Austin, TX—The American Botanical Council (ABC) has reached a new milestone after publishing its 10,000th digital HerbClip. The educational resource, which began in the early 1990s, has been providing clinical research updates on herbs and other natural products for more than three decades. In its beginning, HerbClip consisted of mailing summaries and reviews of herbal literature to ABC members in the academic and scientific community as well as other industry members. Today, the informational guide is received digitally through the HerbClip e-Service.
“The HerbClip Educational Service has been blessed with a plethora of skilled writers, consulting editors, and peer reviewers over the last 32 years, as well as salient input from ABC staff,” said Lori Glenn, longtime Managing Editor of HerbClip. “Their commitment, knowledge, and expertise have led to the publication of 10,000 digital HerbClips. For 23 years, I have had the privilege to be part of this process, which provides a comprehensive and easily accessible education opportunity for both professionals and the public. I hope that the knowledge obtained from HerbClips can be of service to readers, whether they employ it for educational purposes, personal edification, industry product development, and/or substantiation of structure/function claims, as authorized by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).”
While primarily focused on human clinical research on medicinal plants, fungi, and other natural products, HerbClips also features systematic reviews and meta-analyses of clinical trials. For its 10,000th edition, the publication provided a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of chamomile as a low-risk and anti-inflammatory agent. Published in the Pharmaceutical Biology scientific journal, the article examined 11 randomized controlled human clinical trials and determined that chamomile preparations could potentially reduce pain, maintain oral mucosal integrity, and promote recovery from tissue injury.
News of the milestone quickly spread throughout the industry and led to an outpouring of celebratory remarks. “Congratulations to ABC for publishing their 10,000th HerbClip!” said Amy Keller, Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. “What a crowning achievement for an organization whose dedication to public health is unparalleled and has served so many. I eagerly await the next 10,000.”
Psychopharmacologist and retired US Food and Drug Administration researcher, Jerry Cott, Ph.D., who has also served as an HerbClip peer reviewer, congratulated American Herbal Botanical Founder and Executive Director, Mark Blumenthal, on the work his organization and its educational resource have provided, “Congratulations to ABC for their long-term commitment to herbal education by supplying these very useful summaries from the herbal scientific literature. There is enough information in them to provide background for literature reviews or for just keeping up with the progress being made in areas of special interest. Hats off to Mark and everyone at ABC for keeping this great service in the forefront of our herbal news!”
