An-Najah Staff

This book is aimed at providing the readers with ethnobotanic and ethnopharmacological information on plants currently used for treating various ailments in Traditional Arabic Palestinian Herbal Medicine (TAPHM) in the West Bank and Gaza. The information is mainly based on twenty year-long ethnobotanic and ethnopharmacological studies in the West Bank and Gaza. The information was collected from a large number of informants, on the basis of their knowledge of traditional medicine, including: households, practitioners or healers, "attarine", and persons with acknowledged knowledge of traditional medicine at their communities. The book is a reference of clinical information on over 192 herbs used in the Traditional Arabic Palestinian Herbal Medicine (TAPHM). The book is intended for educational purposes, as well as a convenient reference for both health professionals and their clients. It makes no claims for the appropriateness of any herb in individual situations. Correct choice of herbs may require evaluation by a health professional. With this precaution in mind, the information should be useful to a broad range of users. The book includes information about botanical classification, dosage, preparation, physiological notes, and traditional Palestinian clinical indications. The clinical rules and procedures of TAPHM are explained in clear and concise language. The book comprises a preface, two chapters: Introduction on Traditional Arabic Palestinian Herbal Medicine; and Plants Used in Traditional Arabic Palestinian Medicine; References; two Appendixes; and 5 Indexes ( Plants Arabic Common Name, English Name, Scientinfic Name, Plant Family Name, and Ailments treated by the plants mentioned in the book) . Appendix A: Photos of plants mentioned in the book. Appendix B: "The 2008 Palestinian National Inventory of Medicinal Plants: West Bank and Gaza". This includes 355 medicinal plants.A limited database on TAPHM extracted from this book, is now available free online. The database comprises 192 herb entries plus indexes by Arabic common name, English name, scientific name, family, and diseases they treat, for cross-referencing and easy look-up of terminology, and indexing of terms.