Organix-South Adopts Neem through the American Botanical Council’s Adopt-An-Herb Program
September 23-26, 2009: ABC's Mark Blumenthal will be at the World Tea East Conference and Pavilion in Boston, MA to speak about recent clinical research on tea.
Herbal medicine has been an important resource for both ancient and contemporary societies. The Aztec Indians relied on various medicinal herbs, which were recorded in 1552 in the Badianus Manuscript—the oldest documented herbal of the Americas. As reported in this issue of HerbalEGram, the Badianus Manuscript has recently been digitized and is available for purchase.
Herbal medicine’s value within current US culture, meanwhile, has recently been demonstrated through the results of the National Health Interview Survey, which found that the majority of US consumers’ out-of-pocket dollars spent on complementary and alternative medicine go toward the purchase of nonvitamin, nonmineral natural products. Purchases of these products, which include herbal preparations, equaled $14.8 billion in 2007, as noted in an article in this issue.
Cordially,
The Staff of the American Botanical Council
We have tested the links of the following articles prior to publication; however, some news organizations remove stories and disable links at various times.
Blueberry Virus Strikes Research Center. Associated Press. 8-31-09. An outbreak of “blueberry shock” has forced scientists at Michigan State University to destroy blueberry plants that represent 2 decades and millions of dollars of research.
Bangalore Scientists Try to Find “Magical Herb.” Deccan Herald. 8-27-09. Scientists are on the hunt to verify the existence of the sanjeevani medicinal plant referenced in the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana, and have narrowed it down to 2 possibilities.
Plant Boost to Malaria Fight. BBC News. 8-19-09. Because the plant Artemisia annua contains low levels of the anti-malarial compound artemisinin, researchers have used fast-track breeding methods to develop new, higher level varieties.
Chinese Herbal Medicine Dispensaries Puzzled by Legal Revision. The Asahi Shimbun. 8-8-09. Many pharmacies and customers of Chinese herbal medicines are speaking out against a recent government law banning online or mail order sales of medicines.
Goji Taunts North American Farmers. Los Angeles Times. 8-5-09. Very perishable and difficult to grow, the popular medicinal “superfruit” goji berry is rarely available in the United States in raw, whole form, but some American farmers are continuing attempts to harvest and sell the in-demand berries.
Ghostwriters Paid to Support Hormone Replacement Therapy. New York Times. 8-4-09. Recent court documents have shown that Wyeth pharmaceutical company paid ghostwriters to produce 26 scientific papers on hormone replacement therapy in women, emphasizing the benefits and deemphasizing the risks of such treatment.
Does the Pot Pill Work? CBS News. 8-4-09. Approved by FDA, the prescription drug Marinol has THC as its active ingredient, but critics claim that the pill, unlike smoked marijuana, takes longer to work and can cause nausea.
Garlic for a Healthy Heart? Go Fresh, Study Says. New York Times. 8-3-09. Many people already know that eating garlic has medicinal benefits, and researchers at the University of Connecticut have found that fresh-crushed garlic better supports certain elements of cardiac health.
The Organic Center challenges new study results and defends the nutritional superiority of organic foods. Press release from The Organic Center.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) urges the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address "spiking" in definition of economically motivated adulteration. Press release from AHPA.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issues CITES nondetriment finding for Wild American Ginseng for 2009-2010. Press release from FWS.
FDA approves colchicine product for acute gout and Mediterranean fever, and provides new information regarding safe use of the drug. Press release from FDA.
The Council for Resonsible Nurtrition (CRN) and Virgo Publishing partner on 2 new webinars for dietary supplements industry executives. Press release from CRN.
The following are just a few of the upcoming events that you will find listed on ABC’s Event Calendar.
October 2-4, 2009: Southeast Women's Herbal Conference. Black Mountain, NC.
November 11-13, 2009: SupplySide West. Las Vegas, NV. ABC members who manufacture finished products can enter ABC09 when registering to receive a $50 discount. *Offer valid through Nov. 1, 2009, and does not apply to a previously paid registration.
November 18, 2009: SteviaWorld Europe. Frankfurt, Germany.
September's selected book excerpt comes from Stockley's Herbal Medicines Interactions: A Guide to the Interactions of Herbal Medicines, Dietary Supplements and Nutraceuticals with Conventional Meidicines, 1st edition, edited by Elizabeth Williamson, Samuel Driver, and Karen Baxter, and published in 2009. This excerpt contains the introduction "General Considerations," and the book's chapter on goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis). All are available here.
| ©2009 Pharmaceutical Press |
The current HerbClip bin was released on September 1, 2009. The following samples have been made available online to all members:
ASHMI Appears to Be Safe and Well-tolerated in Adults with Allergic Asthma
Safe Purslane Extract Beneficial in Small Oral Lichen Planus Study
ABC members at the Academic level and higher can access all 15 HerbClips just released by visiting the HerbClip homepage (be sure to log in). If you are an Individual Member, gain access to all HerbClips and the HerbMedPro database by upgrading your membership.
Government Survey Finds Americans Spent $34 Billion Out-of-Pocket on CAM in 2007
The Badianus Manuscript and Other Mexican Traditional Medicine Literature Digitized
Drugs Illegally Marketed as Supplements Also Mislabeled by Media
The 2009 USP Dietary Supplements Stakeholders Forum
| Presentation of the Digital Library of Traditional Mexican Medicine by the Multicultural Nation University Program at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México |