ABSTRACT
Most of the listed food items with a medicinal value come from plants, with the exception of five items originating from animals. Those originating from plants are categorized by the part of the plant used for the medicinal effect, and each plant part is described in detail in this chapter. The basic references used here are the Ben Cao Gong Mu (Chinese Pharmacopoeia) (Li, 1578). The book was edited by Shih-chen Li. Li devoted 27 years to study the Ben Cao (Mater ial Medica) and made corrections and additions. The book of 25 volumes was published in 1578. It contains 1892 different kinds of medicinal materials that are divided into 16 classes and 60 divisions (Figure 14.3).
