immense economic resource". Its conservation and sustainable use ensures food security, safeguards human health, and provides ecological as well as aesthetic and cultural benefits. Systematics, as a fundamental science, serves as a very important discipline for understanding biodiversity. In this volume, emphasis has been laid on the simplest Prokaryotic organisms, the diverse Algae, the "Adaptive Strategies of Bryophytes and the "Diversity in Pteridophytes". There is stress on the importance of Ethnic Knowledge, Botanic Gardens, and Reproductive Biology in conservation. Interesting aspects of `Invasive Plant Species', `Analysis of Plant Biodiversity and Evolution at Genome Level' and `Leaf Epidermal Diversity in Grasses' are discussed. Detailed accounts of the fauna and flora of Punjab have also been provided. Dr. Prithipalsingh is a Senior Reader in Botany in Kirorimal College. He has been teaching since 1971. The areas of special interest in which he is recognized as an expert include, besides Plant Taxonomy, Biodiversity Studies, Ecology and Environmental Biology. He has published numerous research papers in National and International Journals. Dr. Prithipalsingh served on the National Consultation Committee for discussing the "State of the Environment Report of India 2001" prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme. He has completed a project on "Status of biodiversity conservation in Punjab" for the Punjab Forest Department, as a member of the Tata Energy Research Institute team. As a consultant for Biodiversity with “The Energy Research Institute (TERI)”, Dr. Prithipalsingh participated in several World Bank funded research projects of the Uttar Pradesh/Uttranchal State Forest Department. He has obtained first hand information on the effect of 'fire', 'grazing', 'collection of non-timber forest products' and 'natural regeneration', focusing on the ground realities for evaluating the impact of different parameters necessary for formulating “management recommendations”.