'Sex' has played a key role in all cultures. Many stories and anecdotes fill the history with incidents of sex and related acts, especially of Kings and Kingmen who received treatments for increasing their vigour and vitality from 'Dhanvanthris'. Many plants have been used traditionally for this purpose. Recent upsurge of 'Viagra' in media is a well known story. However, the knowledge of aphrodisiac plants is necessary for everyone to lead a healthy and psychologically contented life. From the ancient times, this subject has aroused interest, but, there is hardly any attempt to bring together the widely scattered information available till date, so as to provide baseline data for researchers and students alike. With this sole objective in mind, the present compendium has been prepared with all the earnest efforts to provide information on Botanical names, Synonyms, Family, English, Hindi and Sanskrit names, Distribution, Parts used, Active constituents, Aphrodisiac preparation and Biological activity of over 456 species belonging to 331 genera under 116 families of which, 2 species (2 genera) belong to Fungi, 2 species (1 genus) to Lichens, 6 species (5 genera) to Pteridophytes, 6 species (3 genera) to Gymnosperms and the remaining 456 species (320 genera) to Angiosperms having 360 species among dicotyledons. The original source of information is also given. For ready reference to contents and form the point of view of lay readers, 8 useful appendices and 43 colour photographs have been provided. It is hoped, that, this invaluable compendium with its comprehensive coverage of the subject will provide a distinct baseline for scientists, students and professionals, working in the field of economic botany, ethnobotany and the science of reproductive biology.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR S K Sood
Dr. S.K. Sood is Professor of Botany at the Department of Biosciences, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. He obtained his M.Sc. (1974) and M. Phil. (1976) from Himachal Pradesh University and Ph.D. (1981) from Nagarjuna University, Guntur, specializing in Plant Systematics and Embryology. For his post-doctoral, he underwent specialized training in Ethnobotany. He has had a brilliant academic career followed by over 25 years of teaching and conducting research in Botany at Postgraduate as well as research levels. Dr. Sood has guided about 10 M. Phil and 12 Ph.D. students and published numerous research papers in various national and international journals. He has attended and participated in many seminars, workshops and conferences. He is also associated with many educational and research bodies in India and abroad. A prolific writer, his book Ethnobotany of Cold Desert Tribes of Lahoul-Spiti (N.W. Himalaya): Deep Publications, New Delhi, 2001, was widely acclaimed. His current major interests are in the theory and practice of systematics, flora of North-West Himalaya, ethnic tribes and conservation research.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sarita Rana
Ms. Sarita Rana is a postgraduate from Himachal Pradesh University. She obtained her M.Phil. (2002) from Shimla, specializing in Ethnobotany. At present she is working as a lecturer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR T N Lakhanpal
Dr. T.N. Lakhanpal, Professor, Department of Biosciences, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, is a Gold Medallist from Punjab University, Chandigarh and received Ph.D. from the University of Delhi. He has published more than 150 research papers. During the last two decades he has extensively surveyed the N.W. Himalayas for mushrooms and has worked the biodiversity of microbes and other plants in the Himalayas. He has co-authored Taxonomy of Indian Myxomycetes (J. Cramer, Germany), Rural Eneregy Alternatives in the Hilly Areas (TODAy and Tomorrow Publ. New Delhi) and The Amanitaceae of India (Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun). He is a member of many scientific societies and associations. So far around 23 students have received Ph.D. degree under his supervision. He has been associated with many committees in Botany and Biology. Dr. Lakhanpal is very well known for his research contributions in India as well as abroad.
There are no reviews yet.