Search

An introduction is presented in which author discusses articles on topics including focuses on American Botanical Council's Sustainable Herbs Program Director Ann Armbrecht who shares her perspective on medicinal plant production in the beautiful and remote Himalayan country of Nepal.

The article discusses the discusses the chemistry and health benefits of pomegranate, and the reported evidence for adulteration of pomegranate juice and extract. Topics covered include details relating to the origin and chemical composition of pomegranate, the different forms of adulteration of pomegranate in the global marketplace, and the reported issues that affect the standardization of pomegranate fruit extracts (PFEs) to ellagic acid (EA).

The contrasting results of one-night 'instant response' public polls on Sarah Palin's Republican vice-presidential candidacy are analyzed. It is suggested that live interviewers' survey by the Gallup Organization is more likely to be correct than Rasmussen Reports' automated survey.

The article presents a letter from Mark Blumenthal founder and editor of this publisher in which he discusses its content. Topics include annual Herb Market Report, honoring the lives of herb and natural product experts who have contributed to the knowledge of medicinal plants and plant-based functional foods, and mentioning some renowned herbalists.

The article reports on the documents released by the Chinese government indicating its actions against pharmaceutical companies that have allegedly produced or re-sold mislabeled, adulterated and improperly produced ginkgo extracts in November 2015. Topics covered include the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), Wanbangde (Hunan) Natural Pharmaceutical Co., and the production of false raw material purchasing records.

The article reports that U.S. herbal dietary supplement sales grew by 6.8 percent in 2014 at about 6.4 billion dollars, based on statistics published by the "Nutrition Business Journal." Topics discussed include the sales statistics did not count products like herbal teas, herbal-based cosmetic products and over-the-counter drugs, and tables of best-selling herbal supplements in the U.S. like Horehound, Cranberry, and Flaxseed.

The article discusses the U.S. tea industry and its consumption in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Topics discussed include increased total retail sales of bagged, loose and concentrated teas in the U.S., the absence of commercial enterprise, trade association or governmental agency that tracks diverse distribution channels through which tea is sold and the primary factors that catalyzes U.S. demand for tea including health & wellness trends, media coverage and evolving retail environment.

Herbs and medicinal plants have been used as the basis for many medicines for millennia. In indigenous and Western societies, plants have provided the therapeutic agents used to treat many forms of tumors and cancers. Some of the most effective modern anticancer drugs are derived from plants, including etoposide from the mayapple root (Podophyllum peltatum), vincristine from the Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), Taxol[R] and taxotere from the bark and leaves of the yew tree (Taxus spp.) and camptochecin from the Chinese happy tree (Camptotheca acuminata). In the 1960s National Cancer Institute (NCI) researcher Jonathan Hartwell amassed an almost exhaustive collection of plant names that have been used in folk medicine around the world to treat various forms of cancer and related conditions. NCI researchers then collected samples of these plants to search for new drug leads. This presentation will attempt to cover the wide range of plant-based cancer therapies--approved, experimental and unapproved herbal products. Various herbs and herb combinations have been promoted for cancer treatment, including the infamous Hoxsey formula, Essiac, a Chinese herbal formula called PC-SPES and more recently, various mushroom extracts from China and Japan. Preliminary research suggests that some popular herbs may be shown to be useful in treating or preventing certain cancers. Numerous books have been published recently that deal with the subject of plants and their potential benefits for treating cancer or acting as adjunct therapies to conventional chemotherapeutic treatments.

The article takes a look at the reliability of claims that herbal dietary supplements (HDS) could cause liver injuries. It references a presentation made by Dr. Victor Navarro at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases conference in November 2013. Navarro claims that cases of drug induced liver injury increased by 20% from 2010 to 2012. It infers that data on HDS-induced liver injury has to consider the widespread use of HDS by the U.S. adult population.

The article reports on the increase in the retail sales of botanical and herbal dietary supplements (DS) in the U.S. in 2013. Topics covered include the comparison of the sales with the trend in the late 1990s as well as use of the supplements as ingredients in nonprescription medications. Also mentioned are the herbs that are popular to consumers such as garlic, ginger and ginseng.

The article reports on aggregated market statistics which were calculated and released by the "Nutrition Business Journal" in 2013 and revealed that the total sales of herbal and botanical dietary supplements in the U.S. increased by 5.5% in 2012. Information on supplement sales in various U.S. channels, including the mass market channel, the natural and health food channel and the direct sales channels, is offered. The 40 top selling herbal supplements in the U.S. in 2012 are discussed.

The article presents an overview of bilberry fruit, which is a fruit which is a common ingredient in food, health and cosmetics products, and discusses the health benefits that are associated with consuming bilberry and supplements which contain bilberry. A discussion of the purposeful adulteration of commercially available bilberry extract which is being seen in various locations across the globe in 2012 is presented.

The article reports on statistics which were released in 2012 by the "Nutrition Business Journal" and indicated that the sales of herb and botanical supplements in the U.S. increased 4.5% in 2011 despite economic slowdown which was seen in the country. A continued increase in supplement sales which has been seen in the U.S. since 2004 is discussed.

The article reports on the state of the herbal dietary supplement (DS) market in the U.S. According to the report, the herbal DS market in the U.S. increased in sales in 2010, compared to 2009, despite continued weak economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad. Statistics are presented for various herbal DS markets, including the Mainstream Food, Drug, and Mass Market (FDM) channel, which includes drugstores, grocery stores, and mass market retailers.

The authors focus on the market for herbal dietary supplements in the U.S. which rose in 2009. The authors note that herbal supplements for the treatment of colds and flu were big sellers in 2009 probably driven by concerns regarding the H1N1 flu virus. Market surveys indicate that that herbal supplement sales are being affected by attitudes of health-consciousness and frugality.

The article reports on the increase in the sales of herbal supplements in the U.S. in 2008. Figures from Information Resources Inc. showed that the sales of herbal dietary supplements in the food, drug, and mass market (FDM) channel rose by 7.16% in 2008 from 2007. According to the article, the sales of cranberry supplements, which has increased by over 23% in 2007, continued to increase, making it the top-selling herbal supplement product within the FDM channel.

The article reports on the growth of sale of herbal dietary supplements in multiple market channels during 2006 and 2007. Herbal dietary supplements are sold in the U.S. through a variety of market channels, including health and natural food stores. According to data supplied by IRI of Chicago, sales of single herbal dietary supplements in the FDM channel declined by an almost imperceptible amount of 0.2% from 2005 to 2006, but such sales then rose by 7.6% in 2007.

The article reviews the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final regulations for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for dietary supplements. Under the GMP rule, manufacturers will be required to implement a system of production and process controls for all stages of the manufacturing, packaging, labeling, quality control, record-keeping, storing, and distributing of dietary supplements to ensure the quality and proper identification of those supplements. An important aspect of the new GMP is the relative flexibility afforded to manufacturers.