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The American Botanical Council (ABC) recently
announced online publication of The ABC Clinical
Guide to Herbs at www.herbalgram.org. Originally released as a
reference book in 2003, The Guide is
a 400-plus page, science-based, peer-reviewed text containing complete therapeutic
monographs and clinical study details on 30 of the best-selling herbs in the
United States at that time. Most of these herbs are still found in the lists of
top-selling herbs used as teas or dietary supplements.
Adding the Guide to ABC’s online resources always
has been part of the organization’s web content plan, as was the case with the
online versions of ABC’s first 2 books: The
Complete German Commission E Monographs—Therapeutic Guide to Herbal
Medicines (1998) and Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E
Monographs (2000). Online publication of The Guide helps carry out ABC’s nonprofit educational mission to
make as much credible information on herbs and phytomedicines available to the
widest audience as possible.
ABC members who use the online Guide will benefit
from the electronic version’s global and advanced search functions and enhanced
interactivity, which enables users to view any specific section of the Guide by
simply clicking their selection from the hyperlinked Table of Contents. The
user can also download PDFs of the full monographs—including the main
monograph, the clinical overview, and the patient information sheet for each
herb—as well as PDFs of the proprietary product monographs.
Because the book was published in 2003, ABC has
taken the opportunity to correct any typographical errors, and also has updated
and revised several sections. The “Accreditation for Continuing Education” page,
for example, has been updated and the expired test and applications for
continuing education credit are no longer available. Several parts of the online
version also link to more recent information. The outdated “Introduction on
Recent Market and Consumer Use Information” and “Top-Selling Herbal Supplements
in Food, Drug, and Mass Market Retail Outlets” sections now link to the Market
Report section of ABC’s printed, peer-reviewed journal HerbalGram so that the user will always have access to
the most recent data.
Additionally, ABC has clarified that the Recent
Studies were recent “as of April 2003” and provides links to HerbalGram
and HerbClip online for information on new research developments and relevant breaking
news. Additionally, the online Guide now states that Company Contact
information in the Branded Products sections of the monographs and in the
Appendix was current “as of April 2003” and has not been updated due to the
ease of using Internet search engines to find up-to-date and revised contact
information for clinically-tested branded product manufacturers.
A benefit of ABC membership at the Professional
level and above, the online Clinical Guide can
be accessed on ABC’s homepage by clicking the “ABC Guide” link, located on the
left side of the page, or the “Programs & Services” link, at the top of the
homepage. For a limited time, ABC is offering members at the Individual and
Academic levels the opportunity to upgrade to the Professional level at a 20%
discounted rate. For more information, contact ABC’s membership
department.
—Gayle Engels and Lindsay Stafford
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