Acknowledgements

This book is the product of a collaboration by many people and organizations, for which the editors and publisher are deeply grateful.

The person who deserves most credit for the idea and publication of this book is Wayne Silverman, Ph.D., Chief Administrative Officer at the American Botanical Council (ABC). Wayne originally envisioned a continuing medical education course for physicians, and spent months developing the idea with the Texas Medical Association (TMA). In his role as the chief development officer at ABC, he raised most of the funds necessary for the editorial development, publication, and distribution of this book and CME course.

There are two people at ABC who spent more time and energy on this project than almost any one else. Tara Hall, senior project manager, took over the role about midway during the editorial process and spent an incredible amount of time and focused energy coordinating literally hundreds of editorial and publication tasks. Sean Barnes, ABC’s art director, designed the cover and layout of the entire book, entering additional changes into semi-final and final page proofs for months as the book came closer to publication. This book could not have been completed without their skillful, dedicated work.

During the writing and editorial process, two additional people served as project managers: Kara Dinda, M.S. and Alicia Goldberg. Each handled multiple tasks, dealing with writers, interns, libraries, peer reviewers, and others during the development of the monographs.

Our senior writers contributed immensely of their knowledge of herbs and herbal literature. Josef Brinckmann, former head of research and development at Traditional Medicinals in Sebastopol, California wrote the original drafts for some of the monographs, edited and revised some of the key sections in many others (e.g., Description, Regulatory), and provided translation of key German texts. Bernd Wollschlaeger, M.D., of the Aventura Family Health Center in Miami, Florida, provided translation of German papers, wrote the first drafts of the Clinical Overviews and the Clinical Review sections, and provided other valuable editorial input.

The staff of the American Botanical Council, past and present, deserve special mention. Of particular note is Tanja Kunz, former Education Coordinator, who provided extensive research while managing multiple tasks within the editorial process. Christina Allday-Bondy compiled and organized the extensive references and the brand cross-references. Judy Osburn and Kim West provided invaluable assistance in the development and fundraising efforts. Gayle Engels headed up much of the marketing and public relations efforts. The entire staff assisted in the final proofing of the Index. Special thanks are due to Stacy Elliott and Karen Robin, as well as Lori Glenn and Barbara Springer. Additional gratitude goes to Cecelia Thompson, Margaret Wright, George Solis, Kathleen Coyne, Cheryl Dipper, Jim Costello, and Roger Sleight. Former staff member Dawnelle Malone organized massive files for easier access to many of the references.

Julie Dennis contributed initial drafts of several sections of the Introduction. We also thank Candace Kiene for her copyediting; and extend appreciation to Wendy Anderson for her extensive editing and proofreading services, as well as for her work on certain sections, including the Glossary.

We are deeply grateful to Julie Bonifacio, of the Department of Health in Manila, the Phillipines. Julie came to ABC in 1999 as an intern under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO). During her three-month internship in 1999, Julie poured through ABC’s library and began organizing the information that later developed into the monographs.

ABC is a preceptorship site for pharmacy students as well as students in nutrition and dietetics, as part of the fulfillment of their degree. From the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas, we received assistance from Janice Ducoty, Pharm.D.; Lan Liu, Pharm.D.; Christine Formea, Pharm.D.; and Kathi Salerno–Faith, Pharm.D. From the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, we received assistance from Stan Eapen, Pharm.D; and Chelsea Tran, Pharm.D. From Southwest Texas State University, the following people assisted in the project: Hayley Dolezal, Jihyun Yoon, Patti Moody, Jill Ostendorf, Brady McConnell, Sara Davis, Sarah Harper-Becker, Angie Fiscus, Maggie Meyer, Diana Moyer, Tina Hammerschmidt, Jamie Stavinoha, and Nicholas Schnell. From Texas A&M University, the following interns assisted on the project: Amanda Scott, Erin Streiff, Mandy Clark, and Alicia Currado. Stacy Meyer, from Presbyterian Hospital, and Katherine Griffin, from Houston Veterans Administration Hospital, also assisted.

Like most nonprofit organizations, ABC depends on assistance from volunteers, who provide invaluable time and energy. The editors gratefully acknowledge Shirley Beckwith, ABC’s volunteer librarian, who not only provided the indexing for the entire book, but assisted in accessing scientific studies from various libraries. Other volunteer contributions came from Erica Marchand, for her research on the Branded Products sections; Laurie Aroch, R.Ph., who created the first draft of the glossary; Karen Becker for her work on the Branded Products section; Susan Polasek, M.S.; Cynthia Warren; JoLyn Piercy; and Jeffrey Potts.

Significant assistance was provided by numerous reviewers from multiple academic disciplines, herbal industry, and related fields. These reviewers evaluated various drafts of the monographs offering expert advice and, in many cases, additional information, references, etc. The full list of reviewers can be found in the appendix on page 394; however, of particular importance are: Dennis V.C. Awang, Ph.D., of MediPlant Consulting Services in White Rock, British Columbia, who reviewed the Chemistry area of most of the monographs; Mary Chavez, Pharm.D., of Midwestern University, who provided detailed information on specific clinical trials summarized in the Clinical Tables; Jerry Cott, Ph.D., who reviewed much of the pharmacology of the monographs, and Thomas L. Kurt, M.D., M.P.H, Clinical Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, who provided expert opinion and suggestions in many phases of the editorial process.

The editors and publisher acknowledge Donald R. Counts, M.D., a family practice physician in Austin, who integrates complementary and alternative treatments. Dr. Counts was a member of a the TMA planning committee organized in 1998 to discuss preliminary ideas for enduring material on therapeutic uses of herbs, and acted as this project’s chief champion to TMA. He reviewed several drafts of the monographs and provided considerable constructive feedback, from a health professional’s perspective, for improvement. Dr. Counts is a strong supporter of expanding the knowledge of physicians in the area of herbal medicine.

Invaluable support came from the Texas Medical Association Library, particularly Nancy Reynolds, Library Director, who provided access to TMA Library’s extensive collection of clinical resources for research, document delivery services, and verification of references.

ABC is also most grateful to the Lloyd Library in Cincinati, particularly to Erika Anderson, for supplying clinical trials and other scientific research articles from the Library’s vast collection of journals and books.

ABC is also deeply grateful to the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) in Washington, D.C., particularly John Cordaro, former President, and John Cardellina, Ph.D., former Vice-President for Botanical Sciences. CRN provided financial and administrative resources to convene a special expert panel of scientists and physicians who reviewed drafts of the major monographs. This process added an opportunity for additional review that greatly assisted in improving the material.

We are grateful to Alan Greenberg of the Greenberg Group who assisted with the marketing plan, as did Barbara Springer, Oliver Meek, Diane Graves, Denise Adams, and Jeffrey Potts.

Various attorneys in the natural products industry have provided review assistance and counsel. We are grateful to: Rakesh Amin of Weaver and Amin in Chicago; Loren D. Israelsen of LDI Group in Salt Lake City; A.Wesley Siegner of Hyman, Phelps and McNamara in Washington, D.C.; and Anthony L. Young of Piper Marbury in Washington, D.C. for their sage counsel and support.

We are also grateful to the members of the ABC Board of Trustees and ABC Advisory Board for their ongoing support of this project, many of whom acted as reviewers: Michael J. Balick, Ph.D., Director and Philecology Curator, Institute of Economic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York; James A. Duke, Ph.D., Economic Botanist (USDA, ret.) Author, Fulton, Maryland; Norman R. Farnsworth, Ph.D., Research Professor of Pharmacognosy, Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago; Steven Foster, President, Steven Foster Group, Inc., Fayetteville, Arkansas; Fredi Kronenberg, Ph.D., Director, Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York; and Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., Sc.D. (1926–2001), Dean and Distinguished Professor of Pharmacognosy Emeritus, School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences, Purdue University.

This book serves as both a reference book and a Continuing Medical Education course. In order to qualify for CME credit for physicians and CE credit for pharmacists, nurses and dieteticians (and other healthcare professionals) the accrediting organizations submitted drafts of the monographs to a committee of reviewers from each profession. Grateful thanks are due to many people at the various organizations listed below.

For accreditation for physicians, we are grateful to the staff at the Texas Medical Association (TMA), particularly Paige Miller, CME Program Manager, and Nancy Reynolds, Library Director. Also, as noted above, Donald R. Counts, M.D., and other TMA members for participating in the review process to provide continuing medical education credit for this book.

In the pharmacy profession, we offer grateful acknowledgement to the Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA), particularly Kim Roberson, R.Ph., Senior Director of Professional Affairs and Tanya Garde, R.Ph.

In the nursing profession, we offer grateful acknowledgement to the Texas Nurses Association (TNA), particularly, Wanda Douglas, M.S.N., R.N., Education Director, and Donna McCulloch, M.S., R.N., CNE Consultant.

We received assistance in the accreditation process from colleagues in the nutrition and dietetics profession. Our thanks go to B.J. Friedman, Ph.D., Professor of Nutrition, Chair of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Southwest Texas State University, John Westerdahl, M.P.H., R.D., at the Castle Medical Center, Castle Center for Health Promotion; Cindy McClary, R.D., L.D., at St. Luke’s Health Systems and Siouxland Regional Cancer Center in Sioux City, Iowa, and Susan Polasek, M.A., R.D., lecturer in nutrition at the University of Texas at Austin. We also gratefully acknowledge Gretchen Vannice, M.S., R.D., Continuing Professional Education Coordinator, and her colleagues at Nutrition in Complementary Care (NCC), Seattle, a dietetic practice group of the American Dietetics Association, for their financial support and for informing dietitians about this book.

There are probably other friends and colleagues who have contributed directly or indirectly, whom we have inadvertently overlooked. We sincerely apologize for any omissions. To all those listed above, and those whom we may have overlooked, the editors and publisher offer heartfelt gratitude and appreciation.

         Mark Blumenthal

         Austin, Texas

         January 2003