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American Botanical Council Announces Publication of 500th Issue of HerbClipTM
The research summaries and clinical trial reviews provide a unique educational resource to the herbal research community and general public
(AUSTIN,
Texas, July 29, 2014) The nonprofit
American Botanical Council (ABC) proudly announces the publication of the 500th
issue of HerbClip. HerbClips are two-to-three-page summaries and critical
reviews of seminal articles covering medicinal plant-related clinical research,
regulation, market information, and conservation and sustainability
developments.
HerbClip summaries and
critical reviews typically are based upon human clinical trials, systematic reviews
and meta-analyses of such clinical trials, as well as other articles dealing
with ethnobotany, conservation and sustainability, quality control, and
regulation of herbs and medicinal botanical products. These articles are drawn
from a wide variety of peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals,
monographs, government documents, and special reports. In addition to
summarizing the original article, an HerbClip may include insights,
perspectives, criticism, and/or links to other articles and issues. To help
ensure their accuracy, HerbClip summaries and reviews are examined by
consulting editors and peer reviewers before they are published. For example,
topics covered in three of the 15 HerbClips released in the 500th HerbClip issue include green tea and blood pressure, the chemistry and pharmacology of monk
fruit,
and cocoa and glycemia, among others.
HerbClip’s
roots stretch back to 1993, just five years after ABC was established. Back
then, ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal would often copy and
share relevant news articles with numerous professional colleagues. When the
cost of toner for ABC’s copier reached what at that time was a prohibitive $200
per month, inspiration struck. Blumenthal called two close friends in the herb
community and asked if they would be willing to pay for a service to receive
summaries of articles related to herb research, regulations, etc. The friends
agreed and HerbClip was born.
In the
beginning, HerbClip involved mailing summaries and reviews of herbal literature
to ABC colleagues in the academic and scientific communities, as well as key
members of the herb and natural products industry. At the time, no similar
service existed in the natural medicine and herbal supplement industry. The
groundbreaking HerbClips offered not only summaries and reviews, but also the
original articles on which they were based (when such permissions were granted
by the articles’ publishers).
In 2005,
ABC started to include HerbClip News, which provides additional information
about one of the topics covered in each issue.
The 500th issue includes an HerbClip News article on Cacao Blanco – white cocoa beans.
The year 2007 saw the first electronic HerbClips sent to ABC members,
dramatically expanding the number of people receiving HerbClip. By 2009, all
HerbClips were being delivered electronically via HerbClip e Service. This
change futher solidified the organization's commitment to environmental
sustainability while saving ABC printing and postage costs.
“ABC is
proud to have sent out our 500th issue of our unique HerbClips,” said
Blumenthal, who also serves as HerbClip’s editor-in-chief. “Many of ABC’s
members tell us that they find the extensive research information in HerbClip
to be one of the most useful and unique benefits of ABC membership.”
“HerbClip
has changed and grown tremendously over its 20+ years,” said HerbClip Managing
Editor Lori Glenn. “For more than a decade, it has been my privilege to help
instigate this growth and to be part of the transformations, both big and
small, that have occurred. I am grateful that ABC provides such a concise and
easily accessible learning opportunity for both professionals and laypersons.”
“As we move forward toward the next 500 issues of HerbClip,” said Blumenthal,
“this is an appropriate time to acknowledge Lori Glenn for her many years of
excellent service to ABC and the herbal community at large for her diligent
work in helping to spread news about recent research in herbs, phytomedicines,
and other beneficial plants and their preparations. We also thank the many
HerbClip writers, editors, and hundreds of peer reviewers from the ABC Advisory
Board and many others who have contributed to HerbClip’s growth and success.
This certainly includes ABC staff member Tamarind Reaves, HerbClip Assistant
Editor, who has meticulously edited HerbClip since 2009.”
Blumenthal added that ABC is particularly grateful to HerbClip writers Heather
Oliff, PhD, Risa Schulman, PhD, Shari Henson, and Mariann Garner-Wizard, all of
whom have worked on writing and/or editing HerbClip for more than 10 years, as
well as Dennis Awang, PhD; Francis Brinker, ND; and ABC Board of Trustees Chair
Steven Foster for their long-term service to ABC as valued HerbClip editors.
Remarking on a previous HerbClip
milestone
in 2012, Tieraona Low Dog, MD, who is Director of the Fellowship at the Arizona
Center for Integrative Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department
of Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, and also an
ABC Advisory Board member, said, “HerbClips are an invaluable resource for busy
clinicians who are trying to keep up-to-date with the research on herbal
medicines. They are a tremendous contribution to the field, which is why we
offer them to all of our Fellows at the University of Arizona Center for
Integrative Medicine.”
HerbClip summaries and
reviews are available online through the ABC website, www.herbalgram.org. The entire HerbClip
database, consisting of more than 5,740 articles in the 500 issues, is
searchable by any term, including the common names and Latin binomials of
herbs, names of authors of the originally cited article, journal titles,
pharmacological actions, clinical endpoints tested in clinical trials, and
more.
Fifteen
new HerbClips and an HerbClip News article are produced twice monthly. All ABC
members, and non-members, have access to at least two free HerbClips from each
installment; ABC members at the Academic level and above can access
all HerbClips. Sponsor members receive HerbClips
and, when available, the PDF versions of the original articles on which they
are based. |
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