Holy Herbs: Modern Connections to Ancient Plants 2

‘A BRILLIANT ACCOUNT OF ORIGIN AND IDENTIFICATION OF PLANTS AS MENTIONED IN RELIGIOUS TEXTS … A VERY NICE PIECE OF WORK.’

- B. K. Singh, Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force), Karnataka

‘A UNIQUE PRESENTATION OF HISTORY OF MEDICINAL HERBS, THEIR MODERN USES, AS WELL AS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THEIR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS. AN INTERESTING BOOK WITH A VERY SPECIAL FLAVOUR.’

- Dr. Atanas Atanasov, Head of Microbiology Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding

of the Polish Academy of Sciences

‘HOLY HERBS DESCRIBES A NUMBER OF WELL-KNOWN HERBS WHICH HAVE BEEN USED SINCE THE 3RD MILLENNIUM BC AND ARE IN USE EVEN TODAY … A VERY STIMULATING AND INFORMATIVE READ.’

- D. K. Ved, School of Conservation of Natural Resources, TransDisciplinary University

‘A BRILLIANT ACCOUNT OF ORIGIN AND IDENTIFICATION OF PLANTS AS MENTIONED IN RELIGIOUS TEXTS … A VERY NICE PIECE OF WORK.’

- B. K. Singh, Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force), Karnataka

‘A UNIQUE PRESENTATION OF HISTORY OF MEDICINAL HERBS, THEIR MODERN USES, AS WELL AS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THEIR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS. AN INTERESTING BOOK WITH A VERY SPECIAL FLAVOUR.’

- Dr. Atanas Atanasov, Head of Microbiology Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding

of the Polish Academy of Sciences

‘HOLY HERBS DESCRIBES A NUMBER OF WELL-KNOWN HERBS WHICH HAVE BEEN USED SINCE THE 3RD MILLENNIUM BC AND ARE IN USE EVEN TODAY … A VERY STIMULATING AND INFORMATIVE READ.’

- D. K. Ved, School of Conservation of Natural Resources, TransDisciplinary University

Role of plants in treating diseases like cancer to malaria is well known. Most of us know that Taxol which inhibits cell division is a plant extract in cancer treatment. Quinine sulfate (Qualaquin) in treatment of malaria is another example of Herbs and plants usage in medicine. However, understanding close linkage of culture, religion, trade with healing practices of modern day and the past is quite interesting and is a good read. Mr Ahluwalia’s contribution towards this is praiseworthy.

Ashok Pai - CEO Waqf Board, Government of India

Reviews on Amazon.in

“Sudhir Ahluwalia has done a commendable job in Holy Herbs, a compendium of culinary and medicinal herbs used, traded and fought over right from the beginning of recorded History (maybe even earlier) to the present day. The presentation is user friendly and the details most lucidly brought out. It is only natural that for these herbs, shrubs and trees to become ‘holy’ or ‘sacred’, their mention in religious texts is a sine qua non; a sort of divine ‘certification’ the writer has drawn upon and quite thoroughly highlighted. However, holy herbs like many other things ‘holy’, are getting scarce; like Adam and Eve they are being banished from our planetary ‘Garden of Eden’. This aspect, though mentioned in the passing, needed perhaps a separate chapter. For students, homemakers, grandmas and herbal healers, a useful, handy reference to have around the house.”

- Vinay Tandon

Sudhir Ahluwalia started his career in the Indian Forest Service office. After twenty three years in forestry, he spent the next ten years in the technology industry, first as a business consultant with Tata Consultancy Services and then as adviser to multiple tech companies. Currently, he is a columnist, writing articles related to technology and natural products. Holy Herbs is his second book.