It has been more than a decade since the American
Botanical Council (ABC) launched its digital flagship publication, HerbalEGram,
in February 2004. The monthly online magazine, which enters its 12th year next
month, provides in-depth news and feature articles as well as expert insights
from guest contributors, excerpts from recent herbal medicine-related books, noteworthy
industry, regulatory, and community developments, and general media highlights
from the previous month, among other items.
In the past year, HerbalEGram continued to evolve with the addition of a new
recurring Food as Medicine feature, a renewed focus on timely, original
articles, and minor layout changes following the e-magazine’s significant
redesign in 2013. Notably, in March 2014, just before Natural Products Expo
West in Anaheim, California, ABC published the 100th issue of HerbalEGram,
which featured articles on ABC’s Botanical Excellence Awards recipients.
HerbalEGram staff and contributors reported on a number of diverse topics in
2014 — from a critique of Dr.
Sanjay Gupta’s second medical cannabis documentary on CNN, in April’s issue, to
the turbulent market for Peruvian maca (Lepidium
meyenii) caused by Chinese smugglers reported on in December. Included
below are the top 10 HerbalEGram stories from the past year. Of the 49 articles
published in 2014, these represent the most popular stories as determined by
number of recorded clicks by HerbalEGram readers.
HerbalEGram is a benefit of ABC membership at
all membership levels. The editorial staff looks forward to continuing to
provide ABC members with timely, unique, and relevant content in the coming
year as part of ABC’s mission to increase the quality and quantity of
responsible, science-based information on the use of herbal medicine, and other
plant- and fungal-based ingredients.
To submit questions, comments, or other feedback,
please contact HerbalEGram Editor Tyler Smith at tyler@herbalgram.org.
The 10 most
popular HerbalEGram articles of 2014, in descending order of the most read:
- Drug Produced
Using Tobacco Plants May Offer Hope for Ebola Victims
By
Tyler Smith
The most-clicked
HerbalEGram article of 2014, on experimental plant-derived drugs for Ebola
virus disease, was published in October, one week after the first Ebola case
was diagnosed in the United States. The article focused on the promise of and
science behind ZMapp™, a biosynthetic drug produced in the leaves of a
low-nicotine species of tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana), as well as the
US Food and Drug Administration’s actions against companies purporting plant-based
and non-herbal Ebola “cures.” Read more>>
- A
Review and Critique of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's Weed 2:
Cannabis Madness on CNN
By Ash Lindstrom
In April, as part of ABC's continuing coverage of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's medicinal
cannabis (Cannabis spp.) documentaries, HerbalGram
Editor Ash Lindstrom presented a critical review of Weed 2: Cannabis Madness,
which CNN aired in early March. Through interviews with well-known cannabis
experts, Lindstrom offered thoughtful criticisms while acknowledging the
importance of Dr. Gupta’s ongoing coverage of and advocacy for acceptance of
legitimate medical uses of cannabis. Read more>>
- How Do We Save
Wild American Ginseng?
By Robert Beyfuss, Guest Contributor
Prompted by the ginseng poaching reality TV series “Appalachian Outlaws,” which
aired on the History Channel in January 2014, former New York State Specialist
for American Ginseng Robert Beyfuss discussed the most-pressing issues with —
and potential solutions to — current American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) conservation regulations in
February’s HerbalEGram. Read more >>
- HerbalEGram's
Top 10 Most Popular Articles of 2013
By ABC Staff
The first annual summary of the previous year’s most-clicked HerbalEGram
articles was one of the 2014’s most popular articles. The top 10 articles from
2013 covered topics ranging from grapefruit (Citrus x paradisi) research
to the effects of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) on natural medicine
practice. Read more >>
- Star-Crossed: The Rise and Fall of Anatabloc®
By Tyler Smith
In September, former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife were
convicted on 11 federal charges for their involvement with Jonnie Williams Sr.,
the founder of the dietary supplement company Star Scientific, which produced
supplements with anatabine, a compound found in the tobacco plant. The article
details the history of the company, regulatory concerns, and the McDonnell’s
legal proceedings. The former governor recently was sentenced to two years in
prison for his crimes. Read more>>
- Maca Madness: Chinese Herb
Smugglers Create Chaos in the Peruvian Andes
By Tyler Smith
Maca, which thrives at elevations of up to 15,000 feet in the Andes, is a
treasured heritage product of Peru, where regulations prevent the unprocessed
herb from being exported. Driven by unprecedented demand for the plant, Chinese
nationals arrived in the maca-growing regions in early 2014, illegally
purchasing and smuggling large quantities of the crop out of Peru. The
situation turned from volatile to violent, as "Medicine Hunter" Chris
Kilham explained in a special accompanying video report. Read more>>
- Residual
Methanol in Botanical Dietary Ingredients — Perspectives of a Manufacturer
By
Deepak Mundkinajeddu, PhD, and Amit Agarwal, PhD,
Guest Contributors
Methanol
is considered to be an efficient organic solvent that frequently is used for
the extraction of medicinal plant compounds. Trace amounts of solvents known as
residual solvents, as the guest authors explained in August, inevitably remain
in finished standardized herbal extracts. This article explored existing standards
and regulations for acceptable levels of residual methanol in botanical
products and naturally occurring sources of the compound in food, beverages,
and plants. Read more>>
- Dr. Oz's “Miracle” Herbal Weight-Loss
Products: The Senate Hearing, Advertising Regulations, and Science Behind the
Claims
By Tyler Smith
In
June, Mehmet Oz, MD, was criticized for his role in promoting weight-loss
products with limited safety and/or efficacy data at a Senate hearing on
deceptive weight-loss ads. The article explores the testimony of various natural
products industry representatives, some of whom called for increased
enforcement of existing federal regulations and voluntary support of industry
self-regulatory programs. Read more>>
- German Court Ruling Reverses Kava
Ban; German Regulatory Authority Appeals Decision
By Mathias Schmidt, PhD, Guest
Contributor
In June 2014, the market status of German kava (Piper methysticum)-containing products was restored after an
administrative court ruled that the 2002 “ban” by the German Federal Institute
for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) was based on improper procedure. In
July’s HerbalEGram, German-based medicinal plant specialist Dr. Mathias Schmidt
offered a comprehensive overview of past and present legal and regulatory
actions for kava products in Germany, including BfArM's appeal of the court's
decision. Read more>>
- American
Herbal Pharmacopoeia Publishes Historic Monograph on Cannabis
By Tyler Smith
The January 2014 issue of
HerbalEGram featured an article on the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia’s
publication of an extensive quality standards monograph for cannabis — the
first formal cannabis monograph to be released in more than 70 years. Read more >>
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