Industry has slammed a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that highlighted dangers of cardiovascular disease patients using herbal products and called for drug-like laws to apply to the herbal sector.
Promoting the responsible trade in herbal products and improving the service to consumers are the twin goals behind new guidance policies on microorganisms and mycotoxins and heavy metals from the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA).
A consumer health bulletin sent out this month by the Mayo Clinic warns Americans of possible health risks related to the use of herbal dietary supplements.
Data pooled from a number of market research sources indicates that sales of botanical and herbal dietary supplements have risen slowly but surely over the past year, with top selling products including cranberry and flaxeed.
The American Botanical Council is optimistic about herbs’ potential to withstand recession pressures – and some ingredient and finished product suppliers are reporting a record Q1.
Finnish pharma player Actavis has launched three ranges of VMS and
herbal products in Bulgaria with more planned as the company
attempts to meet revenue growth targets of 20 per cent by 2010.
In the first in a series of news briefs, NutraIngredients-USA.com
reports on new memberships and appointments at the American
Botanical Council, the Council for Responsible Nutrition, and the
Dietary Supplement Education Alliance.
The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) has released its newest
monograph, on feverfew aerial parts, in an effort to promote
botanical purity for the herbal products industry.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has urged doctors
and healthcare practitioners to ask patients about their use of
herbs in an effort to foster communication on the issue.
With the cold season well and truly upon us, it seems that Brits
are turning to herbal remedies in a bid to stave off the sniffles.
Both Boots and the National Association of Healthfood Stores this
week reported an increase in sales...
A major project to boost standards in African medicinal plants and
spur European trade has yielded its first results, but more support
is sought to ensure its long-term survival.
Almost 50 per cent of children in WIC clinics are given herbal
remedies with known safety issues, says a study from Penn State,
supporting calls for better education for herbal remedies.
American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) members have identified
three hot areas of concern or debate for the herbal industry,
prompting the association to form special committees on Hoodia
gordonii, Ayurvedic herbal products,...
New laws on herbal medicinal products being brought in across
Europe this weekend are likely to push up prices over coming years
as manufacturers meet high costs for registering their products.
Not enough is known about complementary and alternative medicines
(CAM) given to children to help alleviate the symptoms of common
ailments, warn researchers who have reviewed clinical studies into
the effects of herbals in children...
Ayurceutics has responded to yesterday's article in JAMA claiming
there was a high risk of finding heavy metals in Ayurvedic herbals,
by highlighting its manufacturing process that it believes removes
any danger of contamination.
An analysis of Ayurvedic herbals found that 20 percent contained
metals at potentially toxic levels, according to a study in JAMA,
but the American Herbal Products Association believes the products
tested should not have been on the...
A range of new herbal products, based on traditional Arabic
medicine, will reach the European market at the end of the year,
aiming to bring both novelty and increased efficacy to the herbals
marketplace.
The herbal plant arnica, used in creams to stop bruising and
thought to have anti-inflammatory properties, could one day be
grown for commercial use in the Scottish Highlands, creating a new
supply of the plant that is declining rapidly...
The standards of quality control on herbal supplements will need to
be tightened if the US public are to have any confidence in their
health claims. That was the main talking point of a symposium as
experts gathered for three days...
Different brands of the same herbal products available to US
consumers may vary substantially in recommended dose and listed
ingredients, researchers report in a new study, which appears to
suggest that doctors can do little to assess...
Consumers will increasingly look to botanicals in an attempt to
slow down the effects of aging, claims the herbal trade, which is
organising a new seminar to educate healthcare practitioners on the
role they can play.
Taking ephedra is 200 times more risky than taking many other
commonly used herbs combined, report US researchers who pitted the
reported side effects of the controversial weight-loss supplement
against those of herbs such as gingko...
The popularity of over-the-counter herbal remedies in the UK shows
no sign of relenting, but patients may not be aware of the
potential risks involved in taking the wrong kind of cure, warns
the UK's National Institute of Medical...
The UK's Medicines Control Agency (MCA) is to consider a proposed
ban on the sale of the herbal remedy kava kava following a review
of current scientific data on the product by the Committee on the
Safety of Medicines (CSM).
ConsumerLab.com, the independent tester of health and nutrition
products, has signed an agreement with HealthGate Data Corporation,
the publisher of The Natural Pharmacist, an electronic encyclopedia
and database of supplements and...
Scottish farmers who have until recently ignored the potentially
lucrative herb market, could soon respond to the growing interest
in medicinal herbs thanks to a recent research grant, reports
The Scotsman.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has been quick to
react to the announcement earlier this week by the FDA that
consumers should be wary of using the herbal supplement kava kava
because of possible liver damage. The...
The popular calming herbal remedy Kava Kava has been withdrawn from
the Irish market over concerns that it may cause liver damage,
reports the Irish Examiner.
The herbal remedy saw palmetto can improve symptoms for men with
lower urinary tract problems, results of a new study conducted by
scientists at the University of Chicago reveal.
American Herbal Products Association and the National Nutritional
Foods Association have heavily criticised the findings of a new
study that links colchicine to natural ginkgo.
In Part Two of 'Herbal Dietary Supplements Hunger for Regulation',
Henry I.Miller and David Longtin examine models for legislative
change in the area of dietary supplements.
In Part One of this article Henry Miller and David Longtin look
at the overall regulation of dietary supplements across the Western
world and highlight the many shortfalls.
