The American Botanical Council Celebrates 25 Years of Herbal Medicine Education
Award-Winning Nonprofit with Passion for Plant-Based
Medicine
Has International Impact and Reputation
(AUSTIN, Texas, October 31, 2013) On November 1, the American Botanical
Council (ABC) celebrates a quarter century of promoting the responsible,
science-based use of herbal medicine. The independent nonprofit’s 25th
anniversary is a major milestone for the Austin, Texas-based organization and
speaks to its enduring message of informed, research-supported healing through
nature — one that has resonated with thousands of members and supporters both
locally and in many countries around the world.
“I've been affiliated with and have supported ABC since its inception, because
I believe in its mission,” said internationally renowned author and integrative
medicine pioneer Andrew Weil, MD, the founder and director of the Arizona
Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of
Medicine. Dr. Weil, whose image has twice graced the cover of TIME
Magazine, said, “As more health professionals are trained to use
medicinal plants and other natural therapies, healthcare costs will decrease
and health outcomes will improve. Education is required for this to happen,
education of the sort that ABC has provided over the past 25 years and I'm sure
will continue to provide.”
In the 1980s, when the modern herbal medicine movement was experiencing a
revival and consumer awareness and exposure to natural medicine was slowly
increasing, ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal saw the need for
an authoritative, science-based source of information on botanical medicine to
act as a touchstone for herbal education and quality for all aspects of the
herbal industry including consumers. The Texan visionary, whose passion for
herbal medicine earned him the nickname “Herbal Cowboy,” together with two
internationally respected medicinal plant experts — the eminent ethnobotanist
James A. Duke, PhD, and the late distinguished pharmacognosist Norman R.
Farnsworth, PhD — established the educational nonprofit American Botanical
Council in 1988.
“I think of Mark as the great herbal diplomat,” said Rosemary Gladstar,
herbalist, prolific author, educator, and founder of the nonprofit conservation
organization United Plant Savers. Gladstar, whom Blumenthal nicknamed the
“Godmother of American Herbalism,” praised his efforts over the past 25 years
as being “beautifully, seriously, and joyfully effective.”
As ABC celebrates its 25th anniversary in November 2013, the organization’s
flagship publication — the quarterly, peer-reviewed journal HerbalGram
— commemorates 30 years of herbal education with its 100th issue. Part
scientific journal, part consumer magazine, HerbalGram has furthered ABC’s unique
nonprofit educational mission by disseminating extensively researched,
literature-supported, and expertly peer-reviewed information on botanical
medicine.
“Under Mark Blumenthal’s steady editorial guidance, the information [in HerbalGram]
has always been cutting-edge and in a word — reliable,” said author and
medicinal plant expert Steven Foster, whose stunning botanical photography has
adorned the magazine’s pages since its early years. “From history to new
clinical studies, reporting on new regulatory and market developments to
comprehensive reviews and covering the world’s herbs and the world of herbs, no
publication has provided more to all interested stakeholders in every aspect of
herbal medicine.”
In addition to HerbalGram, ABC boasts numerous other publications that
provide dependable herbal medicine information for consumers, healthcare
practitioners, researchers, educators, industry, the media, and more. The
nonprofit’s most recent publication, the weekly online newsletter, “Herbal News
& Events,” keeps ABC members and supporters abreast of events, conferences,
and news items relevant to the herbal community. HerbalEGram, ABC’s monthly
online periodical for members, also reaches a milestone this month, celebrating
10 years of publishing timely, original, in-house features and news articles.
Members of ABC can also access HerbMedPro™, a professional, continuously
updated database of medicinal plant research articles searchable by herb name,
condition, indication, and more. ABC provides free online access to HerbMed®,
a “sister” database featuring 20 to 30 herbs from HerbMedPro that are rotated
on a regular basis. Making this unique resource free to the public increases
the number of people who benefit from updated information on herbs, in
accordance with ABC’s nonprofit educational mission.
Another
notable resource is the organization’s HerbClip™ service, which for two decades
has provided summaries and critical reviews of seminal articles on medicinal
plant research and clinical trials, as well as information on regulation,
marketing, conservation, and sustainability.
These services and many others — including a digitized version of The ABC
Clinical Guide to Herbs; ABC’s Healthy Ingredients, a plant-based
dietary supplements and cosmetics reference page; and the lauded, historical
compilation of The Complete German Commission E Monographs — are all
available online through ABC’s information-rich website, www.herbalgram.org.
ABC’s headquarters at the 160-year-old Case Mill Homestead in the heart of East
Austin serves as an extension of the organization’s commitment to herbal
education. Purchased in 1997, the property was renovated with the help of the
nonprofit’s first capital campaign and updated with expansive medicinal plant
gardens, a greenhouse, and annex that functions as home for ABC’s library and a
community meeting space sometimes used by other Austin nonprofits. With
guidance from ABC’s dedicated education department, the gardens are used as a
tool for dietetic and pharmacy interns from local universities, who apply their
research in hands-on medicine-making labs and presentations using herbs from
the grounds. The Case Mill Homestead also functions as the idyllic setting of
ABC’s annual HerbDay event, where community members gather to celebrate the
healing properties of plants.
For the past three years, ABC also has been actively involved in establishing
and directing a major international collaborative research project addressing
the quality of herbal ingredients used in consumer products. In 2011, ABC
joined forces with the nonprofit American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) and the
University of Mississippi’s National Center for Natural Products Research
(NCNPR) to bring to light the accidental and intentional adulteration of
botanical materials. To date, the ABC-AHP-NCNPR
Botanical Adulterants Program is underwritten and/or
endorsed by more than 100 natural product industry companies, independent
analytical laboratories, nonprofit and professional organizations, trade
associations, accredited natural medicine institutions, and more.
The American Botanical Council’s dedication and passion for providing reliable
information on herbal medicine for the past 25 years has impacted thousands of
individuals around the world, from eager-to-be-educated consumers to distinguished
medicinal plant experts.
“Mark Blumenthal and the American Botanical Council have played a tremendous
and important role in opening the eyes and minds of countless healthcare
professionals to the importance of herbal medicines in healing, eco-conservation,
traditional use, and even economics,” said Aviva Romm, MD, Yale-trained
physician, herbalist, and award-winning author.
As an example of ABC’s global impact, Kerry Bone, one of the leading medicinal
plant experts in Australia, wrote, “Congratulations to Mark and [the ABC] team
for their tireless work over 25 years in representing and promoting
botanical therapy as a rational and credible healthcare alternative.”
“We are deeply grateful to all of our members, donors, and other supporters who
have made this milestone possible,” said Blumenthal. “From medicinal plant
researchers, healthcare professionals, consumers, industry members, and many
others, in the United States and 80 countries around the world, ABC’s success
is a result of the strong ongoing support of people who value reliable,
science-based information on the many positive health effects of herbs, spices,
teas, phytomedicines, and other beneficial plants and fungi.”