Maurice M. Iwu (M. Pharm., Ph.D. Bradford) was a professor of pharmacognosy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and a senior research associate at the Division of Experimental Therapeutics of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. He is the founder and chairman of the Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme (BDCP), the International Centre for Ethnomedicine and Drug Development (InterCEDD), and Intercedd Health Products. He is a member of the board of directors of Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals (Formerly Pfizer Nigeria). He has been Visiting Scholar to the Dyson Perrins Laboratory, University of Oxford (1980), Fulbright Senior Scholar Award (Ohio State University, Columbus Ohio and the Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York(1983);Senior Research Scholar Award, U.S. National Research Council, Washington D.C.(1993 – 1995) and the Richard Schultes International Prize for Ethnobiology(1999). He was awarded the Doctor of Letters (Honoraris Causa) of the Imo State University (2009).
"This second edition is not a mere reprint of an older classic; it has been thoroughly updated and expanded. …this volume presents a valuable cross-section of the African medicinal flora and useful summaries of largely up-to-date knowledge. All in all, this second edition is a worthy successor to the 1993 edition." —Thomas Brendler, Founder and CEO, Plantaphile; Co-editor, African Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Collingswood, New Jersey, in HerbalGram "Since the first edition was published, much has changed in the fields of ethnobotany and ethnomedicine. In the preface to the second edition of his book, Dr. Iwu acknowledges the enormous body of knowledge that has become available over the last twenty years. He felt that it was critical to add new, relevant information … to review the medicinal plants currently used as phytomedicines that were, for the most part, unknown in 1993. I found Dr. Iwu's Handbook of Major African Medicinal Plants impressively detailed and well presented … . While Dr. Iwu indicates that this is a book for scientists developing new medicines and practitioners of herbal medicine, I suggest that this is a book that should also be read by Western medical doctors who either work or volunteer their services in rural African clinics and hospitals. I commend the time, energy, and knowledge that Dr. Iwu has invested in both editions of his book. This is a truly valuable resource that I hope will be used prolifically and expanded upon." —Patricia Rain, The Vanilla Company "Iwu continues to write elegantly and persuasively about the cultural issues surrounding the integration of Western and traditional African medicine…. Above all, there is a new emphasis on the potential economic impact that the plants of Africa could bring to the continent. Iwu devotes more space to keenly detailing the commercial utilization of native agricultural products. Updated sections on commerce and the creation of value-added products feature prominently in the descriptions of many species. It is undeniably an exceptional and absorbing collection of botanical, ethnomedical, and pharmacological information. It is an efficient collection of botanical information about a diverse and large portion of the earth. Certainly this updated edition would make a rich and interesting manual for a class on African medicinal plants." —John de la Parra, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, Economic Botany Praise for the First Edition: "The book gives a good description of African medicinal plants and their use within the general African culture …. This is an interesting handbook for phytochemists, pharmacologists, anthropologists, or anyone who is interested in African medicinal plants…. A pioneer work on African medicinal plants…. Our congratulations go to the author and publishers for producing such an interesting book." —Nigist Asfaw and Sebsebe Demissew, The National Herbarium Science Faculty, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Economic Botany, Vol. 48, No. 1, 1994 "A vast topic, medicinal plants in the wide expanse of Africa, is well covered in this work. Primarily for medical library collections, but will interest anyone concerned with ethnobotany and African culture." —C.T. Mason, Jr., University of Arizona, as quoted in CHOICE, June 1994
