Medicinal Plants for the Treatment of Metabolic Disorders

This book provides a complete review of multiple metabolic disorders and the use of phytochemicals for their prevention and treatment. When describing each metabolic disorder, all authors describe the main health alterations, providing the most current figures and statistics worldwide; medicinal plants used in traditional medicine for its treatment and scientific information related to their potential to prevent or treat each condition. Authors also include a complete scientific background check, comprehensive analysis of all phytochemicals recommended for each disorder, a description of the mechanism(s) of action and in vivo and/or in vitro studies. Within this volume, a series of 7 plant species, recommended to treat or prevent the previously described disorders, are presented with their botanical information, traditional use in different cultures and countries, and the available scientific information validating their health benefits. Besides, six main metabolic disorders are described, providing a full scientific background for its general understanding, and three study cases are presented, where metabolic disorders are analysed and approached from different medical and pharmaceutical angles. Chapter 1 -- Soybean contains a great nutritional value, which makes it an excellent food for the human diet. It has large amounts of protein and lipids and also provides fibre, calcium, iron, zinc, and several vitamins. For these reasons, the possible benefits of soy consumption for human health have been studied. Although the results obtained to date have not been conclusive, thanks to its high content of isoflavones (phytochemicals with estrogenic activity), soy is attributed with anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and antifungals properties. Moreover, soybeans could provide significant benefits to patients with cardiovascular diseases, cancer, or diabetes. Chapter 2 -- Oil, proteins, vitamins, fibres, and phytochemicals present in the avocado plant have shown the excellent capability of not only addressing the prevalence of these metabolic diseases but also being safe and having minimal side effects. The general objective of this book chapter is to review the bioactive compounds and their action to promote health benefits in the prevention and management of metabolic disorders. Chapter 3 -- Heliopsis longipes roots, which contain affinin, has been used in traditional cuisine as a spice for its pungent. Due to its tingling and numbing properties, it is frequently applied to heal diverse pains such as toothache, earache, and headache. Within this chapter,...