As the traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving approaches, we extend our sincere thanks and deep appreciation to all of ABC members. Your membership in ABC supports ABC’s overall nonprofit educational mission and our many nonprofit educational activities and programs. Without you we could not be able to accomplish our mission. You are an essential and much-appreciated part of ABC.
We wish you much great health and a pleasant winter holiday season!
Cordially,
The Staff of the American Botanical Council
The latest issue of HerbalGram (#80) is now online!
Natural Doctors International: Innovative Nonprofit Enables Natural Medicine Practitioners to Participate in Global Relief Efforts
FDA Should Rescind Outdated Import Alert on Stevia
Additional articles from previous issues are available at the online HerbalGram Issue List.
ABC editorial staff tested the links of the articles below just prior to publication to ensure that they were still live. However, various publications disable links at different times. ABC is not responsible for the longevity of links for these articles nor the accuracy of the information contained in each article.
Unilever, Phytopharm May Scrap Hoodia Partnership
Unilever is in discussions to halt working with Phytopharm on a SlimFast product containing the popular South African herb hoodia due to what it deems questionable safety and quality standards.
Perri, Celeste. Bloomberg.com. November 14, 2008.
$6 Million Bets Ginseng Will Cure Colon Cancer
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine awarded grants to four research clinics to investigate the medicinal properties in American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius).
Endreszi, Lara. Health News. November 11, 2008.
Hagens Berman Files Class Action Against Bayer Healthcare Over Misleading Marketing Campaign
A lawsuit has been filed by a group of consumers against Bayer. The lawsuit claims that the company used misleading marketing strategies to sell their over-the-counter aspirin to heart patients and women trying to prevent osteoporosis.
The Wall Street Journal. November 19, 2008.
Ginkgo Biloba Doesn't Prevent Dementia, Study Finds
The Journal of the American Medical Association has published a study that shows that Gingko biloba does not prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Kaplan, Karen. Los Angeles Times. November 19, 2008.
Ginkgo Biloba Doesn't Prevent Dementia
Boyles, Salynn. WebMD.com. November 18, 2008.
Modern Day Medicine Man (launches video)
Chris Kilham, “the Medicine Hunter”, discusses his experiences finding herbal medicine and sharing its uses with the rest of the world. He discusses the uses for Rhodiola rosea from Siberia, maca and cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa) from Peru, umcka from South Africa, schisandra berry from China, and cranberry from the US.
ABC News. November 2, 2008.
Iraq Returns to its Alternative Medicine Roots
The questionable quality of illegal drugs sold at pharmacies in Iraq has many consumers turning to alternative medicine for their health care needs.
Levinson, Charles. USA Today. November 3, 2008.
WHO Head Backs Role of Traditional Medicine in Primary Health Care
Leaders at the World Health Organization conference in Beijing call for the use of traditional medicine in conjunction with primary health care.
China View. November 7, 2008.
Childhood Food Allergies on the Rise
With the rise of children with allergies, some hope that Anti-IgE, a Chinese herbal therapy, may provide some relief.
Reinberg, Steven. U.S. News & World Report. November 10, 2008.
The following are just a few of the upcoming events that you will find listed on ABC’s Event Calendar.
November 24-26: Workshop: Pharmacopoeial Monographs on MAPs & Their Products for the African Region. Bamako, Mali.
November 28-30: Arab Naturals 2008 Traditional, Complementary & Herbal Products Expo & Conferences. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
November 28-30: Herbal World 2008: International Conference & Exhibition on Medicinal Plants, Herbal Products & Natural Health. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
December 4-5: Second National Forum on Food-Borne Illness Litigation: Advanced Strategies for Assessing, Managing & Defending Claims of Food Contamination. Scottsdale, AZ.
December 8-10: Ninth National Conference on Science, Policy & the Environment: Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World. Washington, DC.
December 10, 2-4pm EST: Webinar “Bringing New Ingredients to Market: FDA Guidance and Developments in the New Dietary Ingredient Notification Process.
December 11, 2-3:30pm EST: Botanical Ingredient Identity Testing Webinar.
December 16-21: Third World Ayurveda Congress & Arogya 2008. Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
February 19-21: Integrative Healthcare Symposium. New York, NY.
ABC members will receive a 15% discount on registration.
For more information please visit the symposium Web site: http://www.ihsymposium.com/08/public/enter.aspx.
November’s selected book excerpt is from Herb, Nutrient,
and Drug Interactions: Clinical Implications and
Therapeutic Strategies by Mitchell Stargrove, Jonathan
Treasure, and Dwight L. McKee, published in 2008. The
excerpt contains the title page, introduction and preface,
table of contents, and a profile of St. John’s wort and its
herb-drug interactions. The excerpt can be found on
November’s Featured Book Excerpt page.
The current HerbClip bin was released on November 14, 2008. Two samples have been made available online to all members:
Korean Red Ginseng May Aid in ED, but Better Quality Trials are Needed
Korean White Ginseng Improves Cognitive Performance in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease
ABC members at the Academic level and higher can access all 15 HerbClips just released by visiting the HerbClip Homepage.
ABC's Individual members can upgrade membership to the Academic level to access HerbClips on the ABC website.
The HerbClip Educational Mailing Service is published twice monthly and provides printed copies of reviews/summaries along with the original articles (in most cases). This unique educational benefit is available at the Sponsor Member level and for HerbClip Service members. For more information, please contact ABC’s Membership Department by email or by phone at 512-926-4900.
Ginkgo's Benefits for Treatment of Symptoms of Cognitive Decline and Other Uses Are Supported by Scientific Research — ABC Response to New JAMA GEM Ginkgo Trial
Office of Dietary Supplements Publishes 2007 Bibliography on Dietary Supplement Research
New Naturex Foundation Assisting Local Communities in Morocco and Peru
Adrianne Bendich, Byron Johnson Receive 2008 CRN Apple Awards
Alternative Medicine Research Centers in Sydney Seek Candidate for Joint Chair in Traditional Chinese Medicine