A concise overview of some of the findings and topics related to the pharmacology and clinical applications of traditional herbal therapeutics. It addresses the current and potential roles for herbal medicine in the context of our evolving health-care systems. Introducing many pharmacological advances made, the work also describes the modern theories and scientific methodologies applied to today's studies on herbal medicines and new drug development.

Hiroshi Watanabe is Director of the Research Institute for Oriental Medicines and Professor of Pharmacology at Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan. His primary research activities focus on natural product pharmacology. Hiroshi Watanabe is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Traditional Medicines and Editor of the Journal of Ethnopharmaco fogy. Takeshi Shibuya is currently President of Tokyo Medical University, where he is also Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology. He holds posts as Visiting Professor at, the University of Illinois College of Medicine, USA; Taipei Medical College; and Chung Shan Medical and Dental University in Taiwan. He is also Honorary Professor at China Medical College, Taiwan. Takeshi Shibuya is well known in the field of neu ropsyco-pharmacology.