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At its very core, the American Botanical Council’s (ABC) mission centers on the enhancement
of public wellbeing by improving the lives of people and the world through
increasing the quality and quantity of information on the responsible uses of
medicinal plants and related beneficial plant materials. In 2012, ABC continued
working toward that goal by promoting the use of herbs, essential oils, teas,
and other beneficial botanicals for responsible healthcare and self-care on a
global basis. ABC’s approach is based on a unique, ever-improving, and
expanding mix of educational services, including printed publications, a
searchable website, online databases, public lectures, media education,
consulting and research services, an online bookstore, herbal demonstration
gardens, an internship program, and more.
These
services reach a broad array of constituents — more than 3,000 ABC members and
tens of thousands of additional consumers in 81 countries. They include the following
areas of stakeholders: consumers, healthcare practitioners, researchers,
educators, professionals from all segments of the natural products and health
industry, government employees, and members of trade, local, and national
media.
Below is
a brief look at some of ABC’s activities and accomplishments in 2012.
New Staff
ABC welcomed Jenny Perez, a former ABC volunteer, as the
new education coordinator. Jenny came to Austin from Bastyr University, where
she taught medicine-making classes to naturopathic students, as well as an
undergraduate course called Herbs and Food and a series on Medicinal and Edible
Plants in the Landscape. Jenny also created and led the Holistic Landscape
Design certificate program, which combined permaculture design, biodynamic
agriculture, and landscaping.
In 2012, in an effort to increase services to and communication with our members,
ABC added a communications and marketing position that was filled by Sara
Ellis. In addition to her degree in radio and television, Sara brings with her
years of nonprofit experience and a gift for communicating through multiple
channels, including video, the Internet, social media, and print.
Mary Ceallaigh joined ABC in late 2012 as the new executive assistant to ABC’s Founder
and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. Mary has a bachelor’s degree in Human
Development, is a certified yoga instructor, and has a passion for health and
wellness.
Three New Benefits for ABC Members
In 2012, ABC put its highly respected reference book, The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, on the
ABC website, making
it ABC’s 8th searchable database available to ABC members. Used for
years by educators, researchers, practitioners, industry members, and others, the
content contained in The ABC Clinical
Guide to Herbs database provides extensive therapeutic monographs and
clinical study details on 30 popular herbs in the United States.
In response to demands for increased information about what’s happening in the
herbal community, ABC also created a new publication for its members in 2012. Published
weekly, ABC’s “Herbal News & Events” provides updates on conferences,
symposia, webinars, and other educational opportunities, as well as links to
recent herb-related media stories from around the world.
ABC also improved its highly acclaimed, peer-reviewed HerbalGram in 2012 by making the journal’s content available online
in a gorgeous, full-color, page-flip version or by PDF, which ABC members can
access on their smartphones, tablets, and computers.
New Garden
ABC added a Sacred Seeds Garden to its more than 25 onsite
herbal demonstration gardens. This garden is part of the international Sacred
Seeds effort to conserve, through planting and harvesting, seeds that are
historically important to a region. ABC’s Sacred Seeds Garden focuses on
medicinal plants used traditionally by Native Americans and early Mexican and
European settlers in the Central Texas region. This garden is becoming an
important part of ABC’s educational services to dietetic and pharmacy interns,
and many visitors including the general public, herbalists, and other health
professionals.
Supply-Chain Integrity Programs
ABC continued making progress on its newest programs, including the American
Botanical Council-American Herbal Pharmacopoeia-National Center for Natural Products
Research (ABC-AHP-NCNPR) Botanical Adulterants Program and the ABC Solvents
Reference Book Project. Both of these educational efforts seek to improve the
integrity of the global herb supply-chain in order to help ensure that
consumers have access to clean, accurately identified, safe, and beneficial herbal
products.
In 2012, the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program produced three extensively
peer-reviewed articles focusing on the adulteration of bilberry
(Vaccinium myrtillus) extract,
skullcap
(Scutellaria lateriflora) herb,
and so-called grapefruit
seed extract. All are available for free on ABC’s website.
ABC solicited and organized constructive comments from 25 international peer
reviewers in academia, government, and industry, which have helped shape the development
of ABC Solvents Reference Book. The newest draft, which will undergo a second
round of peer review in 2013, includes additional text and graphics to make the
book more readable and engaging. ABC hopes to publish the book this year.
Ongoing ABC Educational Activities
Media education continues to be an important feature of ABC’s educational
mission. In 2012, ABC fielded approximately 50 media requests. Being a reliable
third-party resource makes it possible for ABC to help the media better
understand and interpret the scientific data surrounding herbs and other
beneficial botanicals.
Blumenthal delivered 45 lectures on issues concerning the botanical and natural
products industry. Traveling more than 60,000 miles, he visited 19 different
cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, where he made presentations on quality control
issues, particularly problems related to adulteration of botanical materials.
ABC’s 2012 internship program trained 17 pharmacy and dietetic interns from
sixth-year pharmacy school and graduate dietetic programs. At ABC, interns
learn from knowledgeable professionals, conduct research on herbal topics, work
with herbs in ABC’s gardens, and prepare herbal teas, tinctures, salves, and other
remedies. For many of these students, ABC’s internship was their introduction to
the traditional lore and science behind botanicals and herbal medicine.
New Awards for 2012
Blumenthal was honored to receive two awards in 2012. He was named one of
the first Honorary Advisory Board Members of the Lloyd Library and Museum in
Cincinnati, Ohio. Mark also was named a Natural Legend by New Hope Natural
Media for his significant contributions to the natural products community.
Each year, ABC presents awards recognizing excellence in the herbal community.
In 2012, ABC created two categories for its James A. Duke Excellence in
Botanical Literature Awards: Consumer/Popular and Reference/Technical. At the 7th
annual ABC Celebration and Awards Ceremony in March 2012, Bharat Aggarwal, PhD,
received the Consumer/Popular category award for his book Healing Spices:
How to Use 50 Everyday and Exotic Spices to Boost Health and Beat Disease.
Roy Upton received the Reference/Technical category award for the American
Herbal Pharmacopoeia’s Botanical Pharmacognosy: Microscopic Characterization
of Botanical Medicines. In addition, Bioforce AG received the ABC Varro E.
Tyler Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research Award, and Professor
Djaja Doel Soejarto, PhD, was awarded the ABC Norman R. Farnsworth Excellence
in Botanical Research Award.
ABC Publications
Providing high-quality and reliable science-based information is an
essential component of ABC’s educational mission. In 2012, with the addition of
its newest publication “Herbal News & Events,” ABC dramatically increased the
number of publications and the amount of content available to ABC members. ABC
published the following:
- Four issues of the quarterly
publication HerbalGram. Topics
covered include the following: numerous Research Reviews — including
pelargonium use for acute bronchitis in children and the use of butterbur root
extract for migraines — medicinal cannabis updates; articles on adulteration of
bilberry,
skullcap,
and so-called “grapefruit
seed extract;” a seminal article on herb regulation; an update on the
controversial ingredient DMAA; and much more.
- 12 issues of the monthly
publication “HerbalEGram.” This e-newsletter includes original articles by ABC editorial
staff, updates on community news, links to current media stories and events,
and a featured book section.
- 360 HerbClips. ABC publishes 15
HerbClips twice per month containing summaries and critical reviews of recent
clinical trials and other publications relevant to the herbal community.
- 29 issues of ABC’s newest
publication “Herbal News & Events.” In addition to providing media updates,
this weekly e-publication provides information on upcoming conferences, webinars,
seminars and other events.
Anniversaries and Milestones
In 2012,
ABC entered its 25th year of operation. Originally founded to
support the publication of HerbalGram,
ABC has grown tremendously over the years, both in terms of the quantity and quality
of the educational services it provides and the number of individuals
benefiting from those resources.
ABC is
looking forward to continuing to provide high-quality, peer-reviewed
information to the herbal community and invites its members and stakeholders to
help it celebrate some exciting upcoming milestones in 2013.
- ABC will move into its 26th
year as it celebrates its official 25th birthday
- ABC will publish the 100th
issue of its acclaimed journal, HerbalGram
- HerbalGram will celebrate its 30th birthday
- HerbClip will turn 20
- And, “HerbalEGram,” ABC’s
monthly e-newsletter, will observe its 10th anniversary
More
information on becoming an ABC member and supporting ABC’s unique nonprofit educational
mission is available by contacting ABC at 512-926-4900 or development@herbalgram.org.
—Denise Meikel
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