American Herbal Products Association launches Foundation Web site

SILVER SPRING, Md. The American Herbal Products Association has announced the debut of www.AHPAFoundation.org, the Web page for the AHPA Foundation for Education & Research on Botanicals designed to provide companies and individuals with an easy way to support the Foundation's substantive revision of the American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook through online donation.

"The Botanical Safety Handbook provides both a clinically-relevant assessment of the safety of numerous herbs in commerce and invaluable data to assist manufacturers in developing labels that adequately inform consumers," stated AHPA-ERB Foundation chairman and Neways International senior director of regulatory affairs, Monzur Ahmed. "It is imperative for industry that the Botanical Safety Handbook contains the most recent and comprehensive information available, and now the ability for companies to financially contribute online provides a convenient way to support this new edition of the Handbook." 

First published in 1997, the Botanical Safety Handbook has become a reference text for healthcare providers, consumers, retailers and manufacturers of herbal products. The text provides safety information on more than 600 species of plants known to be in trade as ingredients in dietary supplements, and, employing a unique safety rating system, classifies each species listed based on a review of a number of authoritative contemporary botanical references and knowledge of historical use.

"While many health care providers in the U.S. believe research on botanicals is scarce, in actuality a wealth of information is obtainable, but not easily accessible since it is scattered in various academic journals and texts on the clinical use of botanicals," stated Zoe Gardner, program coordinator of the Medicinal Plants Program at the University of Massachusetts and research editor of the Botanical Safety Handbook revision. "An accurate, scientifically-based assessment of herbal ingredients will be required for medical professionals to accept the use of health-promoting botanicals."