GA Endorses Botanical Adulterants Program

AUSTINThe Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (abbreviated GA after its former German name) endorsed the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program in its effort to educate and advise industry, health professionals and researchers about the challenges of adulterated herb and botanical products.

The GAs endorsement of this program is a significant development and very much in line with the aims of GA, namely to contribute to the advancement of research and science in the field of medicinal plants and phytotherapy (the medicinal use of botanically-based preparations), and to cooperate with organizations pursuing similar aims," said Rudolf Bauer, Ph.D., professor of pharmacognosy at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Graz in Austria, and past-president of the GA.

The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program is a consortium of independent nonprofit organizations: the American Botanical Council, the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, and the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi. Approximately 100 organizations such as the American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) formally support the Botanical Adulterants Program.

The GA was formed in Germany in 1953 for the purpose of promoting and disseminating medicinal plant research. GA currently has approximately 1400 members from more than 90 countries.