Dear friend of ABC,

Happy Earth Day!

Let’s all try to do something positive for the planet today (and tomorrow, and every day).

At ABC we respect the bounty of our Mother Earth by making sure our gardens are organic, composting all of our vegetable waste, harvesting rainwater to sustain our 25+ herbal demonstration gardens, and more — all designed to respect the natural world while promoting the cultivation and responsible use of herbs for healthcare and self-care.

Thank you for supporting ABC and our planet. We wish you and your family a wonderful Earth Day!

Cordially,

The American Botanical Council

Personal Care Products: Back to the Basics. April 23, 2014. Online. This webinar will cover the basics of personal care product regulations, labeling requirements, advertising standards, and more. More information.

Food Ingredients Istanbul Conference 2014. April 24-26, 2014. Istanbul, Turkey. Conference participants will have the opportunity to source new and innovative ingredients, network with food industry professionals, and more. More information.

DNA as a Tool for Combating the Identity Crisis in the Natural Products Industry. May 1, 2014. Online. This webinar will focus on the DNA tools that natural products companies can use to verify ingredient identity in anything from single-herb botanicals to complex blended products. This webinar is free. More information.

American Psychiatric Association 167th Annual Meeting. May 3-7, 2014. New York, NY. For the first time, this conference will offer a complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine track [PDF], including a session on herbs, nutrients, and more for the treatment of ADHD. More information.

5th Annual Conference of the American Council for Medicinally Active Plants. June 15-18, 2014. Fargo, ND. Conference topics will include functional foods and non-communicable chronic diseases, plant metabolic engineering strategies, production and commercialization of plants and herbs, and more. More information.

Traditional Roots Herbal Conference. May 16-18, 2014. Portland, OR. This conference will feature herbal energetics, constitutional evaluation, clinical case reviews, herb walks, bioregional herbalism, and more. Early registration ends April 28, 2014. More information.

Healing Your Body in Nature — Wilderness Weekend. May 24-26, 2014. Asheville, NC. During this three-day hike through the Blue Ridge Mountains, participants will discover how to select food and herbs for the body using only the five senses. More information.

Ingredient Marketplace. June 2-3, 2014. New York, NY. Conference attendees will get the latest market research on purchasing trends and sales while discovering new products that illustrate how their ingredients are being used in the global consumer market. Early registration ends April 25, 2014. More information.

Herb Society of America 2014 Educational Conference and Annual Meeting. June 20-21, 2014. Concord, CA. This conference will include a diverse range of programs focused on the botany, horticulture, use, and delight of herbs. Early registration ends April 30, 2014. More information.

Looking for more conferences and events? View the full ABC calendar here.

Submit your conference or event to be considered for inclusion in Herbal News & Events.

ABC has tested the links of the following articles prior to publication; however, some news organizations remove stories and disable links at various times. ABC sends links to these articles as an educational service, but cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in them. Media Watch links are a benefit of membership. For full access, join ABC today.

Ginseng Can Treat and Prevent Influenza and RSV, Researcher Finds. MedicalXpress. April 21, 2014. A study from Georgia State University indicates that Korean red ginseng extract may have immune modifying capabilities, inhibiting both flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.

Chinese Thunder God Herb Works as Well as Standard Pain Therapy. Bloomberg Businessweek. April 15, 2014. The Chinese herb known as "thunder god vine" — used for centuries in traditional medicine — has been proven equally effective as current conventional treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.

Herbal Supplements Are the Most Commonly Used Type of Complementary Medicine in the US. Huffington Post. April 16, 2014. A new report shows that as of 2012, nearly 18 percent of US adults took herbal or other supplements, with the highest rates of use reported in western states.

Sichuan Pepper's Buzz May Reveal Secrets of the Nervous System. NPR. April 17, 2014. The same chemical that gives sichuan peppers their signature tingly effect may be able to help patients who suffer from paresthesia — constant tingling in the limbs.

How to Make Your Coffee Truly Healthy. Fox News. April 20, 2014. Everything from the roast to the brew to the mug can affect how many benefits you reap from your morning cup of coffee.

Protest at Kew Gardens' Endangered Jobs and Funds Reaches 50,000 — and Growing. The Independent. April 20, 2014. The majority of people who will be let go are experts who have dedicated their careers to special projects at the botanical gardens.

Cherry Blossom Grown from Space Seeds a Bit Weird. Discovery. April 11, 2014. A seed from a 1250-year-old Japanese cherry tree grew into a sapling that has blossomed six years early, but its flowers each have only five petals, compared with about 30 on the blooms of its parent tree.
 

Differentiated Evaluation of Black Cohosh's Efficacy and Safety

Pomegranate and Chamomile Extracts Help Reduce Bleeding in Patients with Gingivitis