Medicinal Plants and Phytotherapy: Bioactive Compounds, Extraction, and Therapeutic Applications

الملخص

Medicinal Plants, Bioactive Compounds and Phytotherapy is a scientific guide to the study and therapeutic value of medicinal plants, built around the little-studied Mediterranean species Putoria calabrica from the Rubiaceae family. The book opens with botanical foundations: general uses of medicinal plants, plant classification, the Rubiaceae family, and the morphology, distribution, nomenclature and known phytochemical composition of P. calabrica. It then explains the major classes of plant metabolites, especially phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, carotenoids and essential oils, before presenting extraction and identification techniques such as maceration, Soxhlet extraction, ultrasound- and microwave-assisted extraction, HPLC and GC-MS. The third part links phytotherapy with biological activities, focusing on oxidative stress, antioxidant systems, microbial infections, antibiotics, herbal preparations, wound healing, red blood cells and haemoglobin as cellular models. A long practical section lists common medicinal plants with their names, constituents, effects and traditional uses. The final chapter offers methodological guidance for plant selection, collection, drying, grinding, infusion, decoction, maceration and extraction optimisation. Intended for students, researchers and professionals in biochemistry, pharmacognosy and phytotherapy, the book combines theory, practical procedures and botanical reference material.