This book is an interesting publication with selected Asian crops grouped into seven chapters based on their usage: grains, vegetables, fruits, fats and oils, beans and nuts, spices, and herbal beverages and subsequents. Its purpose is to bring Asian crops and culture that have made a significant contribution to human dietetics to the attention of people in other parts of the world. In addition to nutrition, Asian cuisines were part of traditional systems of health and healing. In each chapter the treatise on each crop has an introduction, botanical description, nutritional composition, food and medicinal uses, anti-nutritional factors, if any, and research results related to nutraceutical compounds.

The botanical descriptions lack references. The traditional use of various plant parts from different crops mentioned in this book are ‘household remedies’, which are undocumented by research. Nevertheless, such claims descending from previous generations help students in dietetics and nutrition to undertake research to document such claims. Among oil crops, soybean, and among millets, Pennisetum typhoides, an important crop, are missing. The treatment of many crops (e.g. eggplant, French bean, winged bean, taro) is too brief. Instead of embedding the chemical composition for most of the crops in the text, it would have been better to have such data in tables.

This book will open the eyes of non-specialist readers in Asia and other parts of the world to choose foods for a healthy diet and lifestyle, and help scientists to conduct research and industry to develop health-related products from plants.