Two University College of Pharmacy Botanical Research Centers Endorse Botanical Adulterants Program

Research Center at UIC’s Renowned College of Pharmacy Endorses BAP

The Center for Natural Products Technologies (CENAPT) at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is a US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)-funded effort to coordinate and disseminate modern natural products research methodologies and to develop best practices for interdisciplinary natural products research. The main objective of CENAPT is to provide access to advanced technologies and resources that can help researchers in finding solutions and overcoming methodological obstacles in the domain of medicinal plant research. In addition, the Center strives to connect scientists and research groups in interdisciplinary programs with state-of-the-art methodologies. “With this letter, we would like to express our support for the worthwhile goals and activities of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program (BAP),” wrote Guido Pauli, PhD, Professor of Pharmacognosy at UIC and Director of CENAPT, and Chun-Tao Che, PhD, Norman R. Farnsworth Professor of Pharmacognosy at UIC, in a letter addressed to ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. “We look forward to working with you and strengthening our existing collaborative relationship by providing expertise to the BAP program.”

Leading Natural Products Research Institution in UK Endorses BAP

Founded in 1842, the University College London’s (UCL) School of Pharmacy was the original educational institution of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Its Research Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry has three sections, with one section (Biodiversity and Medicines) focusing on the use of plant-derived products as medicinal plants, health foods, and nutraceuticals. One of the research interests in this section is the evaluation of the quality of herbal medicines using chemometrics, including the detection of adulteration. Two publications of the group, the investigation into the authenticity of commercial Rhodiola rosea(Crassulaceae) products and the metabolomic profiling of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens, Arecaceae) fruit extracts, have been discussed in previous issues of the “Botanical Adulterants Monitor”. Michael Heinrich, PhD, Professor of Pharmacognosy and Head of Biodiversity and Medicines, wrote, “I am happy to let you know that the [Biodiversity and Medicines] group has agreed to endorse the BAP.”