by Sidney Sudberg, DC, RH (AHG)
Co-organizers Ikhlas A. Khan, PhD, Director of FDA Program and Larry A. Walker, PhD Director for National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Mississippi were hosts to a workshop: Scientific Approaches to Quality Assessment of Botanical Products. This workshop was supported through a cooperative agreement between NCNPR and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) of the Food and Drug Administration, and co-sponsored by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The purpose of the workshop was to review and discuss methods used in determining the identity, purity, quality, and strength of botanicals. Numerous national and international speakers, representing different cultures and disciplines of the science of herbal medicine, addressed issues related to authenticating and assessing the quality of the botanicals and methods involved in their characterization. Speakers were leading researchers from industry, academia, non-profit institutions and government.
This is the third in the series of conferences dealing with various aspects of the safety and efficacy of botanicals. The event brought together an unprecedented array of experts and scientists from many disciplines: taxonomy, chemistry, pharmacognosy, molecular biology, and traditional herbal medicine, which made this truly a learning experience.
The unique blend of speakers and topics addressed the needs of the FDA which is on a ‘fact finding’ mission of its own, providing an opportunity for FDA officials to interact with experts on both sides of the herbal fence. Among the 100 attendees were researchers, manufacturers, herbalists, scientists, product developers, conservationists, and botanists. They were able to discuss issues that could only help enlighten all and bring everyone closer to the reality of what Herbal Medicine is to the people who are taking these medicines.
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