Endorsements, Research Offer Positive Outlook for Botanicals, Probiotics, Joint Health Ingredients

The future of botanicals, probiotics and joint health ingredients is looking bright. Recent endorsements for the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program, along with new research on the effectiveness of probiotics, glucosamine and chondroitin, offer a positive outlook for all of these beneficial ingredients.

The National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) and the British Herbal Medicine Association (BHMA) endorsed the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program, an international consortium of nonprofit organizations, analytical laboratories, industry members, professional scientists and others, which advises industry, researchers, health professionals and additional communities about the various challenges related to adulterated herbs and botanical ingredients in commerce. NIMH gave notice of its support in a letter dated December 15, 2014, from NIMH’s president, Laura Stannard, to Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC) and general manager of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program. The BHMA’s support for BAP was confirmed on January 7, 2015, through an email to Blumenthal from Dick Middleton, Ph.D., BHMA chairman.

Supporting the efficacy of probiotics, new research from Lallemand Health Solutions and the University of Florida revealed daily intake of the probiotic Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 provides benefits related to cold and flu outcomes during psychological stress. In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at the University of Florida, participants taking the strain demonstrated a 45-percent reduction in the likelihood of reporting a cold or flu compared to the placebo group. This translated into an average reduction of cold/flu symptoms of approximately a half-day during a sex-week period.

Another clinical study from Nutramax Laboratories^® demonstrated the effectiveness of glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin sulfate—the same active ingredients found in the joint health dietary supplement Cosamin®DS—in the management of joint health and wellness. The trial showed a daily dose of glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin sulfate (1,500 mg and 1,200 mg) can manage joint health in a wide variety of patient populations. According to Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, M.D., clinical associate in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, “This new data is especially encouraging for patients, and it reinforces [an] ongoing approach to long-term joint health management … particularly for people who are experiencing a significant increase in the incidence of deteriorating joint health, yet wish to remain physically active."