ABC Presents Botanical Excellence Awards

AUSTIN, TexasThe American Botanical Council (ABC) hosted the 5^th Annual ABC Celebration and Awards Ceremony during Expo West in Anaheim, Calif., honoring individuals and companies that influence the present and future of the herbal medicine movement. ABC takes great pleasure in presenting this years awards to these most-deserving recipients, said Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of ABC. As part of ABCs nonprofit educational mission, we believe it is important to recognize excellence in achievement in the respective fields that these recipients operate.

The James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award was presented to Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi, Ph.D., and Tony Willis for their new book An Oak Spring Herbaria: Herbs and Herbals from the Fourteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries: A Selection of the Rare Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art in the Collection of Rachel Lambert Mellon. Tomasi is a professor of art history at the University of Pisa, Italy, while Willis has been a librarian at the Oak Spring Library for almost 30 years. The award, created in 2006 in honor of ABC co-founding Board of Trustees member James A. Duke, Ph.D., is given annually to a book or book service that provides a significant contribution to literature in the fields of botany, taxonomy, ethnobotany, phytomedicine, or other disciplines related to the vast field of medicinal plants.

ABCs Norman R. Farnsworth Excellence in Botanical Research Award went to Rudolf Bauer, Ph.D., head of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and of the Department of Pharmacognosy at the University of Graz, Austria. He has spent many years researching Echinacea, including its active compounds, constituents, pharmacology, quality control, standardization and safety; he has published 250 scientific publications, served as editor and co-editor of several books, and has been a member of the editorial and review boards of several scientific journals. The award is named for ABC co-founding Board of Trustee Norman R. Farnsworth, Ph.D., and is given annually to a person or institution that has made significant contributions to botanical and/or pharmacognostic research.

I feel very much honored and happy to receive this award, Bauer said. Ive known Dr. Farnsworth for 30 years and feel very proud. He is the leading figure in the field, hes an outstanding scientist, and hes also a character with an outstanding personality as well. It is wonderful to have my work appreciated in this way and encourages me to continue it.

Finally, Bionorica AG received the Varro E. Tyler Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research Award, which honors the late Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., former dean of the College of Academic Affairs at Purdue. Bionorica AG, headquartered in Neumarkt, Germany, is a manufacturer and clinical researcher of herbal remedies, with phytomedicinal products sold in 40 countries. Bionorica has produced more than 450 published chemical, pharmacological, and clinical trials on its line of phytomedicines, which includes Sinupret®, a five-herb combination for sinus health that is the top-selling herbal remedy in Germany.

We are very pleased to receive this award from ABC, said Michael Popp, Bionoricas third-generation CEO. Bionoricas mission is to combine the best people with the best of nature for overall health. We offer good health from nature, backed by the latest and most rigorous science. Our directive is to support plant-based products with controlled double-blind studies, and Bionorica products have been used for decades with no history of serious side effects.